Clank! Try not to draw too much attention

There is a fundamental, instinctual need in humans to generate noise. My wife is a registered childminder and one of the first things you will see any baby do, long before they have even considered walking, is pick up the nearest stick-shaped object, hit said object against the nearest available surface and generate noise. When playing games around a table, people waiting their turns will drum fingers, tap legs, chat to others awaiting their chance to progress the board. 

This basic premise drives the gameplay in Clank!, Paul Dennen’s modern classic published by Renegade Game Studios and Dire Wolf. Clank! blends several gaming genres, the deck building of Dominion and Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle, the dungeon exploring of HeroQuest and Descent and the push-your-luck elements of Quacks of Quedlinberg and King of Tokyo, all dusts it with a sugar-coated topping of humour to create an experience that is simultaneously fun, accessible and, occasionally, just a little bit crunchy.

Creeping around a dungeon watched over by a dangerous and powerful dragon, players delve deep in an attempt to find and extract the best treasure and escape with it, all the time trying not to draw too much attention to themselves in the process.  

Components

Clank! is a production that oozes quality. The double-sided game board is colourful, vibrant and pops with detail and intrigue. The wooden meeples are simple but delightful, small chunky representations of the potential thieves looking to explore the corners of this menacing dungeon. The dragon meeple itself towers over the players' wooden avatars, black and ominous.

Each player is given a number of wooden cubes which they use to represent the noise they generate as they traverse the landscape. My only slight issue here is that there are no spares included - even one per player would hedge against the potential for any going missing. The bag that cubes are added to is made from felt and embroidered with the silhouette of the dungeon’s dragon, a nice touch.

Cards are of a very good quality, with delightful art and inside references in both the images and quotes for those who are used to exploring fantasy environments, perhaps in other board games or when role-playing. Tokens are punched from thick cardboard, solidly made and well-printed. Instructions are concise and clear with gameplay examples where appropriate but there are also many rules tutorials available on Youtube. It even includes a well designed insert, one many other publishers could do with looking closely at and imitating.

Gameplay

Clank! starts each player with an identical 10 card deck containing cards that will cause them to generate noise, movement, swords used to kill enemies and skill points to spend on new cards which are available from a shared marketplace. Using this deck and refining it as the game continues, players must track down one of several artefacts dotted around the dungeon and return it to the safety to the entrance way where they started. The value of the artefact and how many victory points it grants at the end of the game is dictated by how hard it is to reach and therefore return to safety.

Each map in Clank! (there are two in the base game - one for each side of the game board but expansions add others), has a line across the board. If players generate enough noise and draw the dragon’s ire while exploring below this line, they die and score zero points. Should they be making the last surge for home carrying their precious cargo but die above this danger line, they will score a number of points but miss out on the extra available for extracting their artefact all the way to the safety of the dungeon entrance.

This mechanic lends a wonderful tension to Clank! with players constantly evaluating how safe they are, how greedy they want to be and how likely they will be to draw the exact combination of cards needed to get out of their current predicament. And the game moves with a lovely state of flow. Players draw their new five card hand as soon as their turn is over so can be planning their next turn during others’, keeping downtime to a minimum. Clank! is a game designed to be breezy and funny with just enough bite to keep everyone on their toes.

Conclusion

Clank! Has been a perennial member of the Board Game Geek Top 100 since it was first released in 2016. It has generated a sequel in Clank! In Space! and even a (stupendous) campaign variant in Clank! Legacy! All of this is because Clank! is a superb package - the rules are tight, quick to explain and intuitive.

The game itself is tactile and light, tongue firmly in cheek throughout. Clank! is a game that knows what it is and understands its position in the board gaming oeuvre. 

Would I recommend Clank! to someone completely new to the hobby? Maybe…

It is not a complicated game but I think someone approaching it with Monopoly or Cluedo as their frame of reference might be slightly intimidated. But for someone who has perhaps dipped their toes into the Catans and Carcassonnes of this world, Clank! is the perfect next logical step.

As a value for money proposition, one that will be brought out to the table time and time again for almost any level of experience, Clank! represents a must have in any board gaming collection.