Board Game Lost Ruins of Arnak - Twisted Paths

Arnak Island is once again calling explorers to set out. But this time the route will not lie along familiar paths, but through new, winding paths hidden in impassable bushes and stone gorges. In places that even experienced guides previously marked as dense thickets, routes are gradually opening up that lead to darker and more dangerous corners of the island. However, where there are new finds, expect unprecedented threats - such is the life of an adventurer.

This is a large-scale addition to the adventure strategy "Lost Ruins of Arnak" for building a deck and placing workers, which will lead you to new item and artifact cards and a double-sided field with two temples, offering a completely different pace of games and unique game mechanics. The exploration tracks of this field are designed for playing with leaders from the expansions «Expedition Leaders» and «The Missing Expedition». However, it is possible to play without these leaders and even experiment by adding additional tracks.

How to play

The expansion replaces the base game`s playing field with a new one containing 2 exploration tracks to choose from - the Spider and Owl temples.

The central element of the Spider temple is the dark tablets - a resource that can be obtained in locations and on the exploration track, and which opens access to altars. The same, in turn, allow you to use the properties of artifacts. The player whose researcher is above the corresponding altar can activate it by placing a dark tablet in the cell. If the altar is empty, an artifact from a row of cards is moved to it and its effect is immediately applied; if the artifact is already there, it can be activated again up to 3 times. This is a powerful bonus, however, and a potential threat, because each tablet left under the altar at the end of the game will bring a serious penalty in points.

The Owl Temple works completely differently. On its research track, secret passages appear - one-time routes with valuable rewards that can only be explored with the help of a magnifying glass:

1) enter an unoccupied secret passage by performing the research action and paying its cost;

2) place your magnifying glass in the cell and get a special tile or idol;

3) the magnifying glass cannot be touched again until the end of the game. Instead, place your lantern at the beginning of the track as a replacement.

Two tile fragments found in the Owl Temple can be combined to create an additional cell for the idol and used with certain restrictions. At the end of the game, players receive victory points depending on the positions of their magnifying glass, lantern, and notebook on the exploration track.

The expansion has such a name for a reason, as it is designed specifically for those adventurers who already know all the tricks of the famous temples of Arnak by heart and crave new secrets and more intense sensations. We completely agree with the authors and recommend trying this expansion, as it perfectly refreshes the base game, expands the variability and adds greater strategic depth.