From the woods of the Danube valley to the sandy dunes in the South, from the Greek islands to the Armenian highlands, from Scythian camps in the North to the mighty walls of Babylon... war trembles the Ancient World.
To survive people need a powerful leader, a ruler brave enough to face the challenges of the Past. Unite your kingdom, build fortresses and your capital, strengthen the economy, and raise a glorious army to stand against your enemies. Use skillful characters, whose path brought them to your lands. Find ancient maps and send your heroes overseas in search of treasures of forgotten empires.
Through a combination of area movement, negotiation, and dice rolling, players expand their empires, fortify territories, and engage in diplomatic alliances to outmaneuver opponents.
Each turn, players roll dice to determine their actions, draw cards to introduce unpredictable events, and engage in open-ended diplomacy to negotiate alliances, all while strategically deploying their units and resources to achieve their empire's goals.
Lead your chosen faction to establish dominance and become a formidable empire in ARQA, strategically expanding your territories and outwitting your opponents. Victory is achieved through a combination of territorial control, strategic conquest, and economic prosperity.
—description from the designer