Arcs is one of the most popular board games to be launched recently. With its full release finally coming in December, this sci-fi game has been well-received, and has accumulated a large fan base in the short time it's been out. It's far from the first game to put you in charge of a sci-fi civilization, but it's set apart from other, similar games by its tone, as well as its well-designed, intricate mechanics.

If you're a fan of Arcs, and are looking for other, similar games, you're in luck. We've assembled this list of games that resemble Arcs in a variety of different ways, be they thematic or mechanical.

Premium Pick
Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition
Type of Game
🃏 4X Strategy Board Game
Age Recommendation
14+
Game Duration
🌸 240 - 480 minutes
What's Included
Faction Shee🍨tౠs, Command Sheets, Tiles, Cards, Dice, Tokens, Plastic Units
Number of Players
ꦿ 3-6 players

Widely regarded as one of the greatest board games ever made, this 4-hour behemot꧒h places players in charge of one of seventeen unique sꦇpacefaring civilizations competing with one another for galactic dominance.

Pros & Cons
  • A grand strategy game of epic scale
  • Incredible replay value from different factions
  • Strategic depth rivaled by few
  • Very long, very complicated

There are a number of games which naturally invite comparisons to Arcs, and this is one of them. In many ways, this game is what Arcs' unique tone is subverting; a serious, dramatic game about managing your own alien civilization.

Twilight Imperium is an excellent example of a civilization simulator in space. This game puts you in charge of one of seventeen factions, and has you use their varying abilities to attempt to secure dominance over the galaxy. It's a big, long, complicated game. A playthrough can sometimes take up to eight hours. However, all that time allows this game to create an extremely rich experience that you'll find yourself coming back to.

Best Space Art
Cosmic Encounter

Another sci-fi civilization manager, Cosmic Encounter is closer to Arcꦚs in complexity while still having a tone similar to that of Twilight Imperium. If you're looking for something si𝐆milar but simpler, this is for you.

Pros & Cons
  • Amazing art
  • Unique abilities and replay value

Maybe four to eight hours is a little much. Maybe you'd sooner limit yourself to something a bit less demanding. If you like the idea of Twilight Imperium, or a serious version of Arcs, but are intimidated by TI's size, this game might be for you. It's fundamentally similar to both of the aforementioned games, in that it has you controlling an alien civilization in a sci-fi world, but it doesn't force you to put up with quite so much complexity. It's an old game, one that has stood the test of time well.

Best Adaptation
Gale Force Nine Dune Board Game
Original Release Date
2019-00-00
Player Count
2-6
Age Recommendation
14+
Length per Game
😼 120-180 minutes
Publishing Co
🀅 Gale Force Nine ꧃

Based on 🌱the smash-hit sci-fi novel, this decades-old game allows you to reenact the battle for Arrakis on your very own tabletop, controlling the Dune galaxy's various factions as they struggle for control.

Pros & Cons
  • Adapted from an amazing novel
  • Well-designed gameplay
  • Factions that play differently
  • Can be brutally punishing

Based on the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:classic work of science fiction, and nearly as old as the original novel, a simple look at this game's board will call Arcs to mind, if in a somewhat superficial way. Both follow a circular pattern. While the multiple rungs of Arcs' circle are missing here, there's still something reminiscent in the geometry of these two games as a result of the presence of this shape.

These games are also both about sci-fi politics. The scale of Dune is a bit smaller, focusing on a single planet, and the factions are noble houses and communities rather than entire galactic empires, but these games still bear enough resemblance♔ to each other that many who enjoy one will enjoy the otherꦛ.

Best Art
Scythe board game box

Set in the aftermath of an alternate, Deiselpunk version of the Great War, Scythe is a resource management game about struggling nations trying to hold as much territory as possible through largely economic means in the aftermath of that ter﷽rible♛ conflict.

Pros & Cons
  • Some of the best art ever featured in a board game
  • A wonderfully unique world

As dark as Arcs, though in a far less comedic way, Scythe is a resource management, tile placement game about managing one of several civilizations in the aftermath of an alternate-history version of the Great War. This version differs from our own primarily because it contains dieselpunk technology. This results in a gritty, dark, grimy world, a world no one would expect to be beautiful, but it manages to be exactly that due to 16꧂8澳洲幸运5开奖网:the stunning art thi🌜s game is paired with, that does an enormous amount to visually brin🐲g this world🐓 to life.

Best Video Game Adaptation
Sid Meier's Civilization - A New Dawn Tabletop Game

One of the most🅷 famous games ever to place you in charge of a c✨ivilization, the source material for this game is deftly adapted for tabletop use, complete with multiple paths to victory reminiscent of Arcs.

Pros & Cons
  • Tons of different, valid playstyles
  • Approachable gameplay
  • Deep strategy

You're probably already aware of the video game this title is based on. Civilization is one of the oldest and most celebrated series of grand strategy games, notable for how it allows you to take control of a wide variety of historical civilizations and carry them to "victory" through a wide variety of conditions. You can conquer the world, develop technologically or culturally, and build wonders with powerful effects.

This game does an excellent🌊 job recreating its computerized equivalent. This results in something quite complicated, though it's shockingly approachable compared to other games with a similar level of complexity.

Best Fantasy Game
Lords Of Waterdeep

Lords of Waterdeep takes place in the classic Forgotten𝐆 Realms D&D setting, but tak🌄es the emphasis off of fantasy adventurers in that world and moves it to the economics and intrigues of the rich and powerful.

Pros & Cons
  • Great gameplay
  • Deep strategy
  • An interesting alternate perspective on a familiar setting

We've been focusing on sci-fi games until now, but there's tons to like about Arcs that has nothing to do with its setting, so the last few games on this list are going to be ones that resemble it in other respects, starting with this one. Though there's not much emphasis on combat in this game, it does a good job simulating the struggle for power in a fantasy city, one created and more commonly used for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:traditional fantasy adventures. Lords of Waterdeep is a eurogame through and through, and there's tons of great strategizing to do as you struggle for power here.

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Best Comedy Game
Gloom (Second Edition)

This hilariou💜s black comedy game puts players in charge of a variety of gothic families and charges them with t🌱he important task of tormenting and killing them as you shoot for the lowest score you can possibly acquire.

Pros & Cons
  • Excellent comedic and gothic atmosphere
  • Solid card-game design
  • Can be genuinely mean-spirited, not for sensitive souls

There's a cruelty to Arcs. It's no coincidence that slavery and conquest are among the most important paths to victory in that game. It's a title that delights in being a bit cruel. If that's a major part of what draws you to it, you'll probably get something out of Gloom.

Gloom puts you in charge of a family of four. Each of its families fits the game's comedically gothic tone in their own way. Rather than leading your family to victory and power, your job is to ensure they are tormented the most by assigning them amusing misfortunes while lifting the spirits of your opponent's victims. It's the same kind of cruel fun that comes from making yourself a top-tier warlord or tyrant.

Best Parody
Munchkin Deluxe

This parody of Fantasy TTRPG tropes isn't as sadistic as Gloom, but it's still subversive and amusing in a way that makes it memorable and special, plus it's very well-desꦉigned.

Pros & Cons
  • Satisfying Gameplay
  • Good Humor
  • A lot of its humor is referential in a way only TTRPG fans will appreciate

The final item on this list is a parody of fantasy TTRPGs. "What does this have to do with Arcs?" you may wonder. Well, the similarity here is tonal. Both games take an existing genre, and do a lot to lay bare its brutality. Though many of the monsters in this game are less sympathetic than the people you enslave and kill in Arcs, there's still a certain similarity in the spirits of the two games. For an even closer feel, consider this game's spin-off, Star Munchkin.

FAQ

What is the most successful board game?

There are different ways of measuring success. Fittingly, Monopoly is 𒉰the most financially successful board game of all time. Chess is the most popular board game in the world, and probably would be the most financially succes꧃sful if there were a single company that owned it.

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