Arkade-Finale Manual

Arkade-Finale: The Ultimate Transdimensional Trial

Introduction

There exists a realm suspended between mortal life and the exalted Astral Realm—a limbo where the souls of heroic warriors gather after death. They have fought bravely in their material lives, earning the right to stand at this threshold. Before ascending to the Astral Realm as supreme cosmic beings, these souls must prove their worth one final time by facing an unprecedented challenge: Arkade-Finale.

In this limbo, each warrior’s essence is represented by a miniature or token placed on a large, gridded board. At the center stands a circular Portal, about 25 cm in diameter, and directly above it hovers the Black Sun, a projector of cosmic origin aimed at the ceiling. Scattered across the board are ten small LED lights (each about 10 mm in diameter), glowing like fragments of astral energy. These LEDs, the Portal, and the Black Sun form the mystical apparatus that allows souls to transcend their ghostly state, enter digitized arenas within the projector’s beam, and settle their differences in epic arcade duels.

Arkade-Finale is a game of spiritual ascendancy, tactical positioning, and gaming prowess. Only by mastering these three realms—physical movement on the board, the strategic acquisition of LEDs, and skillful competition under the Black Sun—can a warrior’s soul claim ultimate glory. The stakes are immense: victories translate into capturing opponent miniatures, and at the end of all battles, the player who has conquered the most souls claims every figure on the board, securing their legacy and ascending to the Astral Realm as a cosmic architect.

Core Concepts

  1. The Board (Limbo Plane):
    A flat surface marked with a grid of squares or hexes. It represents the limbo where souls drift after heroic deaths. At the start, all miniatures are “phantoms”: intangible, unable to interact with anything.

  2. The Portal (25 cm Diameter):
    Placed at the center of the board, the Portal is a gateway bridging the physical limbo and the digital battlefield. Its presence anchors the dimension, and from here the Black Sun projects upward.

  3. The Black Sun (Projector):
    Mounted above the Portal, aiming at the ceiling, the Black Sun device displays thousands of arcade games. This is where actual combat unfolds. No duel is resolved physically on the board. Instead, when two souls engage, they are pulled into these games, competing by playing them while looking upwards, adding a challenging twist to their skill test.

  4. LED Lights (10 total):
    Ten small LED tokens are distributed randomly across the board at the start. These LEDs are the keys to materialization. Without them, souls remain ghostly and cannot initiate combat. With one LED, a soul becomes tangible, can confront opponents, and gain access to the Black Sun duels.

  5. Miniatures (Representing Souls):
    Each player controls one or more miniatures—initially intangible souls. These figures start unpainted, symbolizing their undefined destiny. By the game’s end, those who achieve greatness may claim and customize these figures for future ventures in other game systems, symbolizing their ascension and identity.

State of the Souls

  • Phantom State (No LED):
    Without an LED, your miniature exists only as a spectral form on the board. You cannot pick up objects (other than LEDs), cannot force combat, and have no material presence. You can move, but you pose no threat.

  • Materialized State (With LED):
    The moment you pick up an LED, your miniature “materializes.” Now you can initiate combat by challenging others. You see all miniatures, whether they are phantoms or materialized. To them, you become a hunter, able to drag them into a duel in the Black Sun.

Movement and Reaching Objectives

  1. Turn Structure:
    Players take turns in sequence. On your turn, roll one six-sided die (1D6).

  2. Movement by Die Result:
    The number rolled is the maximum distance (in squares or hexes) you may move or the maximum range you may interact within this turn. For example:

    • If you roll a 4 and an LED is 3 squares away, you can reach and pick it up this turn.
    • If your opponent’s miniature is 5 squares away and you roll a 6, you may move onto its space, initiating combat if you have an LED.

  3. Collecting an LED:
    When you land on a square containing an LED, you immediately pick it up. Your state changes from phantom to materialized. With an LED in your possession, you now hold the power to challenge others. Each LED can only be used once to initiate a single combat.

  4. Reaching Opponents:
    To challenge an opponent, you must be able to reach their square. If you have an LED and your die result is equal to or greater than the distance to their position, you can move there this turn and declare combat.

Initiating Combat in the Black Sun

  1. Declaring the Challenge:
    If you are materialized (have at least one LED not yet used to start a fight) and you end your movement on a square occupied by another miniature (phantom or materialized), you may initiate combat. This “spends” your LED, opening the gateway to the Black Sun.

  2. No Physical Combat on the Board:
    There are no dice-based combat rolls or physical exchanges on the limbo board itself. The board is a staging area, a place to position and maneuver. The actual battle occurs within the Black Sun projector’s beam on the ceiling.

  3. Entering the Black Sun:
    Once combat is declared, both involved miniatures are pulled into the Black Sun. The LED used to initiate this duel is consumed and cannot be reused. Now both players turn their attention upward, preparing to play one of thousands of available arcade-style games projected on the ceiling.

  4. Choosing the Game:
    The challenger (the one who used the LED to initiate combat) selects the video game. With over 30,000 choices, they can pick a genre they excel at—platformers, fighters, shoot ’em ups, puzzlers, racing, or any style that fits the narrative or their strengths.

    The idea is to choose a game that best suits your skill or thematically matches the warriors’ styles. The uncomfortable posture of looking up at the ceiling heightens the difficulty, ensuring both players’ gaming abilities are truly tested.

Resolving the Digital Duel

  1. Playing the Arcade Game:
    Both players compete in the chosen game. The victory condition depends on the genre:

    • Versus Fighting Game: The winner is the last one standing.
    • Score-Based Challenge: Highest score after a set time or level wins.
    • Racing or Platform Contest: First to finish or get further along succeeds.

    Any format that can produce a clear winner is acceptable. The goal is to outperform the opponent under these challenging conditions.

  2. Outcome of the Duel:
    The victor claims the loser’s miniature. This symbolizes absorbing the defeated soul’s essence. Capturing a miniature is not just a trophy—it’s a step toward cosmic supremacy.

  3. Post-Duel Effects:
    After the duel, both miniatures leave the board:

    • The winner departs with their newly acquired enemy miniature (now their property), stepping away from the limbo scenario.
    • The loser’s journey in this game ends. Their soul is considered removed from the realm, returning to mortal reincarnation without memory.

    Each completed duel reduces the total number of active players by two miniatures: the victorious one (who leaves the board with the prize) and the defeated (who is removed entirely).

The Portal, The LEDs, and The Black Sun: Integration

  • The Portal’s Role:
    The Portal is the central nexus over which the Black Sun projector hovers. It’s a symbolic centerpiece that stabilizes the limbo’s reality. Although combats do not require stepping onto the Portal itself (you can initiate combat anywhere you catch an opponent), the Portal stands as a focal point of the battlefield—an anchor for this cosmic ritual.

  • Random Distribution of LEDs:
    The 10 LEDs are placed randomly at the start, forcing players to move strategically around the board. To gain an LED is to gain material form and thus the power of initiation. Without LEDs, you remain a phantom, vulnerable and unable to defend yourself if confronted by a materialized foe.

  • The Black Sun Projector and Ceiling Gameplay:
    The physical challenge of playing while looking at the projected game on the ceiling is a defining characteristic of Arkade-Finale. It represents the unnatural and transcendent challenge faced by these souls: a test not just of strategy, but of actual player skill, physical discomfort, and adaptability. Victory here is not trivial—it’s the ultimate proof of a warrior’s worth.

Duration and Victory Conditions

  1. Limited Combats (10 LEDs, 10 Duels):
    Only 10 LEDs exist, thus a maximum of 10 combats may occur. Each LED triggers one battle. Once all LEDs are used or no more challenges can be initiated, the session ends.

  2. Capturing Miniatures:
    Every victory grants the winner one more miniature to their personal tally. Even though the victors leave the board after winning, their accrued miniatures (trophies) remain counted as their personal score.

  3. Determining the Ultimate Winner:
    After all possible duels are done, each player counts how many miniatures they have captured. The one with the highest number of captures is crowned the final champion of Arkade-Finale.

  4. Final Prize:
    The ultimate winner does not just claim their own earned trophies—they receive all miniatures from every player. This ultimate reward represents absolute dominance, granting the champion a legacy of souls under their command. In the game’s narrative, this player’s soul ascends to the Astral Realm, becoming a supreme cosmic entity. In practical terms, they now own all the miniatures and may paint and use them in other related games (such as Role-Finale or Crush-Finale), symbolizing their ascended status.

Narrative Cohesion

In the grand story of Arkade-Finale, warriors who once fought and died honorably are given a final test. Without LEDs, they are mere phantoms—hopes and dreams without substance. With LEDs, they achieve corporeal form, wrest control of the battlefield, and drag opponents into the Black Sun to settle scores via arcade challenges. This blend of spiritual metaphor, board tactics, and vintage gaming is no mere pastime; it’s a cosmic rite of passage.

Defeating an opponent in the Black Sun is akin to absorbing their essence. Capturing miniatures is not just a game mechanic; it’s the heart of your ascension. With every soul claimed, you move closer to godhood. The ultimate victor, crowned by having the largest tally of conquered figures, claims all miniatures, rewriting destiny and forging a new pantheon of their own design.

Conclusion

Arkade-Finale marries the physical and the digital, the strategic and the skill-based, the narrative and the mechanical. It challenges players to navigate a spiritual limbo, scramble for keys to power (LEDs), initiate surreal combats in a digital cosmos projected onto the ceiling, and ultimately lay claim to every soul present.

This is not simply about winning a single duel. It’s about the journey from ghostly shadow to omnipotent astral being. It’s about capturing the essence of others, building a legacy, and proving yourself worthy of cosmic rulership. Are you prepared to step onto the board, claim an LED, and face your rivals in the most unusual of battlegrounds? The Black Sun awaits overhead, and your destiny calls from the infinite arcade worlds it projects.