Clank! A Deck-Building Adventure
SHHH, you’re going to wake the dragon… CLANK!!!!! In CLANK! you and your friends compete to enter the lair of the dragon and abscond with the most treasure, but every turn and every action can lead to CLANK! Get as deep in the lair as fast as possible to get the best loot for yourself before the dragon’s fury can wipe you out.
The components are of good quality, and the setup is fast and easy.
Everyone gets a starter deck made of the same cards, a player token, and a matching CLANK! cubes. Set up the game board with secrets, loot, and the dragon track marker. Then, shuffle the dungeon deck and place out 6 cards face up. This row of cards is comprised of a random assortment of ability and equipment cards to add to your deck, devices to use, allies to aid in your quest, and monsters to fight. It’s a great random dungeon generator. You never know what lurks around the corner.
On your turn, you draw your hand of 5 cards and count the boots, swords, and skill points you get to add to your pool for the turn. Boots allow you to travel the dungeons’ many treacherous halls. The swords are used to do battle with monster cards in the dungeon row or to get through monster tunnels unscathed. Skill is used to acquire cards from the dungeon row and add them to your discard pile. As with most deckbuilding games, this can have a huge impact on your strategy.
Some cards and actions can also add…CLANK!
When this happens, you add one of your colored cubes to the CLANK! pool. When a card added to the dungeon row has the dragon symbol on it, the dragon stirs. Put all cubes in the CLANK! pool into the dragon bag. Draw cubes from the bag in accordance with the number on the dragon tracker.
For every CLANK! cube of your player color drawn, you have incurred the dragon’s wrath and take a point of damage. Grab as much loot as you can carry and race to the exit. The first person to escape enrages the dragon and starts moving on the “Count Down Tracker” once each turn. Each spot hastens all the remaining players to their doom! Make it above ground to have your points counted or escape completely for bonus points. The thief with the most points is the champion!
CLANK! Is one of my favorite deckbuilding games and a definite must for any boardgame shelf. Many different versions and expansions exist so if you end up liking it too, there is more out there to revel in.
I hope you get a chance to play it and I can’t wait to play it again! CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!…. UH OH!
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