Congratulations to all participants and winners from Season 25!

What exactly is "the Arena?”

The Arena is the competitive mode on BGA. If you master a game and want to play it competitively, this is THE mode to use, so you can challenge the best players and get the most experience points.

The Arena is organized in seasons of 3 months each. Achievements are awarded to the best players at the end of each season.

To play in the Arena: select "Play" and then choose "Arena" instead of "Simple game."

Read more about Arena mode

Arena format and Gurus

In the previous seasons the gurus chose the game formats for the Arena: player number, options used, ...

We are very happy to see that this way of doing things contributed to making the Arena more popular: thank you to all gurus for their smart suggestions and their votes!

Rules updates

No Arena rules are changing this season. It does not mean we are 100% satisfied with how the Arena is running, but you seem to appreciate the current rules, so we want to keep them as they are for now. Find out more here.

Season 26 is NOW Launched

The new Arena is now open for its new season.

Some Explanation About: Relegations

At the end of each season, after winners have been awarded, you are relegated.

League relegation is determined by the number of Arena leagues available for each game:

·       For games with 6 leagues: Elite players are demoted to Gold, Diamond players to Silver, and everyone else to Bronze.

·       For games with 5 or 4 leagues: Elite players are demoted to Silver, and everyone else to Bronze.

·       For games with 3 or 2 leagues: Everyone is demoted to Bronze.

Note that some games might not follow these relegation rules, as we might have decided to adjust the number of leagues in between seasons.

It's up to you to find the way to the elite!

May the odds be ever in your favor!

You can find all changes to the Arena Game Formats here!

A great guild isn't built by chance. It's built one hero at a time, where every new champion unlocks powerful synergies, reshapes your strategy, and turns a modest band of recruits into the greatest guild in the land.

In YRO, you’ll need to orchestrate, not just optimize as you would in most engine builders. The challenge isn't just about getting the best cards. It's also about building an organization where everything works together before your opponents get to that point.

Recruit adventurers from the fierce warriors of the Sunrise Islands, from the mystical Wooden Conclave, from the nomadic Wandering Market, the inventive Mining Company, the harmonious Floating City, or the noble Order of the Dragon Knights. All that is missing is a certain friendly mustached neighbor…

Your recruits all strengthen your guild. Some increase your Power, for combat, while others strive in Magic, Technology, or Money. All that to bring you coveted Victory Points (VP). At the end of each round you compare your progress with those of the other players and are rewarded with VP depending on where you stand.

Carefully position adventurers in your 3×3 grid, create faction and profession synergies, balance power, magic, technology and money to build that guild that everyone in the Sunrise Islands will envy.

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=yro

We want to take a minute to thank Masato Uesugi, the game designer, and everyone from Studio Supernova for letting us add their game to the platform. We’d also like to thank Galeelox for the BGA port.

This was your Wednesday release.

Choose wisely. Take care and play fair…

Ka-ching! That’s the sound of you becoming rich! Easy, right? Especially when you are in control of your own luck. Jackpot: Set The Reel is a 'slot-building' game where you have to master the art of card manipulation and purchases.

Your aim is to make lines of three of the same symbols without ever shuffling your hand of cards. Instead of relying on random spins, you'll carefully improve your hand throughout the game to score more and more Jackpots. You’ll need to plan, swap, upgrade and manipulate to strike massive payouts.

Jackpot: Set The Reel delivers all the excitement of watching the reels stop just where you want them, except every "lucky" outcome is one you've engineered yourself. What first looks like a game of chance becomes a rewarding puzzle of timing, positioning and long-term planning. When the perfect three-of-a-kind finally clicks into place, you'll know it wasn't luck: it was all you!

Your goal is to score as many points as possible by collecting stars. You can earn them in many different ways such as Jackpot cards or Bonus tokens. Bigger combos mean bigger payouts. Upgrade cards to unlock rewards, and claim bonus tiles to boost your score or gain special abilities.

Every choice matters, place your cards strategically to optimize your next move and bust the bank! Will you manipulate the cards, stack the odds, and hit the jackpot?

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=jackpotsetthereel

We would like to thank Kristian Karlberg and Kenny Zetterberg, the game designers, as well as Dranda Games, the publisher, for letting us add their slot machine to the platform. And our thanks to thoun for the BGA port.

This was your Monday release.

The house always wins until you intervene. Take care and Play fair…

7 Wonders is a monument to board games in the same way Roman roads were to the world. It created a solid foundation, allowing millions of players to move away from simple games to heavy strategy games. But it was missing one thing: a face and a personality! And that is exactly what the Leaders expansion is bringing to the table.

So, what’s new? Along with 2 brand-new Wonders, it introduces Leader cards. Queens, astronomers, philosophers, and generals add an extra dimension of strategy to your games. And that’s the whole point: it gives you a clear direction from the very first turn. If you get Aristotle, you’ll go for science. If you pick Cleopatra, you know what to do.

Leaders does not overcomplicate the gameplay, but it does push you down new roads, Romans on not, that you may not have explored before. Choose your leaders wisely and they will bring you to greatness. Neglect them, and they will end up leading a rival city to victory!

All that’s left to do is select the expansion in your custom options. Let’s get ready to inspire your people and lead your civilization to a Golden Age!

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=sevenwonders

A massive thanks to Antoine Bauza, the game designer, and the good folks of Repos Production for allowing us to add this expansion to the platform. We also want to give a huge shout-out to joezg for the BGA port.

This was your Friday release.

Building a monument over the weekend should now be no trouble at all, so take care and play fair…

The path to Tír na nÓg, a world that exists alongside ours, where no one ages and there is no sickness, death sorrow or want, is open once more. The greatest Celtic storytellers are setting out for the legendary Otherworld. Along the way, they'll meet mythical creatures, experience unforgettable adventures, and return home with stories to weave into an epic saga. In the end, only the greatest saga will be remembered.

Played over 5 rounds, every card you play is a chapter in your legend. Every round is divided in 3 phases. You begin with the Journey Phase, where your Storytellers depart on a great voyage to reach the realm of Tír na nÓg, adventuring through fog and mist to a land of youth and promise. Then comes the Saga phase, where your Storytellers, having tasted the Land of Eternal Youth, return home to sing songs and spin tales of their adventures, recording them in a great Saga. At the end of a round, the Cleanup phase, you discard a card from your hand, leaving you with as many cards as there are rounds left.

Tír na nÓg features a solo mode in which Balor, the evil-eyed chieftain of the Fomóire, has his own vision of his legacy. He has recruited his own Storytellers to retell the stories with himself as the hero! But you must preserve the truth of the Otherworld…

Journey into Celtic mythology, gather legendary encounters, and craft the saga that will be remembered forever.

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=tirnanog

A heartfelt thank you to Isaac Shalev and Jason Slingerland, the game designers, as well as Grand Gamers Guild, the publisher, for allowing this Celtic tale to make it on the platform. And the bards will praise andrelmlins for the BGA adaptation.

This was your Wednesday release.

Some stories deserve to become legends. Take care and play fair…

Some games feel like puzzles, others like battles. Fugitive is different. This two-player card game, set in the world of the beloved cooperative game Burgle Bros, lives in the uncertainty of what your opponent might be doing.

In this deduction game, you can either be the Fugitive, moving from hideout to hideout and trying to make it out of town, or the relentless Marshal, determined to catch them before they escape.

As the Fugitive, you move in secret, laying down face-down cards that represent your escape route. Each new hideout must be reachable from the previous one, but within limits. Every card you play is a bluff, a trap you want the Marshal to fall for.

Each turn, as the Marshal, you draw information and make accusations: guesses about where the Fugitive might be hiding. When you are right, pieces of the route are revealed. But when you’re wrong… well, you’re not wrong, you’ve been misled.

Fugitive strips everything away until only doubt remains. Will you be on the run or in pursuit?

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=fugitive

We want to take a moment to thank Tim Fowers, the game designer, and the good people of Fowers Games for letting us add this game to the platform. And let’s not forget BanBan for their BGA port.

This was your Monday release.

You’re allowed to use the “I didn’t kill my wife” card only once so take care and play fair...

In this chapter of the popular Azul series, you act as a garden designer commissioned by King Manuel the First to create the most extraordinary garden for his wife, Queen Maria of Aragon.

Over 4 rounds, you draft tiles and garden expansions to arrange patterns and colors in the garden. The 6 patterns are the heart of the game and will allow you to decorate your garden. You must take all hexagons of the same pattern or the same color. But space is limited! If you can’t fit your selection, you can’t take it.

Moreover, to place a tile, or an expansion, you must pay its value by discarding other hexagons from your storage. And the placement has some restrictions too: tiles must be placed adjacent to others sharing either the same color or same pattern, but never both.

Azul: Queen’s Garden differs from other titles of the series in that regard: everything you build has a price. This isn’t just a game of "take and place”; it is a game of calculated sacrifice. And more than that, you aren't just playing against others; you are competing with yourself to see how much beauty you can create from a handful of tiles.

You are conducting a silent symphony of colors. There is beauty in logic and a dream to build something that lasts. But will you manage to balance the King's demands with your own artistic vision?

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=azulqueensgarden

Thank you to Michael Kiesling, the game designer, and to Next Move, the publisher, for letting us add their game to the platform. We tip our hats to the work of thoun for the BGA adaptation.

This was your Wednesday release.

Create a masterpiece worthy of a Queen. Take care and play fair…

Today, we are going solo, solo game that is! Or I should say solo games as we are releasing not one, but 2 games! Solar Sentinels and Tanglewoods Red are both part of the 20 Strong family sharing a common core system but offering a very different experience.

Solar Sentinels - The Last Hope for the Galaxy.
Earth is on the edge of extinction, and you are its last line of defense. The alien Horde is waiting, and only a "Solar Sentinel", that’s you, can stop the invasion.

Your mission seems simple, but the stakes are high!

You must face the danger and fight your enemies, willingly or not, as some enemies will force you into battle. Use your pool of dice to deal damage but beware: energy is scarce and if you run out of dice, or health, humanity fails with you. Defeat enemies until the Boss emerges. Kill it to win the war or die trying…

Are you ready to save Earth?

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=solarsentinels

Tanglewoods Red – Mean Red Riding Hood

The ancient forest is dark and perilous! The path is twisting, and the Big Bad Wolf is waiting. You are on a desperate journey through the Tanglewoods to reach Grandma’s Cabin. Wait, that sounds oddly familiar…

You have 20 dice and a pocket full of gold. Use them to scout for the safety of day, or risk walking blindly into the deadly night as you move through the forest. When monsters block your way, pay them gold or strike. Whatever you decide, choose wisely: gold buys gear, but dice buy survival. But keep in mind that every wolf you defeat now is one less nightmare waiting for you at the end.

Will you be ready for the final showdown at Grandma’s house?

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=tanglewoodsred

Our thanks go to Josh J. Carlson and Logan Giannini, the game designers, as well as the wicked people from Chip Theory Games for letting us add these games to BGA. And our gratitude goes to Kayvon and Mogri for the port to the platform.

This was your Monday release.

Two is better than one, especially when you’re playing solo. Take and play fair…

Birds suddenly swarm a location for an unknown reason, turning a quiet town into a raging battlefield… Wait, wait!!! That’s a difference plot. In Perch, birds do not have a killer instinct. There still is a quiet, soaring tension in the air and one thing is for sure here, you do control the birds and where they go.

You are not just managing your own flock, though. You are a bird commander, and you manipulate everyone’s birds to claim the best location in the Homestead. And so does everyone else.

Every round, you recruit birds that might not be yours, bringing a nice mix of colors to your hand. From there, you place birds onto location tiles. Any bird in your hand will do. You can place your own in the best location and your opponents in a useless spot.

Once this is done, you can use “Special Ops” like activating a deadly creature you control, building a birdhouse or zapping a bird. That’s not “very nice” but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win the game, right? Don’t worry though, zapped birds don’t die. They go to the Fountain or the Plaza to earn you points towards your coveted victory.

Perch is all about misdirection and sacrifice. How much are you willing to lose to make sure your opponents don't win?

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=perch

A special thanks to Douglas Hettrick, the game designer, and Inside Up Games, the publisher, for helping us bring this feathered feud to our digital homestead. A special shout-out to bennygui for expertly building the digital nest for our players.

This was your Wednesday release.

As they say: if in doubt, just put a bird on it. Take care and play fair.

Double Seven is a family game, literally! At first glance, it looks like a peaceful game about matching animals. But once you start playing, you realize that it’s more about emotional investment and betrayal, like any good dysfunctional family.

You spend your turns carefully nurturing these animal families, watching them grow. You feel protective of them. But in this game, no family is ever truly "yours." The moment one of your opponent builds a family of the same size, they can swap theirs for yours.

Every turn, you grow your hand by picking two tiles, face-up or face-down. You then start or expand a family; foxes, squirrels, stags, it doesn’t matter, you love them all the same. Until you don’t. At any moment, y can trade them for another one of the same size, you must have your reasons for tossing them aside like that!

Your goal is to create a family of 7 and be granted one of the “7-token”, or better yet, get two such families and claim the coveted “77-token”.

There’s more to discover, but we’ll let the tutorial show you how to nurture and expand your animal family to the fullest. Build with love and trade them in a heartbeat to reach that lucky Double Seven first!

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=doubleseven

Our thanks to Michael Schacht, the game designer, as well as the Tiki Editions crew for bringing their game to the platform. We also want to salute the hard work of nalka on the BGA port.

This was your Monday release.

They say you don’t choose family but here, you can trade them whenever you want. Take care and play fair…