Lost Ruins of Arnak is one of those games that just won’t quit. Another evergreen gem from Czech Games Edition, the same folks who gave us Codenames, a game that belongs in almost every game library.
The players in Lost Ruins of Arnak run competing archeology outfits trying to find the temple of Arnak. You’ll send archeologists to dig sites and do research to earn victory points; the player with the most victory points wins.
Lost Ruins of Arnak combines two very popular game mechanics: deck building and worker placement. You have three different kinds of workers. Your Archeologists are sent to dig sites to acquire the goodies marked at the site. Meanwhile, your Magnifying Glass and Notebook work their way up a research track, earning resources and victory points along the way.
The challenge comes from balancing the three mini-games that make up the full game. Do you spend your resources moving your archeologists to new dig sites, even if it means facing a guardian? Do you focus on moving up the Research Track? Or, instead, do you buy new cards to add to your deck, which give the resources that let you move your Archeologists and research tokens, remove guardians, and buy new cards? Cards are very important at the start of the game, especially since the spot on the game board where you buy cards shrinks every round you play. But later, you’ll want to be as high up on the research track as possible, earning the victory points you need to win the game.
With numerous resources and cards with special abilities, you’ll never be stuck for choice; the challenge is knowing when to focus on which resources. Wait too long to buy cards, and you could find yourself lacking the resources necessary to buy the victory points you need. But the first players to the top of the research track earn extra victory points just for getting there.
You don’t need to worry about replayability; the base game is the Bird Temple, but flip the board over and you can play on the Serpent Temple, changing the rules for greater challenge. And you can add the Missing Expedition expansion as well to expand the game and add new wrinkles to your strategies.
Lost Ruins of Arnak takes about a half-hour per player to play, and you can play with up to four players, or play solo, with the game shifting to accommodate the number of players. Whether you’re a fan of worker placement games like Flamecraft, or deck-builders like Magic: the Gathering, or just want to see what all the buzz is about, talk to the expeditious adventurers at your local Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® about starting your own adventures in the Lost Ruins of Arnak today.
