In Clank! Catacombs published by Dire Wolf Games, there are ghosts, prisoners, portals, and treasures waiting in the depths of a dungeon that players build as they explore! Because you will create a different dungeon each time you play this stand-alone version of Clank!, there is a greater variety of possible experiences. Most of the rules and goals of the original Clank! A Deck Building Adventure apply to this game. You still need to retrieve an artifact, escape the dragon, and return to the starting area with the most points to win the game.
Players each start with a deck of 10 cards exactly like the original Clank! Game. The Reserve Cards (Mercenary, Explore, Secret Tome, and Goblin card) are the same. There is an entirely new 100 card dungeon deck. There are 7 Artifacts, 11 Major Secrets, 20 Minor Secrets, Mastery Tokens, and Monkey Idols. For the Market, there is a market board, 2 backpacks, and 3 crowns. New market items will be outlined below in the “different and new” explanation. Of course, there is gold just like the other Clank! series of games.
What else is different and new in Clank! Catacombs?
The Clank Dungeon: Instead of one large dungeon board, this Clank Dungeon starts with one tile. The rest of the dungeon will be built by the players during the course of the game using the 28 square Dungeon tiles included. There are six tiles in the “aboveground safety” area, and the rest are for the depths of the Dungeon. While moving your character, when it comes to a path that ends and you will continue to move on that turn, take a tile from the top of the pile and position it next to the path your character is standing on. On each tile, there are 4 roads leading in different directions, and the tile can be turned to face whichever direction you choose based on what makes sense with overall board navigation and/or the rewards you wish to access next. You must place it in a position that allows you to take the next move forward with the resources you have. Once you place the tile, if there are areas included for small rewards, choose one from the stack in the general supply and place it face-down on the indicated space on the board.
Other new features and areas on the Dungeon tiles are:
Lockpicks: Some areas of the Dungeon are locked. There are no keys available at the market, so players must have a lockpick for each area of the board that requires one to access it. There is a supply of lockpick tokens included with this game. Players start with three and can acquire additional lockpicks during the game. After use, they are left on the board so that tunnels remain unlocked or rewards that are unlocked are marked as “already taken”. Rewards that require lockpicks are the following: Chests—When opened, the player immediately takes a large secret at random from the Bank. Libraries—When opened, acquire a Secret Tome and place it for free in your discard pile. Prisons— When a player picks a prison lock, they immediately free two prisoners by taking two random prisoner tokens from the Bank. There is a reference sheet included in the game that describes each prisoner and any actions/rewards they bring. Many of them have immediate rewards, and all but one provide points at the end of the game.
Wayshrines: These areas in the depth of the dungeon have spaces for 4 cubes on their corners. When you enter one, use a cube to claim one corner and then collect one gold for each cube you have on a Wayshrine in the dungeon, including this one! You can only put one cube on each Wayshrine.
Portals: If a tunnel ends in a portal, you can enter it and then exit from any other portal in the dungeon. This movement requires one boot.
New Market Items: Burglar’s kits provide two lockpicks and two end-game points, and Blood Amulets immediately heal 2 damage, but you must have at least 5 damage to your character to buy it. They are worth 7 points at the end of the game.
There are two new Minor Secrets—A lockpick and a puzzle box. Turn in a puzzle box for a major secret from the bank when you enter a Wayshrine.
White Clank Cubes: There are five white cubes that represent ghosts. They will be added to the clank area in few situations. There are four catacomb tiles in the depths that are haunted, and when they are added to the dungeon, you must put a white cube in the clank area. There is also a haunted prisoner tile. When you obtain it, you also must place a white ghost cube in the clank area. Some cards also direct you to add a ghost cube. Each time a white ghost cube is drawn from the bag during a dragon attack, all players take one damage for each of them. White cubes immediately go back to the Clank area and never leave the game!
That’s about it with new items! I own the original Clank! The Deck Building Adventure game and a few of its expansions. Catacombs is a wonderful addition to my collection as it adds new adventures and rewards to the series. If you have the Clank! Adventuring Party Expansion, it can be mixed with this game to allow up to six players to join in the fun using the included setup instructions. For 2-4 players with a 45-to-90-minute play time. ~ Marsha