New tiles same Clank!
CLANK! CATACOMBS
Designer: Paul Dennen | Publisher: Dire Wolf
At the first glance, Clank!: Catacombs might look like just a new edition of Clank!: The Deck Building Game. The premise is the same: you are a band of adventurers searching for the artefacts in the dungeon, guarded by a scary dragon. The dungeon is deep and full of mysteries and monsters, and your every misstep or loud clank of a sword alert the dragon to your presence. As a simple explorer, you have no chance in a fight against the dragon, but you can try to escape the dungeon before the creature’s scolding fires make a BQQ out of you. The main mechanics are also the same: Clank! is a deckbuilding game. Each player starts with an identical hand of cards, which they can use to acquire more cards, that will offer a variety of actions each turn, including the ability to fight other monsters in the dungeon. The game’s main temptation is also the same: you want to get deep into the dungeons to pick up the most valuable artefact and some other treasures along the way. But stay too long, make too much noise, and you might not be able to escape the dungeon alive and then it matters little how many shiny valuables your charred skeleton managed to collect.
So, the premise, rules and hook are all the same, why even bother with this new game, you may very well ask? Well, there is one major change in Clank!: Catacombs and it makes all the difference. The original game (and some of its later versions, like Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure) all came with the game board which depicted the whole of the dungeon. From the very start of the game, players could begin to plan their route through it and any pit stops they might take. Some unexpected things could still happen, however, players have a clear direction and a destination to aim for. Catacombs’ dungeon, however, is composed of tiles which are revealed by players as the game progresses. At the start of the game, players don’t know where the artefacts are located, they don’t even know how large the map will end up being and most exciting of all, they can travel in any direction they want. The simple incorporation of tiles adds a sense of wonder and adventure. Every turn of a tile is an exciting event that every player around the table is waiting with bated breath – could it be the artefact tile?! The game becomes a lot more about exploring rather than, as previously, perfecting the execution of a pre-planned route. The game also encourages players to be curious and delve deeper into the dungeon by including teleports that can transport players easily between different parts of the map.
Catacombs also has some other fun additions, for example, lockpicks. Some can be used to unlock certain paths. Although, it is worth keeping in mind that once unlocked, the path be available to everyone. Others allow players to free prisoners (for bonus victory points) or unlock major secrets (which offer a variety of helpful powers and perks). The number of lock picks are limited but there are plenty of temptations to use them, making decisions of when to spend one or not, critical to the end game scoring.
Clank! has always been a great mixture of deck building and pushyour-luck mechanics, and Catacombs keeps these elements almost exactly as they were. If you played, any Clank! before there will be very little rule learning for this version. However, the addition of tiles makes such a huge and palpable difference that Catacombs immediately becomes essential. It is so good, in fact, that it may be time to retire your original Clank! box…
ALEXANDRA SONECHKINA
WE SAY
The addition of tiles in Clank!: Catacombs is an absolute game changer. One element brings such a massive improvement to the gameplay, while other elements that made this series a success, remain unchanged.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
◗29 Dungeon tiles
◗1 Clank! Board
◗ 180+ cards
◗ 140+ punch tokens
◗1 Market board
◗120 Player cubes
◗4 Player markers
◗24 Dragon cubes
◗5 Ghost cubes
◗1 Cloth dragon bag
◗1 Dragon marker
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED CLANK!: A DECK-BUILDING ADVENTURE...
An existing owner of a Clank! game may be sceptical about getting another edition of the game. However, if you play Catacombs once, you will be immediately convinced.