Game Of The Month June 2023

Sophie Jones - Lost Ruins of Arnak 

My game of the month June 2023 is filled with adventure! Since picking this up at the UKGE I have been obsessed with none other than the Lost Ruins of Arnak. In this game players take on the role of explorers who have just landed on the island of Arnak. Their goal is to run expeditions and uncover the secrets of its lost civilisation. Along the way they will encounter ancient guardians who will hinder discovery.

Gameplay wise, players will take it in turn to complete an action. This action could be exploring a site, digging at an uncovered site, researching the ancient civilisation, buying gear, finding artifacts or defeating guardians. All these options cost resources but will also help you gather them to complete other actions. It’s a delicate balance of plotting your moves in advance to ensure you can do as many actions as possible before you run out. Once all players cannot do any other actions the round moves on. After 5 rounds, players score their points to find out who led the most successful expedition.

Arnak has made it onto my table multiple times this month, mainly because I adore its theme. I love Indianna Jones, Tomb Raider and Uncharted, if there is an archaeologist turned explorer storyline I’m there! Theme aside, this game has great, crunchy gameplay. It also includes some of my favourite mechanics such as deck building and worker placement. The game is also well made with tactile components and beautiful artwork. It ticks every box I want in a game.

With one expansion already out and another set to release in September this is a game that has replayability and room to grow. I cannot wait to set out on my next adventure and see what I discover next.

Partnersingames - Isle Of Trains 

After the wait for this game, we can say it was 100% worth it. Receiving that box and seeing the detail, time and effort that went into creating it by Dandra Games we are so happy that we backed the Kickstarter campaign. While at the UKGE 2023 we even went and found them to tell them just that and ended up buying the extra metal tokens.

When the game arrived, we couldn’t wait to open it and sleeve all the beautiful cards in the specially made sleeves to preserve this game for as long as humanly possible. The game play is really interesting and makes you think about every move and the ones to follow in such detail as to whether you are looking for items to fill your train to complete contracts or whether you’re going to build or upgrade your train.

To start the game layout the six location cards which will show the contracts you will be aiming to complete to gain your victory points. Then place the station name tiles next to the corresponding location card, under it you will put a random ticket card where you will be aiming to drop off your meeples. Dropping off meeples will gain the advantages shown on each ticket, you will have three chances to drop off at each station but be sure to only drop off the meeples that are the matching colour. Your starting set up will consist of two randomly chosen unboarded meeples, 5 cards and a level 1 engine card.

Have fun chugging through this game collecting all the cargo and passengers you can get your hands on, we hope to have many more happy hours playing this amazing game an hope you will too!

Matthew Morgan - Volfyirion Guilds 

We’ve had a few games on the table this month, which makes the task of choosing one quite challenging. That being said, the newly released deck builder Volfyirion Guilds stands out a mile for me.

Following the base game Volfyirion; its successor add heaps of new features, mechanics and expansions to make each playthrough unique and challenging. Players must protect their glorious cities by building an optimized deck of cards that can be used to defend and protect their own cities, whilst attacking their opponents. But if that wasn’t enough, the commotion is also watched over by Volfyirion, a deadly dragon nemesis that can either be convinced to attack your opponent's city or killed to bolster your own.

Mechanically it feels like a step up from dominion with card types introducing the mechanics. But Guilds has the added feature of multiple win conditions. Whether you beat your opponent's city to rubble yourself, or hire a dragon to do it; the advantage in each game can turn in an instant. Therefore having the upper hand inevitably comes down to a carefully built deck with the perfect balance of guilds included.

I have quickly come to love this game as it’s so incredibly easy to pick up and learn, and there’s very little set up time before you can get playing. Compared to other deck builder's it even rivals my favourite of all time; Star Realms. My only criticism is that some rounds can get quite stale as the dragon is bounced between cities by equally powerful decks. But all it takes is one bad hand for that to all change in an instant.

If you’re a fan of deck building games and are looking for a new venture, I honestly can’t recommend Volition Guilds enough.

Jacob Dunkley - Ark Nova

I always think the best games are the ones where you think about the game you played after, questioning what you could have done differently, what went well and what didn’t. Sometimes, a game comes along where you think about those games days and weeks after they’ve been played and inside you have a burning desire to get that game to the table over and over again. For me that game is currently Ark Nova.

For those that don’t know, Ark Nova is a relatively complex, lengthy and table consuming action selection game in which you compete to build up the best zoo. It is often compared to Terraforming Mars, and shares some similar mechanisms but something about Ark Nova just resonates so much more for me. The variable maps that you choose from, the shared conservation projects and the huge amount of cards included mean that you have to alter your strategy from game to game not knowing if you should be working towards some form of petting zoo and predator paradise or building a zoo filled with birds and reptiles. I love the race element of the latter part of the game, which starts at a gentle plod before ramping up as you desperately try to set up your moves to allow you to release enough animals and support enough conservation projects in the final turns hoping you’ve done enough to cross the score markers before your opponents.

That’s not to say that I don’t have any criticisms of the game, it can run very long if people take too long with their decisions (I don’t mind a three hour game but some people do!), I still find some of the cards slightly confusing after many plays and sometimes the cards you are looking for just don’t come up, which can happen more in a two player game where less cards are cycles. Despite these minor points, I’ve recently elevated this to a perfect 10 score for me, it offers everything that I enjoy in a game and offers so much replayability. I am so excited for the new Marine Worlds expansion which will be dropping later this year, offering upgraded action cards, bonus cards and animals but I can’t see myself getting bored of the game between now and then. 

Craig Smith - Sleeping Gods