Is Lost Ruins of Arnak fun?

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Lost Ruins of Arnak casts you and your friends as Indiana Jones-like tomb raiders discovering ancient artifacts in a series of abandoned architectural marvels protected by prehistoric guardians. So is it fun?
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Check out Lost Ruins of Arnak on Board Game Geek:
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Thanks to CGE for supplying a review copy of Lost Ruins of Arnak.

[@danagoniahobby4914]

And yes, please do more “find the fun” videos, they are awesome!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

On it!

[@michaelpaolini]

You were the only reviewer to mention setup, tear down, and box insert. Thank you.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Avec plaisir!

[@richardhancock1505]

Yes! More find the fun videos please- a really helpful format.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Will do!

[@timjenkins7075]

Love the “Find the Fun” videos. Thanks for your content!

[@vincentw9610]

I'm happy to found your channel after looking for a roll for the galaxy guide.. Great production, nice videos..

[@brandeekwon]

I never subscribe or comment on videos but you sir are good at this! You are articulate and you present information I actually care about in a way that makes sense. This video helped me get a feel for a game like few others do. You are now one of my go to channels learning about new games. Thank you :)

[@daleprather3026]

I love the "find the fun" videos. Keep it up! Thank you.

[@donclemson8959]

You make these videos look easy. I know you work hard at your craft, and it shows in your enthusiasm with these vids. Kudos. FtF rules!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Thanks, Don. These ones take about 2 days to put together, and i spent more time on b-roll here than i usually do, but it feels necessary for a newer game that people might not be so familiar with.

[@martinprivat5908]

What I like most about it: It takes the theme seriously, but the theme itself doesn't take itself seriously, if you catch my drift. It's so fun and a welcome change to my usual Rosenbergy serious stuff I like to play. Once in a while it's ok to be just fun. So I agree: awesome game and well said!

[@mathswithgarry7104]

That was a pretty good review! You didn't get too detailed in discussing the rules, you gave a broad brush picture of what its lilke to play.I really enjoyed that, and got a good feel of how much I would enjoy it. Thanks very much.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Thanks, Maths! More to come in this series.

[@joeltrinidad4939]

Great video! Very informative and entertaining. Your enthusiasm is infectious!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Thank you! i'm on medication to clear that up.

[@teypan]

I recently discovered your find-the-fun videos. They are great!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Thanks so much, Bruno! More to come. i'm hoping to produce 1 a month.

[@mark-christihaviland5805]

Great video and would love to see more like it. We've played this six times (2 on the table, 4x on BGA) and really enjoy it. The flip side of the board is also a little more challenging though the gameplay is unchanged. Would like to see it expanded much like the expansions for Clank. The combo of worker placement + deck building is a winner.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Thanks so much! i was saying yesterday that i'd like to see an expansion that gives some sort of kickback to the player who originally discovered a dig site, if the other players visit it later - a la Lords of Waterdeep. i just played the serpent side of the board on BGA for the first time yesterday. Definitely changed up my thinking. (i lost pretty hard though.) i''ve been playing a game of it every day with the good people who hang out on the Nights Around a Table Discord server, going all-in on a different strategy each time. You should join us... people there are always up for a game!

[@mark-christihaviland5805]

@@NightsAroundaTable I really like that idea. Like a "finder's fee" of sorts. I just joined the Discord.

[@mikemudrow]

Hooray for more find the fun!

[@timjenkins7075]

Another great video, great content focused on great games!

[@Mattsmindmeld]

I am new to Lost Ruins of Arnak but your review is accurate it is just fun. The solo mode even gets out of your way which is how I have played this one most.

[@lemilfy]

This review format os probably the best board game review format i’ve seen. I dont need intro, rules overview and thoughts like all the other guys. Tell me the positives and negatives and be straight as an arrow. I really appreciate the fact that youre not mincing words and bloating the video. Please do this for everything!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

But mincing words and bloating videos is what Tiggers do best! Let me tell you about our Lord and Saviour "Ryan's Unboxing Videos"...

[@lemilfy]

@@NightsAroundaTable yeah... theres that....

[@DoppelgangerF02]

Awesome review dude!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Thanks, Aasem!

[@adamgoulding796]

Really enjoyed this. Thanks.

[@pete7421]

Great video! Would love to see you do one for Lorenzo Il Magnifico.

[@JohnRBoone]

Have to say I've been debating Arnak for a while, and this was a great video! My first one and now you have a new subscriber trolling your catalog ;)

[@NightsAroundaTable]

YEEEAHHHH!! Thanks so much. Some folks have told me Arnak and Dune: Imperium are very similar, and that Dune has the edge. But if we're talking about fun, Arnak HAS to have the better theme. i like Dune as much as the next time, but it can be a bit dour.

[@JohnRBoone]

@@NightsAroundaTable yeah I'm leaning towards arnak, also it sounds like dune has some actual player on player combat which doesn't always go well with the family, siblings don't always make "tactically" appropriate target choices lol

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Loud. And. Clear.

[@jackbaligad7004]

Looks intriguing. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. Can’t wait to give it a try. I’m sure it won’t take long for a 3rd party like LaserOx to do an insert for them. Oh and Patreon’s in the credits - Very nice touch! 👍

[@NightsAroundaTable]

That's right: they call me Mr. Nice Touch!

[@singularityvc]

Great review! Thank you

[@fwj777]

Great stuff! Not having played, this is my prediction for the Kennerspeil award 2021. I Will have to check out!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

That's the kids' game award?

[@fwj777]

@@NightsAroundaTable I thought there was a Kenner and a Kinder, with Kenner being “connoisseurs” and Kinder being “kids”, but I’m not expert in the German language.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

@@fwj777 Right! i'm getting them confused.

[@tuntemon]

I bought this this year with expansion with a gift card from work. I knew about how many components it has. So I bought an insert from Folded Space, makes setting up and tearing down so much better. I really enjoy the game, I also think that to make sit even better is to play with the expansion. Those asymmetric player powers really makes the game so much better. As someone who really likes games with symbols rather than text, these ones are really easy to understand, much better than most. I'm also a theme guy when it comes to games, this one was really well implemented especially with the player powers from the expansion.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

i agree on all points! But i suspect the captain may be too overpowered…

[@tuntemon]

@@NightsAroundaTable haven't tried the captain yet in the two games I've played. So I can't say anything for or against it. But I'll try the captain in my next game. Thanks for replying, since this was from an older video. I didn't expect it. Great video, it was fun to see a fresh way of doing reviews.

[@kwouters]

I really enjoy these videos! It gives me a nice “review” of the game, using a different format than most other reviewers. I definitely look forward to more! (Did I spot a “Dude, Where’s My Car” poster, or am I just seeing things? 😀)

[@NightsAroundaTable]

i can assure you there are absolutely no Dude, Where’s My Car? images in this video.

[@kwouters]

@@NightsAroundaTable Oh, dear. That’s definitely worrisome. 😄

[@adamgoulding796]

@@NightsAroundaTable Am I missing an in-joke? I definitely spotted it too. :-D

[@NightsAroundaTable]

@@adamgoulding796 i assure you all that Dude, Where's My Car has never, and will never, appear in a Nights Around a Table video.

[@AndreasBolor]

Setup time and insert unfun can be managed by buying a good insert... which I did. Totally worth it if you want to play it often.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

You’re right! And on that note, check this out: Bits, Please! Ep 3: 3d Printed Lost Ruins of Arnak deluxe insert kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGKmhp2QrJedhtU

[@derekp9737]

awesome video!

[@dogf4ther]

G'day from New Zealand love you content. A rule my son and I changed to make ourselves get even close to getting up the research track as I feel maybe I'm not playing it correctly. We have allowed to only discover 1 new site per round with an archaeologist but we say as long as you pay the travel cost my dig at any site once but as many as you can. It's my way of saying in a 2 player it would be nice to have 4 meeples

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Hmmm… sounds like you may be botching an important rule, but i can’t figure out which one? When you discover a new site (and you can discover sites as long as you have meeples and compasses and travel icons to pay) you also get the goodies from that site. Anyone who is first to visit a previously discovered (or discovered and vacated) site pays the travel costs and gets the goodies once.

[@FredzGreen]

That review was fun! I like that you compare to a lot of other games, shows that you know a lot of games 👍 I just got Dune Imperium and now I am bit reluctant to get this one too as they have a bit of the same deck building worker placement. What do you think? Themes are of course very different.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

i honestly snoozed on Dune Imperium because i’m a bit put off by movie licensed games... coming from video games, where they’re usually terrible. Add the fact that i haven’t even seen the movie it’s licensed from (nor has anyone!) It’s just kinda weird. But i can definitely understand wanting to avoid mechanical overlap in your library.

[@jdtyler7]

I never noticed the thematic tie in with the guardian bonuses. That's very cool. Stuff like that really impresses me because it would be incredibly easy to just "randomly" assign the bonuses to the tiles making sure you have the right number if each one. I love that the worker placement locations are revealed by the players and end up being different in each game. I would love to see more worker placement games allow for changing and shaping the board as the game unfolds. That unpredictability means that you have to adapt and go with the flow. I wish the deck building wasn't so underwhelming. I've only played the game 3 or 4 times, but in our experiences you acquire 3-5 cards on average. That's it! Sure, your deck is better at the end, but not as improved as in most deck builders. I do like that more artifacts are available at the end. As we've been exploring and digging, we've uncovered more and more artifacts that can be used. It's another nice thematic touch.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Agree on all points! You can really go all-in on a deck strategy if you optimize for cards that let you murder other cards. i've played on Board Game Arena a bunch, and i tried an all-artifact strategy that failed miserably. If you like the idea of a worker placement game where players change the board by building spaces, give Lords of Waterdeep a look if you haven't already: nightsaroundatable.com/2018/11/26/how-to-play-lords-of-waterdeep-a-dungeons-dragons-board-game/

[@jdtyler7]

@@NightsAroundaTable I've definitely heard of it, but I've never looked at it. I'll give your video a watch. I binged all of this series today. I really enjoyed it. What is fun for one person might not be fun for another. But games need to be fun one way or another to see the table often. This is a great format and delivery.

[@snakenation7765]

Love this review!

[@mathswithgarry7104]

I like to write game guides for my more complicated games. Its a document I print off that helps me teach the game to newbs, and even serves as a review for myself. It helps me learn the game myelf as well as teach it.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Smart idea! Me, i just re-watch my own videos. :)

[@Physiology-E-Paathshala]

Please do a how to play for this

[@Skrotetor]

I got the game two days ago and already played 5 games with the family. It's a blast and I agree on everything you said. Probably not 100% in regards to the component quality cause in my opinion the cards are a bit thinner compared to other games such as Everdell so they kind of bend a little, the player aids are very thin and I'm not sure why they didn't decide to make gold and compass tokens in plastic like the other objects! I'm on the hunt to replace those with some ancient-looking gold dobloons and probably gonna buy some coin case for the compass tokens so they look more in line with the tactile feeling given by the other three resources. Other than this the game is just fantastic... I can't wait for new cards and the Expedition Leaders expansion coming out!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

i'm excited too! And check out this episode for adventures in component upgrading: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGKmhp2QrJedhtU

[@luckbear87]

Great video. Like this one

[@trollingsoul3386]

its one of the best games and after expeditions leaders its like even more fun. Top of the list of all games

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Cannot WAIT for that next expansion.

[@fmoros]

yes, pls, fun is important in games, at least for me it is.

[@electricLD]

Great job,thank you for your videos. Can I ask you which do you think I should get: lost ruins of arnak or Istanbul big box? I m new to board gaming and I like both of them... I know that they very different but I think they have similar logic, grab resources in order to pay for something else to get finally the things that get points. Thank you in advance!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

They're both great! i've only played Istanbul once, but i remember enjoying it. It has a mancala mechanic. So my only advice is that if you already own another game with a mancala mechanic, like Gold West or Five Tribes, and if Arnak looks mechanically unique to you, consider Arnak! But there's bound to be a TON of gameplay in a big box product, so Instanbul's going to be good value for dollar.

[@electricLD]

@@NightsAroundaTable thank you so much for taking the time to answer me!!! I don't own something similar as istanbul neither similar to arnak!!! So many good games out there!! Again thank you for your fun videos and all your work!!

[@danielwoltanski1413]

I've really enjoyed Arnak, but I've found people I've taught it to that are used to other deckbuilding games had trouble getting the difference between free action and action cards.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

That's interesting. i've seen the free action/action thing in a number of games i've played fairly recently, including (but not limited to) Anachrony.

[@daleprather3026]

Lack of inserts is best for me. I usually toss them. I find it faster to throw stuff in a box than to put it in its own spot.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Me, i can’t stands no baggies!

[@daleprather3026]

@@NightsAroundaTable Baggies are a must have! Almost gave me a panic attack thinking about a sea of components floating around in the box.

[@Johannes_W]

Even though I have the bell activated I've been checking your channel weekly at least to see if you did anything else than TikTok again :-D I'd love to see more of this for sure! On Arnak I will wait a while as I don't feel the urge to own it right now and therefore find it a bit overpriced right now. And even though your facial expression looked otherwise I hope you enjoyed Coimbra 😅

[@NightsAroundaTable]

i post at least one video a week, usually on Friday! Consider the TikTok and #shorts stuff a bonus. :) i've definitely got Coimbra on my list for a How to Play video.

[@Johannes_W]

@@NightsAroundaTable Oh yeah, you're right, I've usually been watching at least a part of the one every week, just lately I already knew the rules or wasn't interested in the game. My brain is slowly getting mushy and time perception gets weird after too many months of home office only :D

[@NightsAroundaTable]

@@Johannes_W Oh, for real. i'm with you. When i post a video on Friday and i look back on the most recent one posted, it feels like an eternity since it went up.

[@Mokkel73]

Also, the zip-bags are the first I´ve tried that breaks just from opening.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Do you mean the top edges above the zipper, or that they split right along the side?

[@Mokkel73]

@@NightsAroundaTable The Zip breaks when trying to open it

[@thedudeslawyer]

Looks fun! I searched for your How to Play, but couldn't find it. Is it on your channel?

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Aha! You've discovered my dirty little secret. It doesn't exist yet, but once it does, i intend to go back to this video and add a card directing people to it! But if you click the Subscribe button and the bell, you'll get notified once it's up!

[@thedudeslawyer]

@@NightsAroundaTable Ha! Alright, you get a bell. Thanks for the great videos!

[@ilqrd.6608]

Fantasic balanced overview. Here's my view: Game is pretty solid and I can imagine it will be a good game for some that look to step it up a bit in terms of complexity. It has stunning production values and generally gets the mechanics right. For seasoned gamers however I think this game will end up competing with many much better games. It fails to provide any memorable moments. I couldn't tell you how my last game was different from the one before and I don't know e.g. when I would ever be in the mood for Arnak. In short: good game that I think won't have lots of staying power. Cheers!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Totally fair! Thanks for sharing!

[@Robdawg_86]

What are some similar but 'better' games? I'm on the fence about getting this game

[@joshuag7027]

This looks like a great game, I've seen a lot of good reviews on it, but... I have Everdell which I love and I don't play it enough already, So probably going to pass on this one, the mechanics have also been compared to Dune Imperium & Endless Winter, which I like the theme of those better. Also I appreciate you noting how sensitive colonization of peoples could be to others. +1 vote for find the fun segments, it's a great series.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Thanks, Joshua! But man: give me a sunny tropical clime over the punishing deadly desert planet, or whatever the heck "Endless Winter" is. i live in Canada, and our winter at least twice as long!

[@joshuag7027]

@@NightsAroundaTable touché well played, well played!

[@dangerousbeans2907]

Ooooooh Colonization in a board game! I’m so triggered! lol. Fun video as usual, thanks.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

(ymmv)

Yes please more FtF! Also, nice to see myself in Patron credits. Got my umlaut and everything. Neat!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Each dot in that umlaut was HAND-CRAFTED.

[@Orochi_001]

I went through about a month of loving crazy inserts, but was quickly back to hating them. Wingspan is the exception since Stonemaier includes new storage with expansions. Baggies and trays > bespoke inserts in almost every scenario

[@NightsAroundaTable]

i mean, it's all fun and games until they release an expansion and you need a modified insert, especially when you're not the designer (as is the case with this one). i had no problems printing all the stuff for Scythe because a) the product is complete and b) the "solution" inside that big, mostly empty box they sold was anything but.

[@dallinloosli9175]

Is there a how-to play video for this game yet? :)

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Not yet!

[@Chorazin1]

I can just recommend getting a 3D printer. I use it for almost all games I have to produce inserts and sometimes game pieces.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Guess who’s the proud new owner of an Anycubic Photon S?

[@Chorazin1]

For inserts I use FDM print but for game pieces DLP is great. I recently printed a whole set of miniatures for Root (with expansions) 😅 Now I just need to paint it all 🙈

[@NightsAroundaTable]

@@Chorazin1 My printer is SLA. i wonder if i should order the inserts from my library (they print FDM). But i hate the aliasing in FDM/PLA prints.

[@Br0kenM0nkey]

Still planning to do a How To Play vid for this?

[@NightsAroundaTable]

i’ve got something else planned for Arnak in the meantime. Check out the channel later today!

[@CG_Hali]

The theme is one of the best features I think. Finally a 'retrieve the artifacts' where I don't feel guilty because that tribe has been gone for so long with no ancestors. Can't stand the games where they implicitly or explicitly obtain artifacts like thieves, or you have to fight the natives, upset their ancestral grounds for which they still care, buy off their lands without their permissions, enslave/cheap labor them into digging it up for you. About time!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Yes! They were very careful about it, and it was a smart approach.

[@paveldolezal7027]

Hi, I was keen on this game. But I heard some rumours that the game has one winning strategy and if you know it the game loses its tensions (you always win). So, some sort of unbalance? Have you found it out or is it a fake gossip?

[@NightsAroundaTable]

In my most recent play, i suspected that the whole game revolves around those green compasses, so i sunk all my efforts into them and did really well. My friend Dave is excellent at sniffing out winning strategies, so he went for a monster hunter gambit when we played together, and he cleaned up. Is it either of those? i don’t see it as such a huge problem when a dominant strategy emerges in a worker placement game, as long as everyone is on the same page and understands what the dominant strategy is. Because then everyone is in competition to accomplish that strategy, which means no one can have it, and that’s where everyone has to get a little creative.

[@paveldolezal7027]

@@NightsAroundaTable I don't have this game, so I do not know this winning strategy (if there is one). I played repeatedly the card game San Juan. I know the winning strategy. !!!SPOILER!!! If you gain Guild Hall card in the game and then you build all possible factory cards you can you win almost every time. So, the tension is reduced then only whether you encounter this card during the game as the first and not your competitor. The game then loses its gist. The same I had with Ticket to Ride Europe and Switzerland.

[@revimfadli4666]

Interestingly, the game could've had an Anticolonialist theme had the explorers were descendants of Arnak, whose civilization was ruined when colonists conveniently came just after/during a devastating civil war(for a more nuanced take than "colonist bad native good"), hence the powerful artifacts scattered around. And after they regained independence, they funded missions to uncover their ancestors' lost legacy Or perhaps I'm just projecting my Indonesian perspective onto a game made by Europeans lol

[@Daniel199423]

Hey, look! I found my name!

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Oh, no - that’s the OTHER Daniel Potter.

[@andrewkaspor578]

Great video. Could have gone without the colonization tirade. Also, the dude wheres my car reference went over my head.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

If you characterize that as a tirade, perhaps a lot goes over your head?

[@andrewkaspor578]

Great way to take that constructively. Take it as you like. I said your video is great. It's just that I didn't see CGE make any excuses for their theme. Why did you feel the need to do so? And whats up with the dude wheres my car reference?

[@NightsAroundaTable]

@@andrewkaspor578 Just because something doesn't bother, interest, or affect you (or even me), it doesn't mean that it may not impact others. CGE *does*, in fact, make excuses for the theme, in all of the ways i mentioned, and more: there are no ooga booga natives depicted. You're trying to uncover the culture of Arnak, rather than loot its treasures. You don't kill the guardians - you overcome them, and then team up with them. It's all been carefully considered, to avoid a backlash and unhappy customers. Further reading: www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/07/board-games-have-colonialism-problem/619518/

[@danagoniahobby4914]

Is “lost ruins of Arnak” more fun than Everdell?

[@NightsAroundaTable]

No! But it feels like it’s in a similar wheelhouse. Everdell feels very close and homey, while Arnak feels more expansive and risky. Like i said, it’s a little like a higher stakes Pearlbrook with more forgiving mechanics. And like if your Everdell city cards were cycling through your hand instead of sitting in your tableau.

[@shanespv]

For us personally we were very disappointed in the game. It looks nice, but felt way over hyped. Rounds felt very lack luster, especially the deck building aspect. I wish they didn't even bother with it

[@NightsAroundaTable]

So because you didn't enjoy it, you wish they hadn't made it so that other people can enjoy it?

[@grog3514]

@@NightsAroundaTable I think he is referring to the deck building aspect. I would agree. Cards don't get played much at all. It felt like an afterthought to me as well but I'm just some dude on the internet. Maybe I'm not smart enough to see its ingenuity.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

@@grog3514 Oh - ha! i thought he meant "wish they hadn't bothered with [the entire game]." The amount your deck gets used and cycled really depends on how the game goes. i've seen sessions where people pare their decks down to 5 or 6 (good) cards, and it's pure devastating magic. But of course, the right cards have to come out to support that strategy.

[@pedropepe90908]

I don't get why this game is fun

[@NightsAroundaTable]

Back this video up to the beginning and press "play."

[@alcovitch]

Honestly if people are passing up on this game due to "colonization" that speaks volumes of their sheltered / woke upbringing. Completely ridiculous this has to even be mentioned in a board game review. If you're so bend out of shape over that, go play Spirit Island, where you can role-play out our inner rage towards those nasty colonizers.

[@NightsAroundaTable]

(funny you should mention “inner rage…”)