Family game with companion app, Light Speed Arena, released at SPIEL Essen by Pegasus Spiele
Friedberg, November 11, 2025: The fast-paced space family game Light Speed Arena was launched by Pegasus Spiele at SPIEL Essen 2025. Players engage in an intergalactic laser battle where they have only seconds to position their spaceships on the table while trying to destroy as many enemies and asteroids as possible without being blown up themselves. At the end of the battle, the free companion app will analyse and animate the results while simultaneously calculating the final score.
In Light Speed Arena, one to four players aged eight and up compete against each other in a chaotic space battle, trying to score as many points as possible by shooting laser blasts at their opponents. A game lasts five to ten minutes and begins with the arena—the playing area—being marked with cardboard tokens, followed by two random asteroids placed in the centre of the arena. All players receive a stack of spaceship tiles in their colour and shuffle their own stack into a face down pile. Once everyone is ready, tap the “Play” button on the companion app to begin.
The companion app guides players through a series of timed windows of activity where players simultaneously act. At the start of each 10-second timer, all players draw and reveal the topmost spaceship in their stack, then quickly position it in the arena trying to direct its laser blasts to cause as much damage as possible to enemy ships and asteroids. After the final 10-second timer, once the last spaceships remaining in the players’ stacks have been placed, the scoring phase begins. A picture of the arena is taken with the camera of the smartphone or tablet.
Thanks to the scan & play mechanism, the app quickly evaluates the exact positions of weapons, shields, and line of sight. The app automatically accounts for the initiative value of ships which determines who fires first, as well as the colour of the laser beams which represents each weapon’s strength. After considering all the hits, misses, blocked shots, and destroyed game elements, the app calculates a final score. While hits score points, points are lost when a player’s own spaceships or base are destroyed. For an immersive experience, players can watch an animated version of the battle as it unfolds in the app or jump straight to the result. The player with the most points, wins.
Light Speed Arena transforms any gaming table into a space arena and teleports players into the middle of an exciting space battle. The sound effects and humorous comments accompanying the interstellar carnage create an atmospheric gaming experience. Laser blasts of different power, protective shields, and batteries indicating the robustness of the ships require not only a quick eye but also tactical calculation to win the game. Several game variants with new rules for advanced players offer variety and increased challenges for experienced gaming groups. New asteroids with special rules are introduced, and factions receive unique powers. Light Speed Arena can also be played in team mode or solo mode.
Light Speed Arena, designed by James Ernest, Tim Jolly, Leonardo Alese, and Emanuele Santellani, featuring illustrations by Marco Salogni, is now available in game stores. The companion app requires an internet connection and is available for free in the Android and iOS app stores.
