Author - Jerry Paxton

Kirkland, WA (Sept 10, 2013) Tabletop miniatures games are not known for their ease-of-play. The creators of BattleTech, MageKnights and HeroClix at Harebrained Schemes are hoping to change the way that miniatures board games are played with Golem Arcana. Today, the company started a new Kickstarter campaign for Golem Arcana, a digitally-enhanced miniatures game that eases play with pre-painted Golem figures and an app that can be downloaded to iOS and Android smartphones and tablets serving as the game’s rule book and referee all in one. By removing tabletop miniatures gaming’s long startup time, friction, and other clutter, Golem Arcana lets players focus on the fun of sitting around the table with friends and family playing a strategic miniatures game with a deep story and complex gameplay.

With Golem Arcana, Harebrained Schemes is introducing the next generation of tabletop miniatures games. Harebrained Schemes has created a TDI (tabletop digital interface) stylus that with one touch can identify a character and a region on the board, and via Bluetooth, display and track their characteristics and status on a mobile device through a mobile app. The stylus is the first seamless connection between the physical tabletop and the connected digital world, matching physical Golems on the board with virtual Golem Knights and Ancient Ones in the app. Though the Golem Arcana game and story are deep and sophisticated, this digital enhancement allows for the game to move quickly and makes it accessible to a wide audience – all of the game stats and record keeping is handled by the game’s TDI stylus and mobile App.

In addition to easing gameplay, Golem Arcana’s digital enhancement allows for tasks not usually found in tabletop gaming, such as;

· Saving a game at any time — the App knows where all the figures are and what their statuses are.
· Organized Play tournaments are much easier to keep track of because there is no need to manually record or file anything.
· Automatic uploaded game results — Local, regional, and global leaderboards are accurate and timely.
· Data flows down to the App — New scenarios can be added easily and change how the game plays. Scenarios can change victory conditions, the location of resources such as mana or relics, terrain effects, and more.

“Golem Arcana combines the Harebrained Schemes team’s two passions — digital video games and tabletop games,” said Jordan Weisman, founder of Harebrained Schemes. “We chose to bring this game to Kickstarter, because we love the personal connection we had with our players during the making of Shadowrun Returns. This direct connection and feedback motivates us, and helps us to make the best games possible. Over 600 people have already played Golem Arcana at GenCon and PAX this year and their honest reactions told us that Golem Arcana is an exciting leap forward in miniatures gaming.”

Golem Arcana’s game is expandable, as the size of the battles and the number of players increases with additional figures and modular playing boards. Players can go from small skirmishes to epic battles. A typical army would consist of three to six Golem figures, each with an associated Golem Knight, and one or more Ancient Ones to supply supernatural powers. Golems are represented on the game board with pre-painted figures, while the Golem Knights and Ancient Ones are presented in the game as digital characters within the mobile app. The app seamlessly handles the integration of physical and digital characters.

The initial two-player base game will include six fully-painted and assembled Golem figures, six heavy cardboard map tiles, the tabletop digital interface stylus, a quick start rules and lore book, a set of reference cards, and pair of dice. Expansion sets will add more figures, and game boards, allowing for additional players.