Cloudspire blends MOBA, RTS and tower defense into a component-heavy board game

Chip Theory Games’ Cloudspire is a tabletop game that mixes elements of multiplayer online battle arena, real-time strategy, and tower defense, packed into a large box of neoprene tiles and plastic components. The Ars Cardboard review says the game sends stacks of minions along paths while giving heroes more autonomy, and also lets players purchase upgrades, unlock units, and place defensive towers.

Components include thick poker-chip units and interlocking neoprene map tiles, and a typical playthrough runs about three hours. The review notes a wide range of factions—“warrior birds, the cast of Avatar, Groot’s family tree, and a group of bearded men”—all fighting over a resource on floating islands called Cloudspires.

It also warns that complexity can become overwhelming, especially with three or four players, as dozens of units with tiny stat lines clutter the field and early plays require time to internalize. According to the review, the head-to-head format plays tighter, but the solo mode is the strongest offering: Cloudspire includes 16 solitaire scenarios presented as puzzle-like narrative challenges and eight two-player cooperative missions against a built-in AI.

Key Topics

Culture, Cloudspire, Chip Theory Games, Cloudspires, Moba, Neoprene Tiles