Leder Games Led Gamer Led Lights for Game Room
Leder Games is the board game company behind Root and Oath. Two asymmetric strategy games are renowned for designer Cole. Wehrle’s mechanical innovations and artist Kyle Ferrin’s charming woodland creatures. The studio is now bringing us something else: Arcs. A science fiction game that will see players taking on the regents of once-proud interstellar states. And facing a blight that threatens their home worlds.
Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right
Roots play a vital role in the structure of plants. They allow essential chemical processes such as photosynthesis, branching, and flowering to occur.
To achieve this, roots must have the right anatomy fit for their purpose. Their anatomy consists of the apical meristem (at the top of the root), epidermis, and vascular cylinder.
A few millimeters down, the root cap protects the delicate root zenith.
In Root, you are one of four factions seeking to rule the vast Woodland. Each faction has its objectives and abilities to accomplish. The Marquise de Cat plays a game of engine building and logistics while policing the Woods. Eyrie Dynasties build roosts to capture territory and defend their people from the squabbling courts of other factions. And the Woodland Alliance gains sympathy from forest creatures to score points.
Ahoy: A Game of Seafaring and Smuggling
Ahoy is a leader game where players take the role of swashbucklers and soldiers on the high seas. Each round, they roll and place dice to control regions, deliver cargo, and gain Fame.
The game is asymmetrically played. As you control one of three factions, with each pursuing its unique tactics. Depending on the number of players. you’ll control either the Bluefin Squadron. A company of sharks and their toothy friends; or the Mollusk Union. An alliance of undersea creatures fighting to reclaim their ancestral home. Or Smugglers, maverick captains executing blockades in an attempt to smuggle luxury goods across the ocean.
In a similar vein to Root’s Vagabond. The Smugglers largely ignore the area control game between the Bluefins and Mollusks. Instead of sailing between islands to pick up cargo cards. And then delivering them to their destinations. As they do so, each piece of delivered cargo is secretly assigned to one of the two factions. And increases the points value of the region it was pledged to for the area control player. This creates a significant shift in momentum, giving the smugglers an edge. They may be able to exploit if allowed to slip through their opponents’ fingers.
Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile
Oath is one of the year’s most impressive tabletop experiences. It’s a complex, negotiated-strategy game that focuses on asymmetric gameplay and legacy elements.
Oath plays with anywhere from one to six players. And is a great fit for gaming groups that enjoy complex negotiated-strategy games with multiple paths to victory. In Oath, each player takes on one of three roles. The Chancellor, who rules the land; Citizens, who must either follow or rebel; and Exiles. Those who once were citizens but have fled their kingdom for fear of the Chancellor’s wrath.
Each of these roles has its advantages and hindrances. And many of the cards in Oath feature unique names that match their powers. During combat, each player will roll defender dice versus attacker dice. Which generally favor defenders.
The world deck that represents Oath’s dynamic universe grows in complexity each time a game is played. With sites and denizen cards changing their names and effects as the world changes. This creates a fascinating, almost dreamlike sense of change. That thrives best when played with the same group of people over multiple sessions.
Arcs
Arcs is the third asymmetrical strategy game from Leder Games. The company that brought you Root and Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile. It’s another asymmetrical space opera that uses dice to resolve battles in a snap. And features a unique campaign system that evolves over dozens of games.
The campaign starts in the last days of a decrepit empire, where players take on the roles of petty regents. They will soon have to grapple with a blight that threatens the outer worlds.
It’s a tense and fast-paced sci-fi journey. Where you’ll guide your faction through three 60-90 minute sessions. Your decisions will change your fate, unlocking lost knowledge. Guiding your people to a new home, or forging a galactic confederacy.
Throughout the campaign, you’ll be faced with tough choices. Including whether to offer sanctuary to refugees who threaten your planetary integrity. If you do, you’ll need to decide if they’re worth your people’s lives.