Clank Catacombs
Is there a Dungeons & Dragons rogue simulator?
In Clank Catacombs, we play as a thief who has his eye on valuable artifacts hidden in the dungeons. To steal them, we must assemble a team of brave card heroes and evade attacks from their owner. In this installment of Clank, that would be a zombie dragon, aided by mischievous ghosts.
Join me for a review of the best Clank game.
Companion Building
The most important feature of Clank is deck building. How we build our deck will affect our efficiency in traversing the dungeons. There are more options in Catacombs, and I like how our companions synergize with each other. This version also offers more ways to remove unwanted cards, so you can quickly build a better deck.
Uncharted Paths
Another great feature of this version is that we don’t know what awaits us around every corner. Because this time, we’ll be building our own dungeons. This modular board system is simply brilliant. I definitely missed something like this in the first Clank, where I felt like I was choosing similar routes every time. Here, when I play, I eagerly await discovering new rooms, hoping to claim the Zombie Dragon’s riches. Because of this, every playthrough felt completely different to me.
Push your Clank
What I’ve always liked about Clank is that we often have to take a gamble. Because when we buy new cards, we risk being attacked by a furious dragon. Sometimes we’ll do it on purpose just to take down other players (I like that). It’s the same when exploring new rooms. Because we never know if we’ll make it out alive without dying somewhere along the way.
The best part is that we decide for ourselves how deep we’ll venture to get the most valuable loot.
In the Catacombs, we get everything I described above. However, I feel like it’s somehow easier. We have many ways to get rid of the clank cubes and the cards that generate them. Because of all this, we’ll sometimes be able to extend our visit by a couple of minutes.
It will also depend on what the other rogues are doing. Because it’s the players who will dictate when it’s worth staying or when to make a run for it. This is also where that Gollum-like greed comes in, which made me take each step with excitement. After all, everyone will want to take as much as possible out of these catacombs.
My Artifact
Another cool thing about Clank is that you can earn points from many different sources. You’ll get them from artifacts, purchased cards, money, and freed prisoners. It’s not just the most valuable artifact that counts. Plus, every dungeon prisoner you free will give you a completely different score at the end of the game.
Game Duration and Number of Players
The chaos in the dungeons really depends on the players. Because it’s the other thieves who will dictate how long the game lasts. This is another of my favorite aspects of this game. We never know when someone will decide to escape, so we have to keep a close eye on the other players.
As for me, the game length was always perfect, and the game never dragged on. Even with 4 players. Although in that case, our exploration is more interesting, considering that the catacombs can expand in many ways and you can expect dragon attacks more often.
Artwork and Components
The quality of the game is pretty average. The box is thin and gets scuffed easily. You’ll want to sleeve the cards right away so they don’t get bent from constant shuffling. Honestly, that’s a good idea for any deck-building game. The rest of the components are okay, but considering the price of this game, you can overlook that.
Graphically, though, I like the game. It’s like a cartoon version of Dungeons & Dragons with a touch of humor. Just the way it should be.
Summary
For me, Clank Catacombs is the best version of this noisy game. As always, I have a blast building my deck to navigate the dungeons more efficiently. The fact that the board looks different every time means I don’t get that sense of déjà vu that plagued me in previous installments. And as always, the best part is tempting fate and testing our greed while stealing treasures. I gladly return to Clank! for these thrills, because it’s my true board game guilty pleasure.
Final verdict: It was worth making a racket for the best CLANK!
Pros
Deck Building
Tempting Fate
Gollum-like Greed
Modular Dungeons
Dungeons & Dragons Rogue Simulator
Price
Cons
The box wears out like a pair of trendy jeans
