Sunken Treasures: Clank! expansion

Clank is easily one of my favourite games of all time. I only started playing it two months ago but I have already racked up over 50 plays across the base game and the expansions Gold & Silk and Temple of the Ape Lords (which I have reviewed and loved). Now I have got my hands on the expansion Sunken Treasures and I am ready to give my thoughts. So will it be laying broken on the bottom of the ocean or sailing majestically across the waves? Read on to find out.

What’s In The Box

I want to get the disappointments out of the way first, this expansion does not include any new meeples or a boss meeple and although it is a double sided map they both play the same way. This is a real shame as in the Gold & Silk and the Temple of the Ape Lord expansions all of the maps played differently with new mechanisms and a completely different feel. Although it would have been only for aesthetic reasons, I would have really liked some new player meeples with diving suits and a new boss meeple such as a water dragon.

Disappointments out of the way what is great in this expansion? The previously mentioned double sided maps are beautiful to look at with many branching paths to take and the exciting flooded areas. You receive one new major secret and two minor secrets. The new scuba equipment that can be bought from the market and a new market board to store all of the items on. Finally thirty five excellent new dungeon cards and a new permanent monster card (the scary Goldfish).

Dive, Dive, Dive

Set up for Sunken Treasures is incredibly easy as you just mix the major & minor secrets in with the base game ones, place the scuba items in the market place, place the Goldfish card next to the Goblin (as it is a permanent monster which stays available even after defeating it), and finally shuffle the new dungeon cards in with the deck. You are now ready to play.

You will notice on the maps there are several new icons and rooms that are flooded. Firstly there are clank! tunnels (which have a star) and these indicate that you are making a noise by diving into the water and you must add a clank cube to the clank area for each symbol shown. However if you don’t have any clank cubes left or you are moving via a teleport you do not add any cubes.

Next there are the flipper icons which mean that to pass through that tunnel you only have to use one boot if you are in possession of the scuba gear (otherwise it is two boots).

The flooded rooms included with this map are brilliant as they add another layer of complexity and decision making that means pushing your luck has more rewards but also more consequences. Without the scuba gear getting through the flooded areas is hard work with lots of boots required. In addition, if you ever start your turn in a flooded area and you do not have the scuba gear you must rise above the water at some point during your turn to take in air. If you don’t you will take one damage. If you are underwater without the scuba gear and you don’t come up for air but you have no more clank cubes you will be knocked out.

So why would you risk it by going underwater? For the treasure of course. Both maps cleverly hide their best treasure either in or just beyond the flooded rooms and to score big you have to push your luck. Very cleverly the game only includes two scuba equipments therefore in a three or four player game you will be desperately trying to get seven coins so you can snap them up before your competitors.

The designers have thought about this and a lot of the cards included have ways of obtaining more money more quickly. More cards also allow you to discard cards for either a coin bonus or to draw more cards into your hand. All of these new dungeon cards feel really well thought out and fit perfectly with the base cards.

The new permanent monster, the Goldfish, can only be attacked when in a flooded room and requires three swords. The bonus for attacking it is a lovely three gold coins.

My Final Thoughts Are Flooding In

Despite both maps being very similar and there being no extra meeples I highly recommend this expansion to Clank! fans. The diving mechanism is so clever and the extra cards really add flavour to the game and make it even more exciting than before. If you dare to go into the depths and don’t have the scuba gear you are very brave as there is nothing more scary than looking at your next hand of cards and realising you cannot move and therefore will take damage.

I know the team at Direwolf have moved on from the original Clank! as the new Clank! Catacombs is due for release any day now, but I would love more expansions like this for the original. So excuse me while I gear up, there is more treasure for me at the bottom of the ocean.