Every now and then, a game comes along that slaps you round the face, grabs your chubby little cheeks, and screams “you need me!!!”. And if you’re lucky, it turns out as good as Arnak.
2-4 brave adventurers will travel to Arnak, and on your turn you’ll explore the Lost Ruins in several different ways.
The game is billed as a Worker Placement / Deck Builder, but these mechanics are light in their implementation.
You do place workers, but you only have two, and they can get used up pretty quick.
You do build a deck, but it won’t be very big, and you won’t get to use your cards often over the five rounds.
But it doesn’t matter. Arnak’s strength doesn’t lay in either of these two mechanics, but in the way it builds everything together and lets you work out how best to explore.
Explore the island. Discover artifacts. Climb the research track.
I really like how the game escalates, not just round after round, but every turn within those rounds. It becomes about using your two workers, your five cards, and all your Free Actions in the most effective way. Each round is it’s own puzzle of combining everything to maximize results.
The art is beautiful on the cards and board. The whole game looks so good when set up on the table. It appears so busy at first, but it’s all second nature once you’ve played your first game.
The meeples are good, but I spruced them up with help, once more, from @levity.games
Some players may be put off by the smorgasbord of choices spread out before them, and it might slow down the game with overthinkers.
Also, some of the card components, like the board itself, can feel a little cheap.
And being a CGE game, there is no sign of an insert under the lid. Of course, this is easily rectified with a quick visit to @folded_space
Bright, colourful, easy to learn, and offering so many choices, this is a fun game that will hit our table regularly, and only gets better with the recent expansion.
Always Play Blue 