Arcane Automata
Draft runes, guide your Ætherforged, and fight through a collapsing world as humanity’s last hope against an evolving magical threat.
Command Your Ætherforged
Choose from magical constructs called Ætherforged, each with unique stats and abilities. They’re not living creatures – they’re rune-powered machines built to follow your commands.
Build a Command Grid
Slot runes into a 5-slot Command Grid to create the sequence of actions your Ætherforged will follow every turn. Upgrade runes over time to change how your construct behaves.
Co-op Tactical Play
Work together to draft runes, divide responsibilities, and adapt as the mission evolves. Your success depends on teamwork and cooperation.
The Gameplay Loop
- Slot your Runes
- How your Ætherforged moves
- Which way your Ætherforged faces
- What your Ætherforged attacks
- Deploy Into Missions
- Destroy key structures before they overwhelm the region
- Hold the line against enemy hordes to prevent an invasion
- Escort or transport vital weapons and relics into position
- Build your Strategy
Runes determine the behavior of your Ætherforged.
Each Rune is a modular command that you place onto the Command Grid—your Ætherforged’s magical “brain.”
Runes determine:
The layout of Runes matters.
It’s important to plan both the order and the color of your Runes.
Colors represent different variants of the same ability and also how you upgrade them. Splitting your
focus across too many colors can slow your overall power growth.
Here is a simple concept art of what a command grid will look like. In this example the central runes are the
slotted runes that will execute. The smaller ones spreading out are the upgrade paths for those rune slots.
Missions take place in ruined Earth environments claimed by hostile magical enemies.
You’ll face many different kinds of enemies, but mainly facing them in hoards. Accomplish mission objectives
to save the world and reclaim lost territory.
Each mission challenges you in different ways:
Arcane Automata is a turn-based tactical game. Every round is made up of three phases, and each one asks you to
make meaningful decisions about your Ætherforged and your strategy. Understanding this flow is the key to mastering the game.
Phase 1 – Draft Your Runes
At the start of each round, players draft Runes from a shared pool.
Runes represent actions your Ætherforged can take — moving, rotating, attacking or triggering abilities.
The draft continues until the group has selected the full set of Runes for the round (generally four).
This creates a layer of cooperation and tension: take what you need, but don’t leave your teammates unprepared.
Phase 2 – Run Your Command Line
Once drafting is finished, each player slots their chosen Runes into their Command Grid — a sequence of actions their
Ætherforged will follow this round.
Players then activate their Command Grid in turn order, one at a time.
Turn order changes every round, so sometimes you’ll go first and shape the battlefield, while other times
you’ll have to react to your allies’ and enemies’ positions.
This is the heart of the game — watching your programmed machine follow your logic and adapt to what’s happening on the map.
Phase 3 – Enemy Turn
After all players have resolved their Command Lines, the enemy forces take their turn.
Enemies follow their own simple AI behavior: advancing toward objectives, surrounding targets, and attacking anyone in reach.
Most enemies are simpleminded, but not all. You have to learn how different enemy types behave and plan accordingly.
Once the enemy phase ends, a new round begins — the Rune pool refreshes, turn order shifts, and the battlefield evolves again.
A mission ends when you complete the objective, your shared magical energy is exhausted, or the enemy achieves their own win condition. Surviving means learning from every run and constantly improving how you command your Ætherforged.