[Campaign Review] Golem Arcana

Golem Arcana is an upcoming game by Harebrained Schemes LLC. It’s a miniature war-game, but unlike other games of the genre, the mechanics are handled in software. This greatly reduces the learning curve of the game and also prevents accidental rule violations during the learning phase. It also means that gamers will have access to virtual content along with the physical units. The units in Golem Aracana consist of Golems, Golem Knights, Blood Knights, and Ancient Ones. The Knights control the physical Golems on the board and Ancient Ones are virtual characters that provide support during the game. Interaction with the software is facilitated by the use of a special stylus.

Basic Information

Players: 2+
Ages: 13+ (Our recommendation)
Time: Varies
Estimated Delivery: July 2014

Game Overview

** Update: A more detailed review is available. You can also buy the base game and some add-ons through our aStore shop.

Beyond the game mechanics, what I really like about Golem Arcana is the mythos. It’s rare for a game to have such robust story development, but Golem Arcana really delivers. The game play takes place in the fictional word of Eretsu. Within this world there are Golems, Knights who control the Golems, and Ancient Ones. Golems are split into four codices: Durani, Gudanna, Urugal, and Zikia. Six factions of combined codices also exist. They are Blood of Uruk, Clan Sunu, Crown of Uruk, Lower Hamazi Empire, Upper Hamazi Empire, and Samula Tribe. Early on during the Kickstarter campaign, people began to pick preferred codices and factions.

Now of course, I have to stay partial in my post, so I won’t say any faction—coughs—Blood of Uruk—coughs—is any better than any other faction, but the point is that the mythos really allows people to get involved with entire world of Eretsu beyond simply playing the game. As I mentioned earlier, the Knights control the Golems. In addition to the standard Knights, there are also Blood Knights. These Knights are blood descendants of the Ancient Ones: the gods of Eretsu. The Blood Knights can therefore draw upon the power of the Ancient Ones in battle. While I would love to go on for hours about the mythos of Eretsu, there is simply too much to place into a single post. The Golem Arcana Wiki on Wikia is a good place to gather more information about the mythos and of course you can visit their official site.

Golem Arcana Alpha

There are other added benefits to the hybrid nature of the game. For one, the current state of the game can be saved. You’ll never have to worry about remembering where the game left off at the end of the previous game night. Remote play and AI play will also be possible thanks to the hybrid nature of this game.

Kickstarter Specifics

Goal: $500,000
Pledge Levels: 18 levels between $10 – $6,000
End Date: Oct 15, 2013