Ares Games partners with Tablescope to distribute Light Speed: Arena, the first photo-based tabletop shooter

Check out the latest press release from Ares Games:

In a universe where space battles are a celebrated sport, command a fleet of ships and prepare to let lasers fly: dazzle sponsors, collect valuable asteroid minerals, and blast your foes into space dust. Light Speed: Arena is an original tabletop shooter where players aim lasers in real time and snap a single picture to let the app unfold the battle. Launching on Kickstarter on May 7th by Tablescope, the game is the first to use its advanced computer vision technology through a companion app, transforming the way the outcomes are determined and visualized. Ares Games is partnering with Tablescope to distribute the game and for the development of companion apps for its own games, starting with Wings of Glory.

Tablescope develops cutting-edge computer vision technology to empower tabletop game designers and publishers. With a commitment to reliability and innovation, the company aims to push the boundaries of game design and create memorable tabletop experiences through self-published games and collaborations with other publishers.

The company is based in Austria but the two founders are Italian: Leonardo Alese, PhD in mathematics and organizer of the coolest game nights in Graz, and Emanuele Santellani, PhD student in computer vision and maker from the age of 2.

Light Speed: Arena reimplements the lightning-fast card game of space combat, designed by James Ernest and Tom Jolly, published in 2003, now integrated with this new computer vision tech. In the game, players choose one of four fleets with unique special abilities to command, trying to outwit and outmaneuver the opponents in an exhilarating real-time space battle of fast aiming and quick thinking.

Battles are more than just blasting foes into stardust, as the glowing asteroid billboards of the match sponsors set ever-changing rules for the battle and require players to adapt and refine their tactics continually. Tablescope technology streamlines the game experience, with a companion app to unfold the battle: as the game reaches its climax, players take a smartphone photo of the battlefield, which the app analyzes to determine, visualize, and comment on the game’s outcome.

The game will launch on Kickstarter on May 7th – visit the pre-launch page and sign up to be notified when the campaign goes live. The game is planned to release in 2025, and Ares Games will be the distributor of its English edition worldwide.

The partnership of Ares Games and Tablescope goes further, with plans for the development of digital companion apps to support games published by Ares, based on the innovative computer vision software for a smoother experience at the table. The first project is an app for Wings of Glory aerial miniature combat game, where the plane’s movements and battles should be handled through a picture of the plane and the maneuver cards. Tablescope has already started the first experimentations with the game, which represents a challenge for the use of 3D models.

For more information about Light Speed: Arena, watch the Rules Overview video and visit the game’s website. Subscribe to be notified when the campaign goes live at www.kickstarter.com/projects/tablescope/light-speed-arena.

ABOUT ARES GAMES

Ares Games is a board game publisher with offices in USA and Italy, established in 2011 to create quality hobby products for the international audience. Ares Games is the publisher of the award-winning “War of the Ring” board game, of the “Wings of Glory” range of airplane combat games and miniatures, the award-winning tactical ship-to-ship miniature game “Sails of Glory”, and the cooperative tactical dungeon crawler “Sword and Sorcery”. Its catalog also includes family games and euro games. Ares Games is also master distributor in the USA and other non-European countries of games published by some of the best European board game and role-playing game publishers. For further information, visit our website and social media – linktr.ee/aresgames.

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