Quick Look: Lost Ruins of Arnak & The Twisted Paths Expansion

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Designers: Min & Elwen
Artists: Ondřej Hrdina, Jiří Kůs, Jakub Politzer
Publisher: Czech Games Edition
Years Published: 2020 & 2023 & 2025

No. of Players: 1-4 

Ages: 12+

Playing Time: 30-120 minutes

Find more info on BoardGameGeek.com  

From the Publisher:

Twisted Paths is the final major addition to the world of Arnak. Its highlight is a new double-sided map, bigger than the one in the base game, that features two new research tracks, each with unique mechanisms and components.

On the map, you can choose to explore its daytime side and scale the white stone of the Owl Temple. It uses unique new temple tiles that, if combined together, can become extra idol slots, and a third research token, a lantern, that brings even stronger research rewards. You can also brave the night and journey through the dark caverns of the Spider Temple. This side uses a new resource, dark tablets, used to invoke mysterious altars and place artifacts directly onto the research track to be used when ascending the track. But beware—using the dark tablets can give you strong rewards, but also cost you points should you become too ambitious!

In addition to the two new maps, the expansion also contains new guardians, sites, and assistants. It also brings some solo content—Rival tiles for the new maps, as well as Purple Rival tiles and Rival Objectives, two mini expansions we’ve previously released online as print-and-play.

Disclaimer: The publisher provided the copy of Lost Ruins of Arnak: Twisted Paths expansion. The opinions expressed in the review are completely my own.

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Review:

Overview:

Main Game

If you’ve ever wanted to be Indiana Jones then this is the game for you. Your archaeologists move to locations to explore new sites, gain resources and dig for treasure, but watch out for the guardians, who you have to defeat or suffer end of turn consequences. You can research to also find new resources, and get help from new assistants, collect idols, defeat the guardians, plus purchase artifacts and item cards to help with your archaeological ‘adventure’.

The Missing Expedition 

This latest expansion provides you with 2 new leaders, the Mechanic and the Journalist. They can both be combined with the leaders from the earlier Expedition Leaders expansion, although there are rules to ‘make up’ two more leaders from the cards and boards from the main game, which are all explained in the new rules. This new expansion can be played with any of the leaders from the two expansions, rather than the original leaders with the main game.

Twisted Paths

If you own LROA then this last expansion for it is the perfect way to end the adventure. It comes with a new double sided board, plus new;

• Site tiles
• Guardian tiles
• Assistant tiles
• Idol tiles
• Research bonus tiles
• Solo action tiles

Coupled with these you also get new Dark Tablets, Lantern Research tokens, Owl Temple tiles and card dividers for help with storage.

Rules & Setup:

The rules are excellently put together, with plenty of pictures and examples of play and in game situations on every page, showing initial table set up from solo to 4 players. Player board set-up is easy and quick with very little initially to do.

The main game board has a fair bit of initial set up, but the end result is a very colorful, and exceptionally thought out board with very nice components, both card and colored plastic.

There are also some FAQ’s and explanations of cards and symbols on the last few pages which are very helpful, and there are 4 small player aid cards which also help players with each game turn and in game occurrences.

Each round lasts until each ‘physical’ player has passed, or if playing solo you wait until the AI has played all 10 cards, and then you retrieve your two archaeologists and perform any end of turn moves required, and then reset for the next turn, of which there are 5 in total.

The Missing Expedition

The new leaders bring specific traits / abilities, very similar to those from the Expedition Leaders expansion. The rules for all these leaders are clear and concise, and all seem to work well to enhance the base game, and elevate the playing experience.

The journalist gets to write stories and thus this allows his journal to move one level above his spyglass on the research track, something that other leaders cannot do.

He can then publish these articles and by doing so, as you publish / spend them you get to unlock extra bonuses on your newspaper tile on your player board.

The Mechanic gets to ‘tinker’ as an ability, and you can also gain ‘Rusty’ a monkey assistant, and can only be used by the mechanic.

Once you have drawn cards at the start of rounds 1, 3 & 5 you also get to reveal a pair of gold widgets, choose one to keep and then add this to your machine on your player board.

The machine has silver widgets, and spaces for 4 gold ones which can be added to give you bonus effects.

Both leaders played well during solo, and weren’t over the top on power etc.

Set up is as per the original game, you just transpose player boards and a few components.

Twisted Paths

The rules are mostly the same as in the original game, apart from the fact that the Dark Tablets are used to invoke altars on the new Spider Temple board research track. To invoke the altar you must place a dark tablet below it on the spot that matches your player colour.

If you invoke an empty altar you can take an artefact card from the card row and place it on the altar, and you have the option to immediately resolve its effect. It will remain there for the rest of the game, meaning other players can also use it, again by placing a dark tablet.

Each player may place a maximum of 3 dark tablets below each altar.

Unused dark tablets can be returned at the end of the game allowing more victory points to be scored, but they can also cause players to lose points if they have to return them to a place showing negative points.

You also score points for the most dark tablets placed below each altar, and if tied all tied players score the points.

The Owl Temple board has a unique set of temple tiles, replacing the regular ones that you leave in the game box. These new tiles go at the top of the board, in the body of the temple, and on the secret passage areas.

There are also some changes to the idols placed onto the main board depending on if you are playing with the Missing Expedition expansion or not, but all the rules for this are clearly explained in the new Twisted paths rulebook.

The owl Temple research track has six secret passages, and if you take / use one of these then your magnifying glass cannot be used for the rest of the game. 

On future research actions either your lantern or notebook can move.

You take a temple tile if any of your research tokens are on the same space as a temple tile and you can pay the depicted cost. Also, if you reach the row marked with one of the pyramid icons you can do your research action to buy temple tiles from the top of the temple.

At the end of the game you score points based on the position of all 3 of your research tokens.

There are rules to include both new boards into the solo play mode, and each has their own new action tiles, replacing some from the original game. There are also solo mini expansions in the rulebook which bring more game options.

Theme and Mechanics:

The theme is definitely one that will draw a lot of people into the game, and certainly helped to draw me in to the game.

The mechanics lends themselves to exciting game play, whether solo or with higher player counts, and the variety in the gaining of different assistants and cards allows for lots of variants in how the game takes shape, and makes for a lot of exciting player interaction.

The Missing Expedition

The new expansion definitely adds that extra spark to the original game, and I can see that these would be used more by players than just the original ones from the base game, as they absolutely add to the overall theme.

Twisted Paths

The theme is definitely one that will draw a lot of people into the game, and certainly helped to draw me in to the game.

The mechanics lend themselves to exciting game play, whether solo or with higher player counts, and the variety in the gaining of different assistants and cards allows for lots of variants in how the game takes shape, and makes for a lot of exciting player interaction.

Gameplay:

The solo mode has been excellently thought out, with the actions expertly mimicking that of a ‘live’ player with all the spanners in the works that can occur when face with human opponents.

Each round consists of you playing one major action each turn, and any number of free actions as you either wish to do, or are able to do.

Two of the main actions are digging at a site, or exploring a new site, both of which bring rich rewards in the form of new resources, and the threat of dealing with the Guardians of Arnak, who at the end of each round need to be vanquished or they will deal out a fear card to the player, and will remain in play for later rounds, and until they are removed.

You continue like this until you can no longer do any of the main, or free actions, and you then ‘pass’ and wait until all other players too have passed, and the end of round sequence begins. Once each player has regrouped their archaeologists, the board is reset for the next round, with some cards being removed and replenished, and the next round begins.

There are 5 game rounds, and at the end you add up your accumulated points, which are gained from moving up the research track, the cards and idols you have managed to gain, and the guardians you have defeated.

The player with the most points is the winner, and if tied there are tie breakers to take into consideration to determine the outcome, and victor. 

The Missing Expedition

The gameplay is definitely better with the ‘themed’ leaders, but are absolutely not a requirement to enjoy the game, which is excellent if you only ever play in it’s original form.

Twisted Paths

The solo mode has once again been excellently thought out, with the actions expertly mimicking that of a ‘live’ player with all the spanners in the works that can occur when faced with human opponents.

Artwork and Components:

The artwork is excellent, both in the rulebook, and on the cards and boards, and the components are well made and add to the aesthetics of the whole experience.

For me, this is one of the prettiest games I’ve played in terms of how it looks on the table. Sometimes games can look good, but then are found lacking of anything substantial or any decent gameplay, but with Arnak this isn’t the case, the excellent table presence only enhances it. 

The Missing Expedition

The quality of the components is exactly the same as that of the original game, and first expansion and so fits in perfectly and seamlessly.

Twisted Paths

The artwork fits in seamlessly with all the previous expansions and main game, and the components are once again exceptionally good.

The Good:

There has been a lot of hype surrounding this game, and it is easy to see why. The excellent production of the game, the superb ruleset, and the look of it on the table shows why it is currently number 55 (at time of writing) on the list of games on BoardgameGeek.

The Missing Expedition

The good thing about this new expansion is that it feels like it has been there all along, and that is as easy to show and teach to new players of the game as it would be to those who have played it before.

Twisted Paths

This game has many things going for it, from the totally engaging stand alone base game to adding in all the expansions for a truly excellent gaming experience, as well the brilliantly thought out in built campaign which can be played through more than once.

The production is fantastic, and Arnak is one of the prettiest and most colourful games you can have on your table.

 

The Bad:

If I had one thought then maybe the introduction of a third archaeologist from say round 3 for every player, or the option to ‘purchase’ a third would add another dynamic into an already excellent game, although I understand there is a new expansion due out in Q4 of 2021 so we’ll see exactly what extras are being added to further enhance gameplay.

The Missing Expedition

For me, there aren’t any bad points to this new addition to Arnak.

Twisted Paths

Now we have the complete Arnak experience, I can’t really find anything bad or negative about it.

Final Thoughts:

Is this game worth getting,… absolutely, in fact this has gone into my top 10 games that I own after just a few plays, it is that good in my opinion.

This will I’m sure be a hit with my fellow friends and gamers, but it’s worth getting for the solo play alone, and the new expansion(s) will I’m sure only make the whole experience better.

I for one can’t wait for more plays, whether solo, or with friends, who will I’m sure also love how Arnak works.

In future plays, I will almost certainly use the leaders rather than the original game boards.

Arnak, a treasure, still worth discovering if you have not done so already.

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Check out Lost Ruins of Arnak, The Missing Expedition Expansion & The Twisted Paths Expansion and Czech Games Edition on: