Seriously the best explanation of this game I have seen so far. You are doing an awesome job. Thank you very much for your other strategy videos, but I think this will take the cake as the thing to convince people to give this game a shot. Great work. I’ve played this game four times so far. Twice at two player and twice at four player with two different groups. And I greatly look forward to the next chance I have to play.

This game is hard to capture the feeling of because it is a social + mechanics game. It is SO much more than the sum of it's parts. You captured this SO well! Having an argument with yourself is a great format! This is terrific! It LOOKS effortless and yet I know this undertaking took a significant amount of work! Thank you!

I haven't watched any of your reviews before and I have to say I'll definitely be coming back. This was very well presented and informative. All the questions that the heel character was asking were the same ones I had at the same time.

Ohhh I want to see Act II of this video series! So hyped for a proper campaign review! 🎉

This was such a fantastic video to watch. First time viewer of the channel, and already loving the content. Eager to watch Act II already!

Great video, hope it blows up. This was one of the few games I taught to my group, had a great time with it on the first game, and then immediately played again because they enjoyed it so much. This one is gonna get a whole lot of mileage. Cole is a true craftsman.

Great video! I have watched quite a few videos about Arcs and this is the best one at explaining the overarching decision space and game play of Arcs. Many other videos focus on the details of actions and mechanics, making the presentation of the feel and point of the game convoluted. Good job explaining that in such a clear way!

I'm Leading this comment section with a Mobilization 3.

Became aware of you through your 6 siege content - amazing btw. Now you doing content for ARCS is even better - love it. I also love you approach towards content creation. Easy to follow, entertaining and going deep into different aspects that are relevant to a purchasing decision. Thank you! One question I have though: If you would have to choose: Which player count is the sweet spot?

Absolutely amazing video! I got my copy about two weeks ago and have already gotten in 6 base game session and earlier this night my group tried the campaign for the first time and oh boy was it crazy. I can't wait to hear your take on the campaign expansion! You've earned a new sub!

Great review! Thanks

Awesome video! Can’t wait to play it

Fantastic! Looking forward to part 2!

I love Root, Pax Pamir 2E, and John Company 2E. I am really really excited for Arcs.

The epic game comparison was so fitting. It feels like an intense and intimate fight in the mud, giving a myriad of opportunities for creative play and dramatic decisions that are so fun to talk about after the game.

Love this format of review. You really covered the questions I'd would have without a boring rules overview at the beginning

Subscribed just to see part 2. Amazing video!

That was a great video and the pacing and writing was on point. Definitely made me more excited about playing Arcs soon. My only suggestion, and I know you did cause you were explaining to the gray you, is to either have the camera set from that POV or move it so you look at the camera.

I rarely comment, but this time I need to. Just want to say that you're very good at explaining and conversing with yourself. Very good video and review. Keep going. Keep the good work. I will follow your journey.

Excellent review man, I really want this😂

Great video, really enjoyed it. I now have a toddlers understanding of this game and its goals 😃, eagerly awaiting my chance to play some chapters.

Great vid

Amazing review. Passionate but still great explanation and really smart & fun dialogue. Looking forward to Act II.

If I hadn't already pre-ordered Arcs, then I certainly would've from the strength and quality of this review. Really amazing job describing the game. Despite pre-ordering, I was still a bit unsure, but I'm now 100% sold, and very excited!

Great video about a great game.

Keep up the fantastic work on your channel! -- "Success is earned through hard work.."

Great video! You got one new Sub here for sure.

Top Marks!

Amazing review and explanation. I backed this game late after reading lots of negativity about the redesign. I admittedly am a huge Wehrle fan in theory but struggle with some of his games. ARCS has blown me away for all the reasons you cite. Cole and his team has blown this out of the sky by making an accessible yet epic space opera. Quickly rising up the ranks as a favorite game in my collection. As a side note, my 9 YO learned this in 15 minutes and almost beat me in the first game.

Love your explanation, detail, and concept of having yourself talking to different versions of yourself! I might recommend reading off bullet points rather than a script, as it feels more like you're "acting" than speaking to the audience, which is entertaining but makes the info a bit harder to consume. Look forward to hearing more!

Played 30 games already? Holy crap, you must have a really good consistent group.

lolllllll awesome vid !

The intro feels very personal, I had TI4 on my shelf for six years, only collecting dust. Acrs interested me since I first heard of it. But I'll have to wait for the day it enters retail in my country. Are there leaders and lore cards in the base game, or are they from the expansion?

As someone who is not a fan of his games (still haven’t played John Company yet) but I will say the one game I actually loved of his is Pax Pamir. Arcs reminded me much more of Pax Pamir than his others games, which is to say I felt Arcs was fantastic. Great review!

Yup. I've only played 3-5 games and it's really fun. I haven't gone into the campaign yet but It's way easier to learn than Root or Oath. And I love Root and Oath. I'm really hoping that my game group will like Arcs because they only gave Root and Oath one shot and said it was too much. I'm really hoping that Arcs will be much more palatable for them so that I can play the campaign.

also did you play most of your arcs games online or in person? if online, where at?

Would actually love to see your version of a 10-minute teach since most of the existing resources out there seem to be either far too long or excessively dense.

Hahahaha. Normally, I hate these kinds of scripted reviews, but this one is superb, and the comparisons with TI4 are so on! I want to see Act II...!

this video is great but now I hate my life until I get this game in November

What sleeves did you use?

Good video, you need to invest in a microphone because that room noise is holding this video back.

What is that!? That my friends, is a pint! Excellent review. I am only two games into Arcs, but it has blown away my expectations. I have always enjoyed root, but it was always missing something for me. Litte did i know that Arcs fills in those blanks for me and then some! Looking forward to part 2!

Very good review. One critique: I would prefer if you looked at me (i.e. into the camera) instead of the fictious person to my right :), I understand you wanted to adhere to the fiction, but I think it'd make me more invested if you look into the camera.

Arcs is a very good game, although it's also a tad schizophrenic (base vs. campaign). The base game is more limited in scope than Eclipse or TI, and there's no negotiation between players, nor exchange of goods/transactions to seal a proposed course of action. While TI has a reputation for analysis paralysis, Arcs offers three types of combat and their related dice outcomes (one of us spent ten minutes trying to optimize the selection of assault, raid and skirmish dice to achieve their goal without creating outrage only to watch their methodical approach failed spectacularly). The planets are rather same-y, lacking names or snippets of lore to create a more lasting memory as to why I chose a particular to raid or destroy. Despite this, Arcs has lots of player agency and strategy, and I love the way the action cards present some hard choices for achieving your goals while also allowing some flexibility via the prelude step. Like TI4, initiative can be crucial to a big scoring turn- and with the tight resource and ship economy, you must always consider the appropriate balance between having enough ships and making sure they can get to the locations needed to secure your intended objectives. We've just started the campaign with the Blighted Reach, and it's a completely different experience in some very good ways that are more comparable to TI. It would also be impractical to introduce players to the BR without some experience playing base Arcs- so whereas TI & Eclipse sit squarely on the farther end of the "commitment spectrum" as fairly uniform platforms, base Arcs exists in the shallow end as the required gateway to its much heavier cousin (and you cannot do BR without the base game). TI4 base game will set you back $130-150, but it's a complete package without any expansions for up to six players: base Arcs is only $60, but to give it some verve you'll want to spend $40 for the miniatures (although base game doesn't use the Flagships) and another $15 for Leaders & Lore (highly recommended, BTW). Arcs transforms into an epic game with the Blighted Reach for another $100, whereas TI4 base game is already epic (although the Prophecy of Kings expansion is another $100 and while not required, is also highly recommended). My intent in sharing the comparison in this way is not to emphasis the cost, but rather the design approach: TI4 and Eclipse feel like epic space games because they are "complete" right of the box, whereas base Arcs is the hefty appetizer required to access the delectable entree that is the Blighted Reach.

Well done... Not sure if I'll subscribe but dang this was a good overview giving me a feel for what gameplay is like

This isn't a review. I've not played as many games as you, but the game takes about twice what it says on the box (my two two-player games both took 3.5+ hours, and my 4 player games took 3.5 and ended around Chapter 3 or 4 incomplete). There are bad hands. There are things you won't recover from. There are bad leaders, and situations where there are no good options, and it is very snowbally. This is a great advertisement for the game but it isn't a review. Not once during this entire thing did I ever think you were talking about this game critically; it felt like a sales pitch.