Posts on Toth Games

The Prototype Has Landed! 📦✨

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. A very heavy, very exciting box showed up at our doorstep this week: The official factory prototype for Legends of the Arena is here! Seeing the final art and layout of the game in person is an incredible feeling. We’ve spent months staring at these components on screens, and seeing them hit the table makes the finish line feel closer than ever.

Production Progress + Teaming up with Bots 🤖

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I’m keeping this update short and sweet because we’ve been heads-down in the details with our manufacturer.

We are currently in the thick of the iteration process, going back and forth with the factory and our graphic designer to ensure every file and component meets our standards. It involves a lot of checks, but seeing the pieces come together is incredibly exciting.

Metal Component Reveal

One cool output from this process: we just finalized the technical drawings for the metal components! We’ve included images of those at the bottom of this email - we can’t wait to feel the weight of these in hand (note that the Initiative token will be gold and the Fatigue tracker will be black in the final versions).

Files Submitted!

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Manufacturing Update

We have some exciting news to share before we head into the holidays: we have officially submitted production files to our manufacturer!

This means that graphic design and development for Legends of the Arena are fully complete. A huge shout-out to our graphic design team for helping us pull this together ahead of schedule! We are thrilled with how everything looks and are hoping to have a physical proof to show off early next year. For the next several weeks we will be working with the factory to make sure every detail is just right.

Art Complete, Dev Progress, and PAX Unplugged

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Late Pledges Still Open

If you missed the Kickstarter, there’s still time! Late pledges will remain open for a few more weeks, and this is your chance to secure everything unlocked during the campaign.

👉 Late pledge available on Kickstarter

Michael at PAX Unplugged

Michael will be attending PAX Unplugged next week! We won’t have an official booth this year, but if you’d like to try a game of Legends, see the prototype components in person, or just say hi, please drop us a line.

We Funded + Unlocked Every Stretch Goal! Here’s What’s Next

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Now that Legends of the Arena has successfully funded (and unlocked every stretch goal 🎉), I wanted to share how updates will work moving forward!

I’ll be sending one Kickstarter update near the end of each month and one email newsletter in the middle of each month.

Kickstarter updates will focus on detailed development and production progress for Legends of the Arena.
Updates like this one will cover news, convention appearances, and general updates from Toth Games.

That said, our top priority right now is delivering Legends of the Arena, so you can expect to hear plenty about it in both places - especially when we reach big milestones. And for those who missed the campaign, late pledges are still available on Kickstarter!

Places that track upcoming Kickstarters

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Having just finished our Kickstarter campaign, I want to share some useful tips I’ve learned along the way. The first one is a list of all the places I’ve found that track upcoming Kickstarter campaigns for boardgames. I hope this will help out folks who are working to get their project some coverage, but aren’t sure where to start. Once you have your launch date set and prelaunch page available, post to these places:

300%+ Funded and Less Than a Day Left on Kickstarter!

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We’ve entered the final 36 hours of the Legends of the Arena Kickstarter! If you’ve been waiting to back, now’s the time; we’ve unlocked exciting stretch goals & shipping is even cheaper.

Shipping Just Got Better 🌍

We’ve partnered with a new fulfillment provider to lower costs across all regions (for new and existing backers) and expand coverage to nearly every country. We’re thrilled to bring Legends of the Arena to more players around the world.

Legends of the Arena is LIVE on Kickstarter!

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The wait is over - Legends of the Arena is now LIVE on Kickstarter! 🎉

After 8 years of design, testing, and battles in the Arena, we’re thrilled to finally share the game with the world. Legends of the Arena is a fast-paced brawling board game for 2–6 players (inspired by Super Smash Bros.) where you choose your Legend, outthink your foes, and knock them out of the Arena!

Why back today?

July Update: Kickstarter Date, TTS Upgrade & More

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Arena is almost open! We’re thrilled to announce that the Legends of the Arena Kickstarter launches August 26. After years of testing, iterating, and battling at conventions, we can’t wait to share the full game with you.

Here’s what happened last month:

July Highlights

🎮 Tabletop Simulator Mod Update

Our TTS mod now features scripted setup and 6 playable Legends for easy testing and fast games. Jump in and play now: Play on Tabletop Simulator »

This August: Legends of the Arena on Kickstarter!

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

🗓 We’re Headed to Kickstarter in August!

We’re thrilled to officially announce that Legends of the Arena is launching on Kickstarter this August! The exact date is still being finalized. Stay tuned—we’ll let you know the moment it’s live!

🎥 New Video from Shelfside!

Want to learn how to play in under 4 minutes? The team at Shelfside put together a fantastic how-to-play video, based on how we teach the game at conventions.

May News: KublaCon Wrap-Up + Zephyr Preview Begins!

Sat, 31 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

May has been packed with excitement, and we’re thrilled to share what’s new in the world of Legends of the Arena! Let’s dive in:

🎲 KublaCon Was a Hit!

We had an incredible time at KublaCon, running nonstop demos all weekend long—over 100 games played across 1v1, 2v2, and free-for-all formats! Some players even returned for multiple sessions, and a lucky few walked away with tiny trophies and serious bragging rights.

April 2025 Update: Reviewer Copies At the Factory + Kublacon Bound! 🥳

Fri, 09 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It’s been a big month behind the scenes, and we’re excited to share some great updates as we ramp up toward our summer Kickstarter!

🎉 The Factory is Working on Reviewer Copies!

We’ve officially sent our files to the printer for our reviewer copies! These preview builds include 6 of the 8 Legends and mark a huge milestone on our road to launch. We’ve lined up most of our review partners, but there are still a few open slots—if there’s a reviewer, streamer, or content creator you’d love to see cover Legends of the Arena, let us know!

March 2025 Update: Sabo Sneaks Up!

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

March has been a quieter month compared to the excitement of Genesis, but we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes gearing up for our Kickstarter this summer!

Over on Instagram, we’ve been showcasing Hilda’s art and abilities, bringing her dramatic, Arena-shattering presence to life. Next month, we’ll be introducing Sabo, the mysterious ninja whose chain attacks and tactical traps keep foes off balance. Stay tuned!

In April our focus will be getting copies out to reviewers. If you know any board game reviewers who would love to try Legends of the Arena, please send them our way!

February 2025 Update: Play the Game Now!

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Big news this month: You can now play Legends of the Arena! But before we get into that, a quick reminder to follow our Kickstarter campaign here so you don’t miss the launch. Now, let’s dive in!

Play Legends of the Arena – Print & Play + Tabletop Simulator!

We’re thrilled to announce that both a Print & Play and a Tabletop Simulator mod featuring Alysia and Fitz are now available! This is your chance to try out the game and give us feedback before we launch on Kickstarter. Enter your email at the bottom of the page to receive the most up-to-date links to both.

Bringing Legends of the Arena to Genesis X2🎮

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Earlier this month, we took Legends of the Arena to Genesis X2, a convention focused on Super Smash Bros. and other competitive games (mostly fighting games, but there were TCG tournaments, rhythm games, and even Mahjong). It was our first time running a vendor booth, and we weren’t sure what to expect. Would fighting game fans be interested in a tactical board game? Legends of the Arena is heavily inspired by Super Smash Bros., but as a board game the mechanics are heavily abstracted (just a flat stage, far fewer moves, no items, etc.). Would we even have time to grab lunch? Would people be familiar with crowdfunding? After three days of demos, discussions, and intense battles, we walked away with tons of great insights, some new fans, and a new appreciation for high-level Melee play.

January 2025 Update - Card Design & Genesis X2 🃏

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We’ve got some huge updates this month, including our next convention appearance, exciting character reveals, and our first look at final card designs!

Meet Us at Genesis X2! 🎮🔥

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll have a booth at Genesis X2 from February 14-16, 2025, in San Jose, CA! If you’re at the event, stop by to play a demo, grab some free stickers, and chat with us about the game. We’d love to see you there!

December 2024 Update with Board Art 🎨

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

As we wrap up the year, we’re excited to share some major updates and invite you to shape the game with your feedback!

Explore the Rules Draft 📖

The draft of our game rules is now available! While the images and formatting are placeholders, the content is ready for your thoughts! Please share your impressions (feel free to comment right on the doc) - your feedback is crucial in refining Legends of the Arena.

November 2024 Update & Tikkit’s Arrival

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

It’s been a busy month for Legends of the Arena, and we’re thrilled to share our latest updates with you!

Kickstarter Pre-Launch Page Now Live!

Our Kickstarter landing page is now up! Click below to get notified when the campaign goes live. Your support makes all the difference as we prepare for our mid-2025 launch!

Catch Alysia’s Art on Instagram

We’ve shared all of Alysia’s art on Instagram, including her powerful moves like Sunder and her ultimate Carve a Path. If you haven’t checked it out yet, head over to see her in action!

Join the Fight! (October 2024 update) ⚔️

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We’ve got some exciting news ahead:

Monthly Updates: Starting today, we’ll be sharing regular updates on game development, upcoming conventions (we’ll be at KublaCon Fall in the Protospiel room!), and more.

Art Sneak Peeks: We’ll also be showcasing new art and progress on our Instagram, so make sure to follow us there for exclusive visuals that bring the Arena to life!

Kickstarter Announcement: Our launch is set for mid-2025, and we’ll keep you updated on every step leading up to it. We’d love to hear from you! We made our first prototypes in 2016 and we’ve been iterating with your feedback ever since. Feel free to reply below and let us know what excites you most about Legends of the Arena or if you have any questions. Your thoughts and feedback mean a lot to us as we continue development.

PAX Unplugged 2023

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Hey folks!

Just a quick update that Michael is at PAX Unplugged this weekend. Drop us a line if you would like to see the latest version of Legends of the Arena!

We’ve been hard at work since Origins adding character upgrades, reducing the number of cards in hand, and, most excitingly, changing to a KO count win condition where you score a KO each time you knock an opponent off of the map.

Player Aids in Tabletop Simulator

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Why have a player aid?

Over the years we’ve written full rules for Legends of the Arena (and done blind playtesting with them as well), but for most playtests - where the goal is to figure out if a mechanic or component is fun - it isn’t time efficient to force players to read the rules first. In many cases it isn’t even worthwhile to write the rules; just have a vague idea of how the new concept should work and see if your players like it. However, the board game experience is intrinsically linked with the act of understanding and executing the rules, so some prototypes really do need to include rules text.

Decisions in board games part 2: Uncertainty

Sat, 20 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the second installment of “Decisions in board games”, a three-part series on engaging players through meaningful decisions in competitive multiplayer board games. Previously we discussed why decisions are important and why you should have them in your game. If you haven’t checked that out yet, I recommend reading it first. In this post we will dive deeper into what really makes decisions “meaningful”. The third and final post will share a number of examples from Legends of the Arena and how we applied board game decision theory to create a more engaging experience for players.

Decisions in board games part 1: Theory

Fri, 05 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to “Decisions in board games”, a three-part series on engaging players through meaningful decisions in competitive multiplayer games. In this post we will discuss why decisions are important and the basic outline of how to reason about the decisions in your games. The second post will be a deeper dive into what really makes decisions “meaningful”. The third and final post will share a number of examples from Legends of the Arena and how we applied board game decision theory to create a more engaging experience for players.

The journey continues

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Where we started

We started working on Legends of the Arena with the goal of creating the team dueling board game we had always dreamed of as kids. The year was 2017 and we didn’t know anything about game design, but we knew the game needed to be fast, fun, and stand up to repeated play. The game system needed to be flexible enough to evoke the sort of awesome moves that characters in video games have - pull the opponents in with a giant hook, shoot a slow but terrifying death ray, or sneak up behind and escape quickly. We wanted characters to have fun, distinct playstyles, and we wanted those characters to maintain their playstyles when played competitively. Finally, we felt that players should be able to start incorporating counterplay (picking moves based on what they expect their opponent to do) with only a few games under their belt.

Using Monte Carlo simulation in game design

Sat, 27 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

“Shouldn’t I always attack with my whole army?”

“Why would I ever pick this card?”

If you’ve ever had a playtest that led to awkward questions like these - and realized that your players were totally right - you’ve probably wondered how you might catch this sort of issue during design. Maybe you recalled a confusing formula like \( {n\choose k} = \frac{n!}{k!(n-k)!} \), but found it woefully inadequate when dealing with the sort of scenarios common in board games. What are the chances of drawing a specific set of cards in a particular order? What is the likelihood of rolling three sixes and two fives if you can reroll any number of dice three times? How many units can you expect to have left after a Risk battle?

Prototyping on Tabletop Simulator using Squib

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

If you are interested in making a boardgame that involves cards (or a cardgame without a board at all), you’ve come to the right place! Even if your game doesn’t use standard-sized playing cards, it might have character sheets, player mats, or other significant components with ever-changing text. If you’ve already started making your game, you’ve probably found it can be frustrating to constantly update your cards as your game evolves. There is a better way.