Arcs - The Blighted Reach Expansion
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Three games. Twenty-four possible destinies. And at the end of the trilogy, no one will have played the same story as you.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
An empire collapses, twenty-four destinies unfold
The Blighted Reach is the campaign expansion for Arcs, the space game by Cole Wehrle (Root, Pax Pamir) illustrated by Kyle Ferrin. It adds no rules: it transforms Arcs into a micro-campaign where each game is an episode of a galactic trilogy. You start as regents of a dying empire, and three games later someone will have founded a confederation, someone else will be adrift in space with the last flagship, and yet another will have discovered lost knowledge.
At the table, you play three consecutive games (or spread across different evenings), each under two hours. The game changes between episodes: if you destroy a world, its refugees will flood the galaxy in the next episode. If your society collapses, you abandon your home planet and play the next act operating from a single ship. Twenty-four narrative seeds (each with branches, plot twists, forks) determine where your story goes. No two campaigns will be alike.
What they say abroad
"A campaign that feels like three movies in a trilogy, each one different."
A campaign that feels like three movies in a trilogy, each one different.
— Space Biff
"The choices matter, and the galaxy remembers."
The choices matter, and the galaxy remembers.
— Shut Up & Sit Down
Arcs: The Blighted Reach Expansion
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews and play sessionsWhat's in the box
The pieces that build your trilogy
24 Fate Seeds
Twenty-four fate cards, each with multiple branches. Draw one at the beginning of the campaign and follow its narrative tree through the three acts. Lost knowledge, exoduses, galactic confederations.
373 standard cards
Action cards, events, and campaign-specific objectives. Some unlock only if you made certain choices in the previous episode. The galaxy expands with your mistakes and successes.
24 oversize cards
Scenario and reference cards for the seeds. Each seed has its own oversize card that tracks narrative forks and consequences for upcoming games.
Refugee & collapse system
If a world falls, refugees pour into the next galaxy. If you collapse, you abandon your home planet and play the next act with a single flagship. Consequences are permanent.
Recommended sleeves 397 cards in 2 sizes ▼
If you play often, we recommend protecting your cards with clear sleeves to make them last longer.
| Size | Quantity |
|---|---|
| 63 × 88 mm | 373 |
| 70 × 120 mm | 24 |
| Total cards | 397 |
At the end of the third game, you will have a story that no one else has experienced. And you'll want to play it again to discover all the other possible endings.
A five-part campaign
What happens in three episodes
Not a summary of the rules. The narrative experience.
Choosing your destiny
Before starting Act I, draw one of twenty-four possible Fate Seeds. This card decides the theme of your trilogy: perhaps you will seek lost knowledge in forgotten worlds, perhaps you will lead an exodus to a new home, perhaps you will found a galactic confederation. You don't yet know where it will take you, but the path is set.
The first empire falls
Act I: you are regents of a dying empire. The game plays like base Arcs (trick-taking, negotiation, area control), but in the end, someone will have completed an objective from their seed. If you destroy a planet, refugees will flood the galaxy in Act II. If you conquer a key system, you will control it at the beginning of the next episode. Everything has consequences.
The galaxy changes shape
Between Act I and II, open the envelopes for your seed. Inside you'll find new cards, new objectives, and most importantly, the consequences of your choices. The refugees from the fallen world are now pieces on the board. The player who lost everything abandons their home planet and plays with only one flagship. The map is no longer the same.
The moment of truth
Act II: the game accelerates. Those who had an advantage must now defend it. Those who had collapsed now play a desperate catch-up game. The seed objectives become clear: perhaps you need to discover three artifacts, perhaps you need to lead your refugees to a safe system, perhaps you need to bring down the opposing confederation. Political tension explodes.
The trilogy concludes
Act III: the choices of two games converge here. Someone will have won the campaign by completing their seed objectives, someone else will have failed but will have told a memorable story. No two campaigns are the same: with twenty-four seeds and multiple branches, you can play The Blighted Reach four or five times without repeating the same narrative.
How the campaign works
The flow between episodes
Each episode is a complete game of Arcs. Between episodes, the game transforms.
Each act lasts under two hours. Use the basic Arcs rules (trick-taking, negotiation, area control, objectives). By the end of the act, someone will have completed part of their seed's objectives.
Note who destroyed worlds, who lost everything, who founded new colonies. Each permanent action changes the setup of the next episode. Refugees become pawns. Collapsed societies abandon their home planets.
Each seed has numbered envelopes for Acts II and III. Inside, you'll find new cards, updated objectives, and narrative twists. If you made specific choices in Act I, you unlock alternative branches.
Rebuild the galaxy with the tracked consequences: different starting positions, new cards in the deck, updated objectives. Then play again. The final act concludes with one of twenty-four possible endings (plus internal variations within the seeds).
Why it's different from other campaign expansions
Six mechanics that redefine Arcs
Twenty-four branching narrative seeds
It's not a linear campaign with fixed scenarios. You draw one of twenty-four Fate Seeds at the start, and that seed has multiple branches that unlock based on your choices. Lost knowledge, space exoduses, confederations, collapses. Each seed is a different trilogy. You can replay the campaign five times without ever repeating the same story.
Refugee and collapse system
If a world is destroyed, its refugees flood the galaxy in the next episode (they become pawns on the board). If your society collapses, you abandon your home planet and play the next act operating from a single flagship. The consequences are permanent and radically change the setup.
Micro-campaign in three acts
Each act lasts under two hours. You can play the trilogy in a six-hour marathon, or spread the episodes over three different evenings. No infinite Legacy commitment needed. It's a compact campaign, but each game has narrative weight because it connects with the others.
Deterministic consequences
It's not a Legacy game with stickers or destroyed components. It's a system of consequence tracking: if you do X in Act I, in Act II you find Y. The game doesn't get consumed. You can reset everything and replay with another seed, using the same cards.
Asymmetrical objectives per seed
Each player has different objectives based on the seed drawn and the choices made. You need to discover three artifacts, I need to bring refugees to a safe system, a third needs to bring down a confederation. Objectives evolve between acts: those who had an advantage at the beginning can lose everything in Act II.
Compatible with base Arcs
It doesn't overturn the rules. If you know base Arcs (trick-taking, negotiation, card actions), you just add the narrative layer of the campaign. The mechanics remain identical, but now the games have memory. A light system that transforms the game without weighing it down.
How the campaign concludes
Victory and collapse in the three acts
You don't win a single episode. You win the trilogy by completing your seed's objectives.
Campaign victory
- Complete all objectives of your Fate Seed by the end of Act III (each seed has different conditions: discovering artifacts, founding confederations, leading exoduses)
- Accumulate victory points throughout the three acts, if the seed provides for cumulative scoring
- Survive and maintain strategic control until the end of the final act, even without completing all objectives (some stories are open-ended)
Collapse and consequences
- Suffer a social collapse: you lose your home planet and play the next act with only one flagship (you are not eliminated, but your position drastically worsens)
- Fail critical seed objectives by Act II, closing advantageous narrative branches
- Be completely eliminated (rare, but possible if you lose all ships and have no positions left on the map)
By the end of the third game, you will have experienced a story no one else has played. And you'll immediately want to play it again to discover the other twenty-three possible destinies.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ about Arcs: The Blighted Reach Expansion
Do I have to play the three acts consecutively or can I spread them over different evenings?
You can spread them out. Each act lasts under two hours, but between episodes you just need to track the consequences (who destroyed worlds, who collapsed, who completed objectives). You mark everything on a sheet, close the box, and resume whenever you want. Immediate continuity is not required.
How many times can I replay the campaign before it becomes repetitive?
With twenty-four narrative seeds and multiple branches within each seed, you can play it four or five times without repeating the same story. Each seed has a different theme (exoduses, lost knowledge, confederations) and your choices in the first two acts unlock different endings in Act III. It's not infinite like a procedural game, but it has very high replayability for a narrative campaign.
Is it a Legacy game? Are cards destroyed or consumed?
No. It's not a Legacy game. It's a deterministic consequence tracking system: if you do X in Act I, in Act II you find Y. Cards are not torn, no stickers are placed. You can reset everything and replay with another seed using the same cards. It's a replayable campaign.
Do I need to know base Arcs well before playing The Blighted Reach?
Yes. The Blighted Reach does not change the basic rules, but adds the narrative layer of the campaign. If you are not familiar with trick-taking, negotiation, and the action system of base Arcs, you will be lost. Play at least two or three games of base Arcs before starting the campaign.
Is it available in Italian?
No, this is the Leder Games English edition. All cards, narrative seeds, and texts are in the original language. A good knowledge of English is required to follow the narrative branches and seed objectives. There is currently no official Italian localization.
Arcs: The Blighted Reach Expansion is the campaign expansion designed by Cole Wehrle (Root, Pax Pamir) for Arcs, published by Leder Games. It transforms the base game into a three-act micro-campaign for 2-4 players, with twenty-four branching narrative seeds and permanent consequences between episodes. Each act lasts under two hours. The mechanics remain trick-taking, negotiation, and area control, but games now have memory: destroyed worlds generate refugees, collapsed societies abandon home planets, choices in Act I unlock different endings in Act III. Weight 4.5, recommended age 14+. Requires base Arcs to play. Available on FroGames.it.
Arcs - The Blighted Reach Expansion
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