I had been hearing about CLANK! the last few years after its release in 2016. Many said that this was the deck-building game for people who don't like deck-building games. I have only recently become familiar with deck building games and had a variety of experiences that range from "just okay" to "really enjoyed". In this article, I describe my first experience playing CLANK! and other thoughts and observations. Taking Deck-Building to Another Level For those unfamiliar with the term/mechanism "deck building", it means: Deck Building - Players each begin with a small, similar base deck of cards. Through the course of the game additional cards are selected for inclusion in the players' decks making each deck somewhat unique. As the deck is built upon and strengthened, the new cards are drawn and used in future reshuffles of the deck. Often these games require players to discard their hand each turn forcing a high rate of card turnover. The game which is credited as the first to use this mechanic is Dominion. I wrote about deck building in a past post which listed this and many other board-game mechanisms and terms. Click here to refer back to my previous post on game mechanisms. Most deck building games are primarily card games. Some have added coins or other minor components to add to the experience. CLANK! was among the first to incorporate a board-game element to deck building. The other game that comes to mind which also incorporated a game board was Tyrants of the Underdark which was released the same year, in 2016. Since then, there have been multiple expansions and re-themes of CLANK! and other deck-builders which added game boards and additional table-top components. This hybridization of game mechanisms has started a bit of a trend. Game Overview The general goal of CLANK! is for each adventurer to make their way through a castle and then venture down below ground into the dungeon levels where a dragon lurks. As players move through rooms and caverns on the board the adventurers pilfer goods and items along the way. As with most deck builders, each player starts with an identical deck of (10) cards, five of which are drawn into your hand and the others placed in the reserve deck. The cards provide actions or abilities when played from the hand as well as currency points. The currency can be used to purchase more items/cards at the end of each turn. A (sword) icon on some cards can be collectively counted and allows for the player to defeat monsters/cards. After each player's turn the cards that are played and purchased get placed face up in the player's discard pile. As players gain certain items/cards they place their colored cubes into the Clank! area which eventually get placed into a bag, this represents the amount of noise that is generated by placing items in your satchel. Beware, the more noise you generate makes it more likely that the dragon will attack you. As cards continue to be purchased or defeated, new cards are drawn to the community (market area). Drawing cards with the dragon symbol activate the dragon. The dragon is not happy about the items being burgled from his dungeon area and attempts to attack the players. A number of cubes is randomly drawn from the bag to determine who might be injured. Cubes represent wounds and are placed on each respective player's wound track at the bottom of the game board. Should an adventurer's track get completely full, they are defeated. This push-your-luck element of adding cubes to the bag upon gaining abilities and items is the key element of tension in the game. The goal is to grab at least one artifact from the deeper dungeon area and return safely to the surface. The first player to do this starts a "timer" of sorts and all who are able to exit will gain bonus points. Players then have four more rounds to get out of the depths of the dungeon and back to the surface. Those getting above ground level, yet not completely out of the castle don't receive bonus points however their points are counted even if their character has been defeated. Those players caught deep, below the ground level, are defeated and eliminated without counting points. Upon game end players count the gold, items (point values), bonuses, and any other points indicated on cards etc... The player with the most points is declared the winner. Thoughts and Opinions So, what is the verdict. Does adding a game board and other mechanisms add or detract from the deck-building game? For deck-building enthusiasts and purists, CLANK! might feel like there's just a lot of unnecessary stuff added that detracts from the elegance of a pure deck-building card game. I think CLANK! offers far more than a deck-builder alone can. In my estimation it adds or enhances the core deck-building mechanism. I really enjoyed the game. The strategy of deck-building may still be at its core, but the goals of the game to venture through rooms and caverns collecting items and points while trying to avoid wounds just added so much more. The game felt more immersive with the game board and visual representation of adventuring into the depths of a dungeon. This added to the tension of knowing you had to work your way all the way back to the surface, or possible perish. The fantasy theme was enjoyable and fit well with the mechanisms of the game. Drawing cubes from the bag and discovering which players would receive wounds drew the attention of all, waiting to see who would receive wounds. The tension grew as you knew more of your cubes were probably in the bag. Rounds were quick and player engagement was high. Not much down time. A well-balanced, well-designed fun game for all. Overall, I had a great first experience with CLANK!. Though I died as I attempted to get out of the dungeon, I did make it above ground level allowing me to count my points. Even if you don't think you like deck-building games, I would encourage you to give this one a try. There's so much more to the game than simply managing a hand/deck of cards. I would like to thank my friend Troy for breaking out his copy and teaching the game. I have wanted to give this a try for quite some time and this game play didn't disappoint... all four players seemed engaged and to like the game. Our banter and shouts when pulling cubes were a testament to our enjoyment. If you'd like to read more about CLANK! on the Board Game Geek site, click here. Please respond in the comments with your thoughts and observations. Thank you for continuing to visit and support King's GameNight by reading the posts. Also, follow the King's GameNight Facebook page to receive updates on the latest article posts as well as other links and shares on that page.
Game on!
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