Play as one of four factions that seek to control Anima Mundi, the Worldsoul: The Elementals, guardians of this sacred source of magic; the Celestial Accord, foreign invaders who destroyed their own world’s Anima Mundi; the Humans, who desperately need it to defend themselves; and the Alloyed, a new race of golems who depend upon the Anima Mundi for life. Send out heroes (and their armies) to gather and control resources on the board, battle other heroes, and siege kingdoms. Use the resources you gather to build up your kingdom and your armies. Win by defeating the heroes of the other factions or toppling their kingdom. Gameplay consists of a series of rounds, each of which is divided into three phases. In the first two phases, players upkeep and upgrade their kingdom during simultaneous play by exchanging resources for upgrade cards and purchasing units. In the third phase, players take turns controlling their heroes as they venture across the hex-grid board to take control of resources, battle other heroes, attack kingdoms, or return to their own kingdom for shelter or to resupply. Battles determined by binary dice, unique unit abilities for each faction, powerful artefact cards, and a fully modular board all combine to create a game that necessitates thoughtful and adaptive strategy, with a high level of re-playability. -description from designer