Lost Ruins of Arnak

Every generation has its own special cultural touchstones - those stories or media that everyone of a certain age knows and can quote in a heartbeat. For those close to my age, we idolise The A-Team, The Smiths and a certain American college professor by the name of Indiana Jones. 

Trying to capture the essence of what made Indiana Jones so special has long been the goal of creators everywhere (even those making Indiana Jones movies - I’m looking at you Crystal Skull). Board gaming is no different and the latest one to take on the challenge is Lost Ruins of Arnak designed by Elwen and Mín, and published by Czech Games Edition. 

Lost Ruins of Arnak has players explore an island deep in the middle of uncharted seas in an attempt to discover the roots of a great, lost civilisation. Combining worker placement and deck-building mechanics, each player races to discover artefacts, defeat powerful guardians and learn the island’s secrets once and for all. 

Components

The instant feeling from setting Lost Ruins of Arnak up on the table for the first time is that this has been a labour of love for CGE. This is a truly beautiful production - cards are of an excellent quality, markers are made with incredibly thick card stock and tokens feel as if they came from a deluxe version of the game. The gems, tablets and arrowheads that make up much of the game’s alternative economy look incredible on the table and even the meeples have a Harrison Ford-esque swagger about them. 

All of this leads to something that feels suitably epic when sprawled out over a table. This is a game that demands a lot of tabletop space - there’s a main board along with a secondary board as well as large individual mats for each player - with a not insignificant setup and teardown time but it feels entirely earned. Compared to many other board games, Lost Ruins of Arnak truly evokes the blockbuster movies it tries so hard to imitate. 

The instruction manual is detailed but intuitive, colourful and inviting. This is not a complicated teach, however the game looks whilst laid out on the table, with clear and concise rules and iconography.

Gameplay

As mentioned earlier, Lost Ruins of Arnak combines deck-building and worker placement  mechanics offering players a choice of many actions at any given moment. These include exploring a new area, returning to a familiar location for resources, conducting research on the island or purchasing new tools. One of the most impressive aspects of Lost Ruins of Arnak is it presents quite a linear narrative - exploring an uncharted island - and yet gives players complete control in how they achieve this. 

After several games, I have seen players win while choosing to completely eschew exploration, instead focusing on research. Others have achieved victory simply by following players and killing the guardians protecting newly discovered regions. Players have complete agency in how they approach the game within the bounds of a ruleset that offers scope without being too intimidating, walking that tight line of being welcoming to those new to the hobby whilst also providing the crunch more seasoned gamers might desire.

And Lost Ruins of Arnak achieves this with a marvellous sense of momentum. The first couple of rounds slowly introduce the players to the island and they will wonder how it is remotely possible that they will have the resources necessary to explore the lost temple at the top of the research track. But the game accelerates organically to a point in the final round where they will feel like they have genuinely achieved something, honing deck engines to precision. It’s a wonderful feeling that mirrors that of an explorer cautiously exploring an island initially until they have mapped and researched, complete confidence in the lands beneath their feet. 

It’s also worth pointing out here that Lost Ruins of Arnak has a superbly realised solo mode with granular difficulty which feels fully fleshed out as opposed to simply tacked on. There is even a solo campaign accessible for free via the CGE website.

Conclusion

We all go to different games for different reasons at different times. Sometimes, we crave the familiarity of a Ticket to Ride or a Catan. On occasion, we seek something quick to fill in a gap - a Love Letter perhaps. Perhaps we seek an experience more akin to an RPG, something deep played over multiple sessions - Gloomhaven or Pandemic: Legacy.

But sometimes, we just want to set something up on the table that looks and feels epic. Something that feels blockbuster. Something evocative that takes us back to a place we remember as a kid from a cinema screen somewhere. When you need that special moment, Lost Ruins of Arnak is there for you. The hype is real and it is earned - this is simply one of the best and most important board games in years.