Lost Ruins of Arnak

2020

Embark on an adventure with Lost Ruins of Arnak. Combine deck-building and worker placement for an exploration quest, packed with strategic decisions and unique game setups.

120
minutes

1 - 4
player(s)

12+

Medium

About the game

‘Lost Ruins of Arnak’ is a captivating board game that combines the thrill of exploration and discovery with strategic decision-making. Set in the uncharted wilderness of an isolated island, players take on the roles of intrepid explorers trying to uncover the secrets of the ancient civilization of Arnak.

In this game, the lush island is more than just a backdrop. It’s a living, breathing world filled with hidden treasures, dangerous wildlife, and the remnants of a civilization long lost to time. The game’s beautifully illustrated board and pieces bring this world to life, immersing players in the mysterious and thrilling world of exploration.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

The board game ‘Lost Ruins of Arnak’ includes a variety of components that contribute to the immersive gameplay experience. Here is a list of the components and a description of their functions:

1. Game Board:

The game board is the main focus of the game. It is a representation of the island of Arnak. Players will move their explorers across the board to different excavation sites and the base camp in order to perform actions.

2. Player Boards:

There are four player boards, one for each player. These boards are used to keep track of each player’s resources, artifacts, and tools as well as their research progress.

3. Deck of Artifact Cards:
and
Deck of Item Cards:

These are two separate decks of cards. Artifact cards represent the ancient artifacts that players can discover and collect during the game. Item cards represent various tools and resources that can aid players in their exploration. Both types of cards can be used for special effects and to gain points.

4. Research Track:

The research track is a component on the game board that represents the academic progress of each player’s research into the lost civilization. Players can advance their research tokens along this track to gain various rewards and victory points.

5. Tokens:

There are several types of tokens in the game, including resource tokens (gold, compasses, tablets, and arrowheads), fear tokens, and idol tokens. Resource tokens are used to perform various actions, fear tokens represent dangers and obstacles that can subtract from a player’s score, and idol tokens can be collected from certain sites for points.

6. Dice:

The game includes a set of dice that are used in certain actions such as fighting off guardians. The results of the dice roll can determine the success or failure of these actions.

7. Explorer Tokens:

Each player has two explorer tokens that they move around the game board. These tokens represent the player’s explorers, who can be sent to various locations to perform actions such as excavating sites or researching the lost civilization.

8. Guardian Tiles:

These tiles represent the guardians of the ancient ruins. When a player excavates a site, they draw a guardian tile and must confront the guardian. If they successfully overcome the guardian, they receive a reward.

9. Assistant Tiles:

These tiles represent assistants that players can hire to help them in their exploration. Assistants can provide various benefits such as extra resources or actions.

10. Notebook Tiles:

These tiles are used in the research aspect of the game. Players can collect notebook tiles to gain extra points and special effects.

11. Temple Tiles:

These tiles represent the ancient temples that players can discover during the game. Discovering a temple can provide a large number of points and powerful effects.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Lost Ruins of Arnak is a strategy board game that combines resource management and deck building. Following below is the step-by-step guide on how to set up and start playing:

Step 1: Board Placement

Place the game board in the center of the playing area. Ensure that all players can reach it comfortably.

Step 2: Artifacts and Items

Separate the artifact cards from the item cards. Shuffle both decks separately and then place them next to the board. Draw the top 5 cards from each deck and place them in the corresponding row on the board.

Step 3: Guardian Tokens

Shuffle the guardian tokens and place them into a face-down pile near the board.

Step 4: Site Tokens

Randomly select site tokens equal to the number of players plus two. Place them face-down on the corresponding site locations on the board.

Step 5: Player Resources

Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding player pieces. This includes 2 archeologists, 1 research token, and 1 magnifying glass token. Players should place their research token and magnifying glass token on the starting spaces of the research track.

Step 6: Player Decks

Each player receives a deck of six basic cards: 2 Fear cards, and 4 Artifact cards. They should shuffle their deck and draw 5 cards to form their starting hand.

Step 7: Starting Resources

Each player receives 3 gold coins and 3 compass tokens as their starting resources. The remaining resources (gold, compasses, tablets, arrowheads, and jewels) form the general supply and should be placed near the board.

Step 8: Idols

Place all the idol tiles in a face-up pile next to the board. Sort them by their back color in separate stacks.

Step 9: Determine Starting Player

Determine the starting player randomly. That player receives the starting player token.

Once all these steps are complete, you are ready to start exploring the Lost Ruins of Arnak!

Game flow Round and round we go

Lost Ruins of Arnak is a thrilling board game that combines resource management, deck-building, and worker placement mechanics. The game is played over a series of five rounds, with each round involving players taking turns until they have no more actions they can or wish to perform.

Game Setup:

Each player receives a research track marker, two archeologists, a starting deck of six artifact cards and four item cards, and a score marker.
Set up the game board in the middle of the table. Place the round marker on the first space of the round track. Then, place the corresponding number of site tiles and idol tiles on the board as indicated by the number of players.
Shuffle the artifact deck and the item deck separately. Draw the top five cards from each deck and place them in a row next to the game board to create the marketplace.

Gameplay Structure:

Each round in Lost Ruins of Arnak is divided into two main phases: the Action Phase and the Cleanup Phase.

Action Phase: During the action phase, players take turns completing one action at a time. There are several actions a player can choose from:

Travel: Play cards from your hand or spend compasses to move your archeologists to excavation sites or discovered temples. Different locations require different travel costs.
Overcome a Guardian: Spend the resources shown on a Guardian card to overcome it. Overcoming a Guardian provides valuable rewards and victory points at the end of the game.
Buy a Card: Spend the amount of coins or compasses indicated to purchase an item or artifact from the marketplace. The purchased card goes into your play area and can be used immediately.
Research: Spend the specified resources to move your research token up the research track. Higher positions on the research track offer powerful bonuses and victory points.

Cleanup Phase: After all players have finished their actions, the cleanup phase begins.

Reset the marketplace: Remove all remaining artifact and item cards in the market, then refill the rows from their respective decks.
Prepare for the new round: Advance the round marker one space forward on the round track, and each player draws five new cards from their deck.

After five rounds, the game ends. Players add up their points from various sources such as temple tiles, idols, Guardians, research track, and cards in their deck. The player with the highest score wins.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Lost Ruins of Arnak’ is a thrilling blend of worker placement and deck-building which ends after a predetermined number of rounds. Specifically, the game concludes after the fifth round.

Victory Conditions:

The ultimate goal of the game is to gain the most victory points. These points can be earned in several ways:

Exploring new sites: Players earn victory points by reaching unexplored sites on the board. The points are immediately added to their score.
Defeating Guardians: When a player explores a new site, they encounter a Guardian. Defeating these Guardians using the required resources earns the players additional victory points.
Researching: Moving up on the research track can earn players a significant amount of points.
Collecting Artifacts and Items: Purchasing artifacts and items can also earn points. Artifacts provide immediate points, while items contribute to the end game score.

Actions before Final Scoring:

Before the final scoring, players must ensure they have completed certain actions:

Return Explorers: All players must ensure that their explorers have returned from the sites or have been used to ward off Guardians.
Exhaust Cards: Players must make sure they have used or discarded all the cards in their hands.
Check Research Track: Players need to verify their final position on the research track. This is especially important as reaching higher positions on the track can earn bonus points during final scoring.

Once these actions are completed, players proceed to the final scoring. Points are then added up from exploring sites, defeating Guardians, purchasing artifacts and items, and advancing on the research track. The player with the highest total score is declared the winner.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In the board game ‘Lost Ruins of Arnak’, players accumulate points through various actions and strategies throughout the gameplay. The scoring system is comprehensive, covering a wide range of possible tactics and rewarding players for their careful planning and execution.

Scoring Points during Gameplay:

Points can be earned in several ways during the game:

Discovering New Sites: When a player discovers a new site, they immediately gain the number of points indicated on the site tile.
Overcoming Guardians: If a player successfully overcomes a Guardian, they are awarded the number of points shown on the Guardian tile.
Researching: Points are also awarded for advancement on the Research Track. The exact number of points depends on the player’s position on the track.

End-of-Game Scoring:

At the end of the game, additional points are calculated as follows:

Idle Workers: Each of a player’s leftover workers (those not placed on an action space) is worth 1 point.
Tablets and Arrowheads: Unused tablets and arrowheads in a player’s inventory are worth 1 and 2 points, respectively.
Research Track: Each player scores additional points depending on their position on the research track, as indicated on the board.
Guardians: Each Guardian a player has overcome is worth 5 points.
Temple Tiles: Each temple tile a player has collected is worth points according to the value printed on the tile.

Tie-Breaking Rules:

In case of a tie, the victory goes to the player who is furthest along the research track. If there is still a tie, the player who has the most total resources (tablets, arrowheads, jewels, and gold) wins. If there is still a tie after this, the player who has the most compasses wins. If a tie persists even after these tie-breaking rules, the victory is shared.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Lost Ruins of Arnak is a deck-building and worker placement game which combines traditional mechanisms with innovative ones. While the game’s rules are generally straightforward, there are a few special rules and exceptions that players should be aware of:

1. Fear Cards:

Starting Deck: Every player begins the game with two Fear cards in their starting deck. These cards are worth -1 point each at the end of the game.
Removing Fear Cards: Players can remove Fear cards from their deck through certain actions, such as using a Compass to explore a Site or defeating a Guardian.

2. Guardian Rules:

Defeating Guardians: Players can defeat Guardians by paying the depicted cost on the Guardian tile. Defeating a Guardian gives the player a reward and removes the Guardian from the game.
End of Round: If a player has not defeated a Guardian by the end of the round, they receive a Fear card.

3. Travel Costs:

Varying Costs: The travel costs to reach different Sites vary. Some Sites require specific resources, while others can be reached with any resource.
Travel Icons: Players must match the Travel Icons on their cards with the icons on the Site they wish to explore.

4. Free Actions:

Timing: Free actions can be taken at any time during a player’s turn, even in the middle of another action.
Limitations: There is no limit to the number of free actions a player can take on their turn. However, each free action can only be taken once per turn.

5. End of the Game:

Scoring: At the end of the game, players calculate their scores based on the points they’ve earned from different sources, such as Artifacts, Tools, and Guardians. Fear cards deduct points from the player’s total score.
Tie-Breaker: In the event of a tie, the player with the most leftover resources wins. If there is still a tie, the player who went first during the game loses.

Understanding these specific rules and exceptions can greatly enhance your enjoyment and strategic play in Lost Ruins of Arnak.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

The board game ‘Lost Ruins of Arnak’ combines deck-building and worker placement in a game of exploration, resource management, and discovery. Below, you’ll find some advanced strategies, beginner tips, common mistakes to avoid, and ways to optimize your gameplay.

Advanced Strategies:

Resource Allocation: Efficiently manage your resources. You can’t save resources for the next round, so make sure you spend them wisely within your current turn.
Advanced Exploration: Aim to explore higher level sites early. The rewards are greater and can give you a significant advantage.
Card Synergy: Try to build synergies with your cards. Some cards work well together and can create powerful combos.

Beginner Tips:

Start Small: For beginners, it’s best to start with lower level sites. This allows you to build up your resources and understanding of the game before tackling the more challenging aspects.
Learn the Icons: Make sure to familiarize yourself with the various icons in the game. Understanding what each icon represents will speed up your gameplay and reduce confusion.
Use Fear Cards: Don’t be afraid of Fear cards. They may seem negative, but they can be useful for their free boots.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring Assistants: Many players overlook the power of assistants. They provide valuable bonuses and can be a game-changer if used effectively.
Underestimating Fear Cards: Some players underestimate the impact of Fear cards. While they do take up space in your deck, they can also be a source of points at the end of the game.
Not Planning Ahead: Not planning your moves in advance can lead to inefficiencies in your gameplay. Try to strategize your moves to maximize your actions each turn.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Deck Management: Proper deck management is crucial. Try to remove unnecessary cards and focus on building a lean, efficient deck.
Balance Exploration and Research: Striking a balance between exploration and research is key to winning. A good mix of both strategies will ensure you have a well-rounded game.
Utilize Free Actions: Don’t forget to make use of free actions. They can provide a boost to your turn without costing any resources.