Lost Ruins of Arnak | Shelfside Review

[@justacynic]

Love both Dune Imperium and Arnak. Arnak is the ‘fun’ one and Dune is the cutthroat strategy one. Based upon what I’ve seen, you guys need to get some Snake Temple games in and also review the expansion. I believe it’s near universal opinion that once you play with the expansion, you won’t play without it.

[@thomasboon3626]

Haha, that intro is awesome :D 1:40 Lost Ruins of Arnak was actually announced and released a few weeks prior to Dune: Imperium, so it takes the cake ;-)

[@Shelfside]

oh I did not know that it was before Dune Imperium! But I do think this game is a lot smoother around the edges compared to Dune Imperium in general -Ashton

[@13ane]

Love the way you explain out the mechanics in way that relates to HOW the game is played, and the cool decisions you get to make, where the tension in the game is. Subbed :)

[@Shelfside]

thank you! More stuff coming :) -Ashton

[@tonybowers9490]

Thanks for sharing. Arnak is in my Top Ten.

[@trickynumber7]

This has turned into one of my favorite games. Of course I maybe play it once every other month, so maybe that's why it doesn't get too stale.

[@Shelfside]

that could be a good reason! The research track mixing up with different cards has just enough variability for me to revisit this once in a while -Ashton

[@cozmicshroomzpro1]

I know you guys got burnt by the dune imperium expansion but i feel the expansion for this adds a lot more options and strategies and more and I think you guys might want to check it out once you guys are ready to give Arnak some more juice. Daniel loving Argent The Consortium? A man of taste. I love me Worker placements that use the mechanic as a just a setup for some other wacky stuff.

[@davidk6269]

The opening clip was hilarious!!! ; )

[@Shelfside]

cheers! Glad ya liked it ahaha -Ashton

[@arkadiuszkrzos2999]

I absolutely love that you are able to separate your personal taste from more objective view on the game itself and give high recommender score even if you don't like the game as much.

[@TerreDiceGames]

Hey, great review!!! That intro though, pure gold.... "overcome" had me dead. SO true and so funny. Your content is so engaging. Keep up the great work!

[@ashtonwu7760]

thank you! More stuff coming :) -Ashton

[@hotdoggington6962]

I'm surprised you didn't think more of the thematic ties. It's really cool to me how most every item has *some* tie between what it is and what it gives you. Aeroplanes make it much easier to explore far away, having an axe gets you some confidence to push away some fear, dogs run and fetch things for you, guardian boons allow you to ride the beast usually, etc. It's one of those where I certainly can play it without thinking about theme at all, but if I'm in the mood to use my imagination to tell a story, it's great at using artwork and mechanics to make that much easier. Regardless, excellent review!

[@bernardorippe7024]

There is a third source of VP in arnak, Deckbuild

[@simong4252]

One of our group fav.; saw the run times...15+mins of pros. 3 mins cons including a tea break = we are going to agree on this 🙂

[@DoppelgangerF02]

I heard the expansion take the game up several notches

[@Shelfside]

we'll have to take a look! -Ashton

[@AdamH75]

Great review and confirms we’d have more fun in the same amount of time hiking a local unexplored trail. Awesome artwork wasted on an unthematic worker placement zero interaction between players borefest. Lost Ruins of ArNeverGettingThisOne.

[@Shelfside]

thanks adam, definitely not a game for everyone despite massive rankings on BGG. There is some player interaction for sure, but that's not a selling point of the game at all bahah -Ashton

[@lp9092]

Great gameplay description, and honest reviews. Thanks guys!

[@guodan_vsl]

I was never really interested in Arnak until I watched this review !

[@satorismiles]

Best use of a green screen in the board game world! Love your videos!

[@Shelfside]

ahaha thank you, cheers! -Ashton

[@scottie771]

Expedition Leaders Expansion makes the game even better without adding rules overhead

[@Kriakye2435]

Loved the intro, great review guys! Always nice to hear ya guys review board games. Take care both of y'all 👍👀👍

[@MrKidtendo64]

I appreciate the Monster Hunter music. A true man of class and character haha. Still need to make time to play this one day

[@Shelfside]

ahaha thank you. Daniel's suggestion :) Cheers! -Ashton

[@chengboli1462]

Ashton, you might have lost a token, check your elbow at 20:22, you are very welcome.

[@philwatkins2800]

Picked this one up a couple months ago after being impressed by Dune Imperium and interested in the similar mechanics with different theme. Thanks for another entertaining review!

[@john-qz3fu]

Which one do you like more?

[@philwatkins2800]

@@john-qz3fu Despite the similar engines, they play very differently. Would give the slight edge to Imperium just because I'm a huge Dune fan, but as far as gameplay can't pick one over the other just yet

[@fightingkitchen7960]

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH. You actually did an Arnak review!

[@saravanandilip7907]

You surely deserved more views and likes on this video. Nice.

[@zachoehm8537]

Surprised to not see more criticism about the heavy points for research makes it the more valuable priority, i.e. the points balance are a tad off. I totally agree that it's resource management puzzle and fair point that it's more casual.

[@GrinPaint]

Love the intro so much

[@BuckFu]

Great quality video, love the explanations for the different functions in the game. When it comes to watching rules over on the dice tower I just want to fall asleep, somehow you always keep it interesting. 👍👍

[@Shelfside]

thank you! Glad we could entertain and help out :) -Ashton

[@cruelladevil9022]

Best sound ever 00:33:40 :D

[@Shelfside]

a satisfying spawn indeed :) -Ashton

[@picivyvortac2641]

Love y'all's work. Keep it up.

[@Shelfside]

thank you. More stuff on the way -Ashton

[@Coffeemaker1978]

You are the best reviewers 🎉❤

[@frankle9617]

Which is better: Arnak or Dune Imperium?

[@Shelfside]

I would say Arnak has stronger execution with its design but it is super safe, hence why there's a lot of comments here that call it bland. Dune Imperium definitely has more jank, but it can hurt it just as much as it helps it at times. -Daniel

[@hugovargas4790]

Another great video, thanks!

[@shortydancer]

I agree that this is just resource conversion. But resource conversion is still fun. It’s a good game that looks nice. Will we still be talking about it in a decade? Probably not.

[@gabrielm.k.8094]

The campaign is awesome, you should try it sometime! Makes the game WAY more thematic than it has any right to be!

[@Shelfside]

awesome, noted! -Ashton

[@revimfadli4666]

One of the cons I've heard is that despite how impactful the cards can be, the deckbuilding feels more like the usual worker placement hand management, yet with delayed purchase, and barely has any reason to be deckbuilding(other than marketing reasons or just for the sake of it) On one hand, many of the deckbuilding-related cards seem to be designed for frequently-cycling ordinary deckbuilders, but on the other hand, the game does mitigate the infrequent cycling via thin starter decks and bottomdecking new cards. Fewer cycles also means that fear cards are less punishing than usual

[@Shelfside]

Interesting. The deckbuilding doesn't have a lot of time to take flight persay, but adding the cards into the game adds a lot of cool combo potential, and gives more options to buy every turn. The mitigation as you said is a big part of how you get cards really quickly after buying them. So yeah, wouldn't be a con for us, but can see how it doesn't fall into the more traditional deckbuilding categories, and even Dune Imperium has much more deckbuilding. -Ashton

[@Marky_X]

At first I was a bit turned off by this game and enjoyed Dune Imperium more. Then after playing Dune Imperium a bit more, I started to see some of the cracks in the game's design and now I appreciate the tight design of Ruins of Arnak a bit more, even if it's a very isolated game.

[@GrinPaint]

Thank you

[@g8kpr3000]

Wow. 9/10? My group found this really really dull. I was at a con this past week. I saw someone being Arnak over to their friend who gave a big thumbs down and said “I bought it, played it twice; sold it immediately. It’s a terrible game.” I just nodded silently in my agreement.

[@Shelfside]

thanks for sharing! Definitely not a game for everyone but it does an excellent job in what its trying to do! -Ashton

[@Shelfside]

Can't bring myself to call it terrible considering how much more prettier and balanced Arnak is compared to a lot of other Euros we've played lmao. It's definitely a super solid game for those looking for this type of low interaction worker placement. -Daniel

[@martintomov7576]

I would like you guys to do a review of one of Lacerda's games, I see you like meaty euros :) While I haven't tried anything of him myself, everyone's saying they are quite the challenge.

[@Shelfside]

ohhhohoho man, yeah they will be a huge challenge for us one day. They are a bit point-salad-y for our group, but who knows what the future will bring! -Ashton

[@que-tangclan]

Great review

[@EHngelic]

When I'm playing solo: Lost Ruins of Arnak When I'm playing multiplayer: Dune: Imperium

[@chuckm1961]

Daniel, it's almost as if Arnak is NOT a "low interaction Euro," since people are constantly getting in each other's way both in the placement spaces and in beating others to the research payoffs or the best assistants. It's almost as if Arnak has quite a lot of interaction (in no way, shape or form am I stating or suggesting that is as interactive as a game like Gaia Project).

[@Shelfside]

I'd still consider those aspects as low interaction because none of them directly influence another player's tableau. All this does is block a potential choice instead of directly interacting. It's the difference between accounting for and directly engaging with other players' board states vs. everyone mostly doing their own thing and sometimes slightly slowing someone else down. -Daniel

[@arthursimsa9005]

Uffff, are you saying that Gaia Project has high interaction?

[@JustinNichols66]

Awesome Intro 😆

[@Shelfside]

thank you! Was fun stuff -Ashton

[@warrickwilliams9830]

Great intro 👍

[@Shelfside]

cheers man! -Ashton

[@elqord.1118]

Oh no…I thought we’d be aligned on this one. It’s a soulless and robust game that completely fails to excite. That recommender score is insane!

[@Shelfside]

oh no! Do definitely stand on how I think my personal score will drop a point if I play it 2-3 more times. Cheers! -Ashton

[@Shelfside]

I mean this is undeniably an excellent game that's super well polished and excels at what it's trying to do. Unfortunately, it's in a genre that our group does way too well in and gets bored of very quickly lol. -Daniel

[@ClockworkWyrm]

Mmmm, I love girthy options.

[@Brockoly3]

Was really excited for this game, but left me very unfulfilled due to how short the game is. It feels just as you get your engine going and are having fun....it ends. I feel like it would really benefit from at least 1 more round. Very much prefer Dune Imperium over this one after 3 plays of both.

[@thomasboon3626]

I think that feeling changes once you learn the game better. The game ends when the island is fully discovered (3 players), and you reach the temple, gaining some temple tiles. The 4th and 5th round feels epic.

[@Muhd_Akmal]

like dune imperium, the expansion greatly improves the gameplay.

[@Possi_ball]

I don't know, this game felt waaaaay unthematic to me, even with the top notch art and components. I didn't feel I was "exploring" or "researching", it was just pushing on tracks by using resources. It felt like an economic game with an Indiana Jones theme pasted on, I was really put off by this. Typical euro but with great art and components, unlike the wooden cubes they usually have, can't say that's enough for me :(.

[@Shelfside]

yep, this game Euro's haaaard! Researching is kinda there as a theme meets gameplay, but researching definitely feels like track pushing to me. Cheers! -Ashton

[@danmillar6323]

Did a double take when I heard that Monster Hunter music in the intro

[@obsidiansiriusblackheart]

That intro 😂

[@TheLuminousCleric]

@26:00 - Guy abusing the cards!!!!!

[@scottmcfarlane7524]

What does a Trowel have to do with adventure and exploration?? lol

[@Shelfside]

uhh, umm. Digging up rare artifacts during ones adventure? bahaha. Was easier to find than a rope -Ashton

[@philwatkins2800]

A trowel is also the symbol the game uses to denote Item cards

[@robbiemcarley]

Hilarious intro

[@TheWanderer-m9s]

I prefer "Northgard- Uncharted Land".

[@TheLuminousCleric]

Wow. You reviewed the game without its expansion...

[@Shelfside]

looks like we'll have to give that a go! -Ashton

[@NicolaasNc]

Video felt a lot longer than it needed to be

[@AccordingToPlandrew]

One of the negatives for me is that the players are the baddies from spirit island (i.e. it's a bad theme).

[@thomasboon3626]

I don't see that. In Spirit Island, the baddies are colonizing the island, killing the natives. In Arnak, you are a team of archaeologists doing research to learn about the long vanquished civilization. Even the intro makes fun of how (maybe unnecessary) friendly-themed this game is. You don't even kill all the monsters. You befriend them and use their boons (you give the owl tablets that match runes on its body, and the owl then gives you one plane symbolizing it gave you a ride). I am personally getting positive vibes from this theme in contrast with other Indiana Jones / Tomb Rider-themed games.

[@arthursimsa9005]

Wow, you literally did not understand any of the theme, congratulations

[@garylangford6755]

This is a total flop for me. Almost no interaction. Shocker how well it did

[@Shelfside]

No interaction doesn't make it inherently bad, and for what the game's doing it does it really well. Of course, definitely not a fan of low interaction myself lol -Daniel