Gamehelplegendsofthearena

Legends of the Arena is a simultaneous-action fighting card game for 2 to 4 players, published by Toth Games. Every Legend fights with the same six Basic actions plus three Specials and one Ultimate of their own. Each sequence, everyone secretly stacks three action cards. The cards are revealed one exchange at a time and resolve from the fastest Speed down. Hits add Fatigue, Fatigue turns hits into Pushes, and a Legend pushed past the edge of the Arena is knocked out.

This page is a quick reference for playing on Board Game Arena. The full rulebook is at tothgames.com/LotA_Rulebook.pdf.

Game modes

• Teams (2 or 4 players): two teams that share Stocks, one Stock in a 1v1 match and two in a 2v2 match. Each Knockout costs the victim's team a Stock, and a team with no Stock left loses. Teammates can see each other's hands.
• Free-for-All (3 or 4 players): every Legend fights alone, and the first player to score two Knockouts wins. Nobody is eliminated: a knocked-out Legend comes straight back.

The Arena

The Arena is a line of seven spaces: an Edge at each end and five playable spaces between them. Several Legends can share a space, and Legends in the same space always face each other.

• Ending a move exactly on an Edge triggers Edge Recovery: the Legend turns to face the centre and moves one space back in.
• Being pushed (or moving) past an Edge is a Knockout.

Your cards

Each Legend has:

• 6 Basic cards (black border), the same for every Legend. They start in your hand and return to it after every sequence.
• 3 Special cards (silver border), shuffled face down into your Meter (draw pile). Once played they go to your discard pile.
• 1 Ultimate card (coloured border) at the bottom of the Meter. Once played it is removed from the game.

A sequence

1. Draw. Draw the top card of your Meter. If the Meter is empty you may first shuffle the Specials from your hand and discard pile into a new Meter (the game asks you).
2. Choose three actions. Pick three cards from your hand, in the order you want them to resolve, and confirm. Everyone chooses at the same time.
3. Three exchanges. In each exchange every player reveals their next card at once. The cards resolve from the highest Speed to the lowest; equal Speeds resolve in Initiative order, starting with the player who holds the Initiative token. Then all Push tokens are resolved (see below).
4. Recovery. Basics return to your hand, Specials go to your discard pile and a played Ultimate leaves the game. A new sequence begins.

Strikes, Block and Fatigue

• Strike X at range R hits the nearest foe you are facing within range R. Foes in your own space can always be hit. If several foes qualify, the closest is hit first, then the one with the lowest Speed this exchange, then the lowest Fatigue; after that the striker chooses.
• Remaining Force = the Strike's Force (plus any bonus) minus the target's Block this exchange. Block lasts the whole exchange and is never used up. A Strike that is fully blocked still counts as a hit for card effects, but does nothing else.
• If any Force remains, the target takes 1 Fatigue (whatever the Force) and receives Push tokens: look up new Fatigue + remaining Force on the target's own Push track. Fatigue is capped at 10 and stays for the whole game; only a Knockout resets it to 0.

Push and Knockouts

Push tokens point in the direction the striker was facing. At the end of every exchange:

1. Tokens pointing in opposite directions cancel each other in pairs.
2. The Legend slides one space per remaining token.
3. A Legend that lands on an Edge recovers (turns to the centre, steps back in). A Legend pushed past an Edge is knocked out.

A Knockout costs the victim's team a Stock (Teams) or scores a Knockout for the Legend whose Push sent them over (Free-for-All). A knocked-out Legend that is still in the match returns to the Arena through a portal with 0 Fatigue and chooses which way to face.

If both sides are knocked out in the same exchange, the side with fewer Knockouts that exchange wins; if that is equal, the side that pushed a foe furthest past the Edge wins.

Initiative

One player holds the Initiative token. When Speeds are tied, the holder resolves first and the others follow in Initiative order. Dive and some Specials take the Initiative.

Basic actions (every Legend)

Card	Speed	Effect
Step	95	Block 1 against foes you face. If next to an Edge, turn to face the centre. Move 1 forward.
Dive	90	Turn to face the furthest foe. Move to that foe's space. Take the Initiative.
Defensive Pivot	80	Block 2. You may turn.
Back	65	If next to an Edge, turn to face it. Move 1 backward. You may turn.
Shot	50	You may turn. Strike 1 at range 1 or more.
Smash	50	Strike 3 at range 0.

The Legends

• Alysia, Unrelenting Warrior: a rushdown brawler with multi-strikes, who pushes harder at low Fatigue. Low complexity.
• Fitz, Culinary Crusher: a brawler and grappler who counter-strikes; hard to push early, devastating once fatigued. Low complexity.
• Hilda, Prima Donna: a zoner who sets up burst damage from a distance. Low complexity.
• Lucius, Duel Nature: a form switcher, a marksman in human form and a berserker in Wolf Form. Low complexity.
• Zephyr, Dune Dancer: an evasive, mobile rushdown fighter. Medium complexity.
• Sabo, Ninja Grappler: a grappler and trapper whose Spike Trap fatigues foes who step onto it. Medium complexity.
• Lord Grym, Regal Necromancer: a summoner who fights through Zombies and Coffins. High complexity.
• Tikkit, Temporal Agent: an adaptive trickster whose Quick Fix changes a stack mid-sequence. High complexity.

On Board Game Arena

• Your hand is at the bottom of the screen. Click three cards in the order you want them to resolve, then confirm; teammates see each other's hands.
• The resolution of an exchange can be stepped through card by card, or left to run.
• Optional effects ("you may ...") and Quick Fix picks are asked as they come up.
• Hover a card or a token for its full text. Each player panel shows the Legend's Fatigue and Push tokens, so you can read what the next hit will do.
• Tie-breaker for the final ranking: fewer Knockouts received, then having pushed a foe furthest from the Edge.

Links

• Rulebook (PDF)
• How to play (Toth Games)
• Tutorial and review by Adam the Fanatic (YouTube)
• Legends of the Arena on BoardGameGeek
• Toth Games