Torque Arena is a tabletop miniatures sports game set in a solarpunk post-collapse world where crews of seekers face each other in the arena to win favor and resources for their respective communities.
Lead your crew.
Harness the torque.
Fell the rival’s totem!
A crew waits in its half of the arena, its seekers kneeling on the packed dirt floor.
Behind them, mechanical noises indicate their totem-pole rising into position and locking to its three linked plates.
KLANG. It is done.
KLANG, echoes the opposing totem in front of them, as the rival crew slowly stands up.
All seekers shuffle into their positions. Two step into the central qwik zone and grab hold of the shaking torque, a mechanical ball wound up to violently twist and scatter.
"TOOORQUE!" loudly proclaims the master of ceremonies, immediately followed by the spectating crowd finally breaking the silence shouting "torque! torque! torque!" in response.
The bout begins.
The current page is about the core gameplay of a single bout.
This other page is about the narrative campaign system tying together a string of individual bouts into a larger and ongoing story with consequences big and small.
¶ Developer
| Stage Persona | Inmate Number | Power | Flavour | Kink | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Alessandro Piroddi alessandro.piroddi@haw-hamburg.de @ UnPlayableGames |
🪷 2413895 | 🎲 Game Design | ☕ Coffee | 🍐 Pears |
¶ Project
| Torque Arena (Core System) | |
|---|---|
| Start | Games Master WiSe 24/25 |
| Why | Master Project |
| Platform | Tabletop |
| Genre | Miniatures / Sports |
| Language | English |
| Play Mode | 1-vs-1 |
| Duration | ~60 minutes |
| Status | Prototype |
| Current Version | 0.16 |
¶ Core Loop
A player performs one action with one of their seekers. The opponent then performs one action with one of their own seekers. This repeats until someone manages to fell the opponent's totem, winning the bout.
¶ Actions & Dice
There are only five possible actions:
- Rush to move
- Push to shove rivals
- Seize to grab the torque
- Mend to recoup energies
- Throw to hurl the torque
They all require a dice test vs an opposed roll (or sometimes a fixed target number) to determine the quality of their execution, with three possible outcomes:
- Loss : you do it poorly or at a cost, or the opponent Wins
- Win : you do it
- Crit : you do it with extra benefits
Some outcomes present tactical choices or effect options, and overall they are designed so that all actions result in a meaningful change of state.
Dice rolls themselves are kept simple but interesting through a number of "bound randomness" techniques. A dice roll happens this way:
- pick an action
- roll 3d6 + modifiers
- each 5 and 6 is a Hit
- compare rolled Hits to the Target to get the outcome
Ties are won by the actor. Modifiers are always to the amount of dice, not the score. 6s "explode" into new dice. The underlying design philosophy favors positive reinforcement over punishment. Resources can be spent to boost dice pools.
These and other elements contribute to a fast paced, swingy and exciting system that rewards proactivity and (mindful) risk-taking over passive and pondered behaviour.
¶ Activations
The alternating flow of the game is kept agile by the bite-sized amount of things a player can do in their turn (one action) but also disrupted and made less predictable by occurrences when Extra actions can be chained together one after the other. At a cost.
¶ Hype
This meta-currency grants immediate resources that affect both the ongoing bout (Edge) and long-term campaign play (if in place). More than that, they lead players towards taking cool and spectacular actions.
¶ Inspirations
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Dreadball Tabletop Game 2012 Mantic > hex-grid arena > athlete roles > dice-pool mechanics |
 |
Guild Ball Tabletop Game 2015 Steamforged > sport as tool of social arbitration > in-arena terrain elements > pole-shaped goal |
 |
Grimdark Future Tabletop Game 2018 One Page Rules > focus on simplicity and ease of access > miniature agnostic mechanics |
 |
Apocalypse World Tabletop RPG 2010 Lumplay > emergent narrative mechanics > player-first fictional mechanics post-apocalyptic setting |
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Salute of the Jugger (The Blood of Heroes) Movie 1989 > sudden death score mechanic > brutal but non-lethal action camaraderie among rivals > post-apocalyptic setting |
¶ Design Goals
The main goals of SPEED, ACCESSIBILITY and EXCITEMENT are achived through the interconnected effects of many key elements:
- Few Models - “skirmish”
- Fell Victory - sudden death
- Quick Turns - activations
- Tactics > Strategy
- Flow > Simulation
- Hex Grid
- Low math
- Bound Randomness
- Exploding Dice
- Hype!
¶ MSCW
| MUST | SHOULD | COULD | WONT |
|---|---|---|---|
| > Rulebook _ complete bout play _ miniature agnostic _ hype system > Cover Art |
> Rulebook Layout > Additional Art > Setting Lore > Narrative Campaign ( parallel project ) |
> STL 3D Models > Terrain Rules > Faction Rules |
> A Shiny Digital Port  |