The missing expedition
Getting The Lost Ruins of Arnak back to the table is like having Christmas dinner. It’s just so scrumptious. 😍 And it’s not just the looks, the gameplay experience is amazing every time - it’s so crunchy and there are so many ways to do things, it really feels like you are in a jungle, carving your own way with a machete. Anyway, now it’s time to talk about Arnak’s 2nd expansion “The Missing Expedition” and see what it adds to the game! 🙃
Let’s start with the simplest addition: more stuff! 😁 You get new items and artifacts, new guardians, assistants, sites and idols. This is something I always love to see, as it boosts the pool of cards and tiles so you don’t see everything every game. Then there are 2 new Temple Tracks that can cover up the ones on the board. These offer some new clever twists, and as tracks are such a central element in Arnak, these change up the way games feel. 😊
Encounter cards are new to the game. These are used both in the new solo/co-op campaign and normal games. If you get an encounter card, you can read a little story snippet and choose 1 of 2 effects. This adds a nice thematic flavor! 🥰
And of course an important addition are two new asymmetric characters to play as: the Journalist and the Mechanic!
📝The Journalist writes about sites he visits. By spending an extra travel icon, you can collect article tokens from sites, which you can slot into your player board to activate bonuses. A powerful effect is how his journal can go one row above his magnifying glass on the research track. An interesting character, albeit a bit weak perhaps.
🔧The Mechanic has a cog with bonuses on it. Her cards can rotate it 90 degrees clockwise, then letting you choose an effect from its right side. As the game goes on you unlock golden widgets that slot into this cog, which have better effects, but can only be activated with a golden rotate effect. She unlocks her monkey assistant in the 3rd round, which is a 3rd assistant! A super versatile and fun character to play as!
The co-op campaign definitely needs a post of its own, for now I’ll only spoil that we really enjoy it! 🥳
