2024Jason Goike, J. Scott Rumptz
- Videos
- 1
- Creators
- 1
2 - 4 players60 - 120 min

2023Jason Goike, J. Scott Rumptz
Mainly reviews and unboxings. NEXUS: Arena Combat System is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 9 reviews, 2 how-to-play guides, 4 recorded sessions, 5 unboxings, and 13 other videos.
From BoardGameGeek
NEXUS: Arena Combat System is a brutal and irreverent story-driven arena combat game that takes place on poorly maintained space barges. Packed with rabid and bloodthirsty fans, these barges feature an array of deadly hazards that are designed to indiscriminately kill or injure both combatants. These hazards range from floor saws that tear across the arena floors to pits that are home to monstrosities just looking for something to eat. Full of beautifully illustrated and amusingly inappropriate cards and lore, each match leaves you with a story to tell and laughs to be had by all. NEXUS puts classic tabletop gaming tools like dice, pen, and paper to good use; to pit genetically engineered champions against one another in visceral combat. Players will experience a rush as their dice rolls determine the fate of their hapless champions. The skirmish mode, while easily picked up by even the most novice of players, has just the right amount of depth, complexity, and self-generating narrative to make each match exhilarating. Dive even deeper with RPG legacy features and build your wealth and influence allowing for countless upgrades and bribes. -description from the designer
NEXUS: Arena Combat System has 33 videos from 14 creators: 9 reviews, 2 how-to-play guides, 4 playthroughs, 5 unboxings and 13 other videos. They date from 2018 to April 2025.
To learn the rules, start with "How to Play - NEXUS" by Geek & Sundry, which runs 8 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Nexus First Look by Man Vs Meeple (D-Verse Publishing)" by Man vs Meeple. 6 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "NEXUS: Arena Combat System - Brutal Combat in a Mad Max Gladiator Showdown! | 4 Player Gameplay" by Quackalope, one of 4 playthroughs.
If you like it, try NEXUS: Legacy Edition Rulebook and NEXUS: Unsanctioned Expansion, also by Jason Goike, or Harakiri: Blades of Honor and Mythic Mischief, which share several of its mechanics. It appears in convention videos from Gen Con 2018.
8 of 14
2024Jason Goike, J. Scott Rumptz
2 - 4 players60 - 120 min
2025Jason Goike, J. Scott Rumptz
2 - 4 players60 - 120 min
2024Fernando Gamero, Joel Torres
1 - 4 players60 - 150 minHeavy weight
2022Max Anderson, Zac Dixon, Austin Harrison
1 - 4 players45 - 90 minMedium weight
From BoardGameGeek:
NEXUS: Arena Combat System is a brutal and irreverent story-driven arena combat game that takes place on poorly maintained space barges. Packed with rabid and bloodthirsty fans, these barges feature an array of deadly hazards that are designed to indiscriminately kill or injure both combatants. These hazards range from floor saws that tear across the arena floors to pits that are home to monstrosities just looking for something to eat. Full of beautifully illustrated and amusingly inappropriate cards and lore, each match leaves you with a story to tell and laughs to be had by all. NEXUS puts classic tabletop gaming tools like dice, pen, and paper to good use; to pit genetically engineered champions against one another in visceral combat. Players will experience a rush as their dice rolls determine the fate of their hapless champions. The skirmish mode, while easily picked up by even the most novice of players, has just the right amount of depth, complexity, and self-generating narrative to make each match exhilarating. Dive even deeper with RPG legacy features and build your wealth and influence allowing for countless upgrades and bribes. -description from the designer
Designers
Jason Goike, J. Scott Rumptz
Artists
Helge C. Balzer, Danny Cruz, Dongjun Lu, Chenthooran Nambiarooran, Stephen Oakley, Michael Rechlin, Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe, Pedro Sena
Publisher
D-Verse Publishing, LLC
Categories
Mechanics