I have been following the Trials of MAYA previews for a few weeks now, and the thing I keep coming back to is the asymmetric board game design. Nine champions ship in the box at launch, and from everything the spotlights show, no two of them want to be played the same way. I have bounced off plenty of games where “asymmetry” really just means a slightly different starting resource, so a roster built to feel genuinely distinct is exactly what caught my eye. I should say up front that I have not played the final game. These are previews of a prototype. Still, the champion spotlights are doing a lot to win me over.
Designing asymmetric board games one champion at a time
Watch the champion previews back to back and you see how much care went into designing asymmetric board games where each pick has its own logic. Take Kshar. In the Legendary Tactics champion spotlight, the narrator calls her “the slipperiest and most complex of all the starter champions in the Trials of Maya,” a relics-and-poison specialist for players who want a puzzle. As the spotlight puts it, “if you’re up for the challenge, she may just be the champion for you here in the Trials of Maya.” Now put Prabhakar next to her. In his Prabhakar preview, Legendary Tactics frames him as a territorial controller: “the arena moves with Prabhakar’s rhythm.” He can force units around the map wherever he pleases and gains extra buffs while timing his actions inside his colony. One is a slippery assassin, the other bends the board to his will. That contrast is the whole point of good champion design in board games.
What is Trials of MAYA?
Trials of MAYA is an expandable card-driven arena combat game. It combines three genres: MOBAs, classic 90s tactics games, and TCGs without booster packs. It plays 1 to 4 players in 60 to 180 minutes for ages 14 and up. Siege runs as 2v2, The Battle for Dhaara, and 1v1, Skirmish for Vyati. It launches on Gamefound September 8, 2026.
Why the asymmetric board game design holds up in play
The spotlights are scripted pitches, so I wanted to hear from people who had actually sat down with it. That is where the reactions from Chesborn and the Fellowship of Games hosts helped. Three Euro-leaning players, well outside their usual comfort zone, came away impressed. “I really enjoyed it. It’s well-designed,” one host says, and on the champions specifically: “They were also asymmetrical. So, wow, how do you even design that? That’s incredible to me.” That is the reaction I trust, coming from people who normally reach for worker placement rather than arena combat. Asymmetric game design is hard to balance, and hearing seasoned players call it incredible rather than lopsided tells me the pool holds together. Each champion is built from a fixed pool through deck construction, so the differences come from design rather than random pulls. If you like the idea of nine characters that each demand their own plan, the Trials of MAYA campaign is live on Gamefound now, and you can try it on Tabletop Simulator before you back.
Rulebooks and public metadata are on BoardGameGeek, the full breakdown is on the official page, and the campaign is live on Gamefound now.