Arcanite - A Strategic Battle Card Game
Par Tobias Richter
Statut actuel
Pledge Manager ouvert
Fin de campagne : 22/10/2025
Fonds récoltés : 13 681 €
Welcome to ARCANITE — an expandable card game of fast pace and tactical decisions. Your deck is your life, and every card is a resource. Every card is a choice: cast it, spend it as energy, or keep it in hand — but hold too long and your deck might stall, play too fast and you risk a deck-out. Take damage and fuel the Void, then harness its mystic power to turn the tide with surprising comebacks!
Watch a full 2-Player Playthrough from Board Game Nerds
Welome to Arcanite
Arcanites - vessels of unlimited power. Their magic makes life effortless… But not without conflicts…
Become an Arcanite Wielder!
Harness powerful crystals to cast spells, summon creatures, and control the elements!
- Meet a variety of Avatars—like Volaris, the renegade mage wielding Fire and Air or Sentos, the disciplined mage of Water and Earth.
- Intense 1v1 duels, strategic 2v2 battles, or play solo or cooperatively with the PVE expansion - its your choice!
- Jump straight into the action with balanced, pre-constructed decks. Perfect for new players or quick games!
- Or craft your own unique deck to explore endless combinations.
- Enjoy even more possibilities with the ‘Flux’ expansion, introducing Hybrid-Elements for a new gameplay dynamic.
Battles unfold through a unique Life Decking system. When damage is taken, cards are placed into a special Void pile, which players can later draw from to heal or use as a resource for powerful abilities, such as healing or as alternative costs to cast spells.
The strategic use of limited resources adds a layer of depth that challenges players to think ahead and plan their every move.
Roadmap
Stretch Goals
Why Back Now?
This is our very first project, and we’ve brought it as far as we can on our own. It’s a very big and exciting moment for us and we are already happy with what we have achieved. Developing Arcanite has been an incredible journey, but it also showed us that balancing it with our full-time jobs hasn’t been easy.
With your support, we can finish development, start production, and bring Arcanite to tables worldwide.
Your feedback and criticism are crucial to push this project forward — and your pledge makes you part of Arcanite’s foundation and future.
Thank you so much for being here — together, we can bring this universe to life.
How to Play
Check out the Rules!
Gameplay Overview
- Choose an Avatar that represents you on the battlefield.
- Each player needs a 60 cards deck. You can use the pre-constructed Decks from the Base Game, or craft your own.
- Shuffle your cards, and at the beginning of your turn, always draw until you have 5 in hand.
- Place your inactive resources; every card can be used as such by playing it face down. At your next turn, flip them up to get active resources.
- Use resources to cast creatures, spells and more, but pay attention for the element requirement.
- Some cards have no costs, but are limited to one on the field, such as Artifacts that your Avatar can wield or unique Avatar abilities called Arts.
- Reduce the Cards from your opponent’s deck to 0, by attacking with Creatures and Artifact attacks or Spells that deal damage.
- Outwit and power up to defend against your opponent’s attacks.
- Use the Void pile of discarded cards from your deck as another source of resources and strike with surprising comebacks.
Game Modes: Duels, Solo and Co-op
Duel: 1-on-1
Duel: 2-on-2
Solo and Co-op
Watch a Solo Playthrough of Convergence from Sir Thecos
What do the people say?
Arcanite on Convention
We were also visiting local game conventions and had the opportunity to showcase the game. Everyone who had the chance to play had a blast! We would like to visit more in the future!
My highlight was an about 9 years old boy, who could not speak a word English, but was astonished by the game. This warmed my heart and showed me that we are doing something special. He really made me smile that day 😊
Let's build a community and follow on socials and Discord
(No worries, all the relevant infos about this campaign will be done via Updates on Gamefound!)
Pledge Tiers
Basic Pledge
The Basic Pledge Contains the Following:
- Arcanite: Base Game
- Unlocked stretch goals, that apply to the Base Game & universal content
Everything you need to start your Arcanite journey!
The Base Game gives you two complete pre-constructed decks and all components for a duel right out of the box.
Base Game Content:
- 2 × 61-card prebuilt decks (ready to play)
- 2 × foldable playmats
- 26 × power tokens
- Elegant magnetic box for storage, with enough storage to hold your Decks sleeved
Watch an unboxing and preview from Murexx (DE)
Deluxe Pledge
The Deluxe Pledge Contains the Following:
- Arcanite: Base Game
- Arcanite: Convergence*
- Arcanite: Flux**
- 2x Neoprene Playmat: Sentos & Volaris
- 1x Neoprene Playmat: Arkanthor
- All unlocked stretch goals
- Get a full Playset of every card! (1 for Avatars and 4 copies everything else)
- 380+ Cards in Total
Get the complete experience of Arcanite!
With the Deluxe Pledge you expand your Arcanite experience. Dive into a co-op and solo challenge with Convergence or unlock Hybrid-Elements with Flux, to reshape resource management and change the flow of battle.
With a Playset of every card, you will have a big enough card pool for deck customization and creativity for playing with up to 4 Players!
*Convergence – Solo & Co-op Mode
Face Akanthor, caller of the Arcane.
Convergence introduces a PvE experience to Arcanite, that feels both familiar but also refreshingly new.
Battle alone or team up with friends against Akanthor, a deck that plays itself with simple rules — offering a tough, dynamic challenge without needing additional players.
And that’s not all: the Akanthor deck is fully usable for standard duels as well, giving you double the value!
Want even more difficulty? Swap in Convergence-exclusive cards for an extra spicy challenge.
New: Convergence Upgrade — Sentos & Volaris playable in PvE
We’re thrilled to announce a free Convergence upgrade pack included in the Convergence expansion:
- Both Sentos and Volaris will be fully playable in PvE.
- The pack replaces unplayable cards (like Catalysts) with new Convergence versions of their counterparts or other fitting cards.
- The Avatars also receive a PvE upgrade, making them tough challenges from the start if you want to spice things up!
Convergence Features:
- Solo and Co-op: play alone or together.
- A new fifth Element ‘Arcane’ — with no elemental advantages or disadvantages.
- Autonomous enemy deck that runs itself.
- Shared turns for all players (coordinate your moves!)
- Resource-sharing mechanics for co-op tactics
- Convergence-exclusive PvE cards
- Versatile third deck: use Akanthor in standard duels too
Convergence Content:
- 61-card deck
- 29 Convergence cards
- 1 × Sentos and Volaris Convergence Upgrade Pack
- 1 × foldable playmat
**Arcanite: Archives — Flux
Fuse the elements, unlock new possibilities.
Flux introduces Hybrid-Elements, cards that fuse two elements into one. They bring flexibility to your resources and unlock entirely new strategies. But beware, they also share both weaknesses.
Flux also expands the base card pool, giving you extra copies of the Sentos and Volaris decks to complete your playset.
Flux Content:
- A total of 170+ Cards
- A full playset of new Hybrid-Element cards.
- Complete the playset of your Base Game cards.
Feature Deep Dive
The 5 Elements
Card Breakdown
Cardtypes
Every card is a resource
Closer to defeat, stronger through the Void
Receiving damage, fuels the void. Drain new Power through unique card effects.
Classwheel
In Arcanite, a card’s identity isn’t defined only by its element — but also by its Class. Classes shape the flavor, abilities, and playstyle of cards. They were inspired in part by the Emotion Wheel, which gave us a way to capture archetypes of behavior and feeling within the world.
Every class has an element it favors most, but no class is bound to a single element. This opens up a wide design space for combining identities, playstyles, and strategies. Together, the 5 elements and 8 classes create a vast design space, with endless ways to combine mechanics, personalities, and strategies.
Menace
- Aggression, destruction, and raw power. Menace cards thrive on pressure and overwhelming force.
Rapture
- Clever and unpredictable. Rapture cards disrupt plans, bend the rules, and create moments of chaos.
Guardian
- Protective and enduring. Guardians excel at defence, healing, and shielding allies.
Mystic
- Scholarly and visionary. Mystics master spells, knowledge, foresight and manipulation.
Despair
- Relentless inevitability. Despair cards embody loss, decay, and long-term control over the flow of battle.
What's Next?
Development is about 70% complete. Over the past year, we’ve played more than 100 games — with different players, at conventions, and in private playtests. The result? Both base decks hold a very close 50/50 win rate, showing us that the fundamentals are already in a great place.
Now it’s about polishing, balancing, and finishing the final steps of development. With your support, we’ll wrap up the remaining work and move into production.
Final steps ahead:
- Refine rules, balancing and playtime based on ongoing feedback
- Complete artwork for Convergence and Flux
- Polish additional modes (Co-op, 2v2, Solo) so they integrate smoothly with the core duel mode
- Finalize details with manufacturer and fulfillment partners
Room for Improvements
Our playtests have shown us that game length and early high-level creatures need some fine-tuning. We’ll rebalance card values and pacing, while keeping Arcanite’s fast, tactical feel. This is part of our ongoing process — iterating, playtesting, and refining until it feels just right.
As for components: the current cards and tokens are prototype quality, but they already feel good to play. We’ll continue improving them, with a focus on durability and premium feel for the final version.
As for components: the current cards and tokens are prototype quality and don’t reflect the final product. We’ll ensure premium feel, durability, and stunning artwork.
Current Progress
Core design is complete. only minor rebalancing, text clarity and a few artwork updates left
~50% illustrated. Co-op and Solo rules tested very well. Next step is polishing ruling and balancing the deck for both solo/co-op and duel modes.
Early in development but expected to move faster since it introduces fewer new mechanics.
From here, it’s all about iterating, playtesting, refining, and repeating — transparently. As a backer, you won’t just help us cross the finish line — you’ll help shape the final form of Arcanite.
Looking into the future
Right now, our focus is on delivering the best possible Game to our backers. Long term, we’d love to bring Arcanite to retail and localize it into more languages, but the future depends on the success of this campaign.
We designed Arcanite on a strong fundament that we can keep building on. We already have thousands of card ideas, new modes in mind and a main story arc waiting to be told.
Development Insights
Christina: When thinking about new creatures, we began with a focus on world-building. For this humanoid race, we envisioned a society dwelling underground within a volcanic region. I imagined them living in colonies, interconnected through a hive mind or a shared memory of past lives. A key element of their design was the idea that each individual would be accompanied by the spirit of the deceased—manifested as smoke-like hands—providing both guidance and protection. These spectral appendages symbolize ancestral wisdom, aiding the creatures in their relentless battle against the numerous threats posed by their unforgiving environment.
Below you can see “Corrupted Akanthor”, the Antagonist from the PVE Expansion. Akanthor was once a renowned and passionate Arcanite wielder who loved to teach and spread knowledge, until his pursue of knowledge drove him into dangerous territory.
First I started with a few sketches where I was thinking of him becoming mad, but we quickly agreed that he shouldn´t just be mad, his body should reflect the monstrosity that his mind has become.
We’re passionate about world-building, and we can’t wait to share more of the lore and stories from the world of Arcanite in the coming weeks.
Arcanite is in the work for quite a while now. It started as a tribute to the game genres I love playing the most and I was obsessed with giving my own take on Card Battlers.
Why this type of game?
I love the customizability and creativity. Card Battlers create a sandbox where both player and creator can explore endlessly, with potential to expand in many directions. Plus, you can fully immerse yourself in the world and lore.
This is why we came up with the idea of Avatars — characters you can get to know and play. Immersion also had a big influence on our resource system. Immersion also shaped its way into gameplay, such as the resource system: we want players to feel like they are the Avatar, wielding the Arcanites. Flipping resources is meant to feel like summoning spells with your own fingers.
Originally, Arcanite was imagined as a TCG. But as a two-person team, we realized that an expandable card game is more sustainable while still capturing the same excitement. Looking back, we’re very happy with that desicion. Instead of holding things back for potential later sets, we’re focused on delivering a balanced base game plus two full expansions right away — showcasing everything Arcanite can be while keeping it clean, cohesive, and fun.
Thanks to valuable player feedback, we know that our fundamentals are strong. Now it’s about final tweaks, polish, and preparing for production.
About the Developers
Hi there, I'm Tobi, the creator of the game Arcanite. Thank you for checking out our first project on Gamefound!
I've been developing Arcanite for the past few years and I’m thrilled (but also a little nervous) to share my heart project with you!
I’m working in the games industry for a decade now. While my day job is fulfilling, my true dream, one I’ve had since childhood, has always been to create my own games. My goal is to craft immersive experiences that bring joy and inspiration to players, just as gaming has done for me. Arcanite is the first step toward making that dream a reality.
But taking this leap isn’t easy. Balancing this project with my daily life has been one of the hardest things I’ve done. I know that if I don’t give it everything I have now, I might never take this chance again, or at least not so soon. That’s why I hope this campaign is the start of something incredible.
On my side is Christina, a talented and ambitious artist, an avid gamer, and my amazing wife. We met in university and have collaborated on many personal projects since then. While she endures my terrible jokes and lengthy monologues about new games and my obscure game ideas, we both know we bring out the best in each other when we create.
Together, we’re working to make Arcanite an unforgettable experience, and we can’t wait to share it with you!
Images (3 · BoardGameGeek)
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