Lost Ruins of Arnak

Archaeology, in which the artefacts occasionally object.

An uninhabited island in uncharted seas, the traces of a great civilisation, and an expedition that is half research trip and half treasure hunt. You explore the island, recover lost artefacts and face the guardians still standing over them. Designed by the Czech pair Elwen and Mín for Czech Games Edition.

It runs deck-building and worker placement through one another rather than side by side: cards are spent to place workers, and new worker actions open up as the island gets explored. Some of those actions want resources rather than workers, so a solid resource base matters as much as a good deck. The rule that sharpens everything is one action per turn — what you can afford to leave until later depends entirely on whether somebody else takes it first. Decks stay small, and the randomness is held down by the sheer number of decisions available on the board.

Perfect for: People who like two good games welded together and cannot entirely explain why it works.

1–4 players | 30–120 minutes | Age 12+

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