Clank! was one of my first real games that I played heavily, and now we have all expansions, we did the whole legacy campaign for Acquisitions Incorporated, and I got the asymmetric player expansion. Skipped Clank in Space but went for Catacombs and we really enjoy the exploring, but I don’t feel like there’s as much loot to scoop. One of my favorite things about OG Clank is how many tokens there are to slurp up and it’s fun having a big hoard of loot near the end. I do think I like Catacombs more because of the variable dungeon you create while playing but I’m not sure if it fully unseats the original. Any other Clank players out there who have thoughts on which they like best?
No comment on catacombs because this is my first time ever hearimg about Clank! This seems 100% like a game I’d play. Thanks for spreading the word.
Do you think I should get Clank original or catacombs? I will say the idea of the dungeon being different everytime you play sounds very interesting.
Oh cool, glad I could spread the word, they are all really great games. I definitely would recommend Clank Catacombs to start if you like exploring and variable dungeons. There are plenty of opportunities to build routes that are convenient or very challenging, so lots of player agency! And the goal is to delve deep into the catacombs then make your way back to the start, so navigating your way back can be quite a harrowing tasks depending on your options.
I’ve only played the OG Clank and really enjoy it. Had no idea about Catacombs or the asymmetric player expansion, so definitely gonna look into those, thanks!
You bet! Love these games. The asymmetric player expansion is called Adventuring Party and somehow it works with every version of Clank! which is pretty rad. Catacombs with variable powers is so much fun.
Having played all 3, I think Clank Catacombs is the best iteration so far. The variable dungeon tiles really add to the “exploring” theme while improving the replay value. My group loves how you are really incentivized to push your luck on whether to take a known route back vs cutting a new path.
Yes the path building is a great addition and it’s hilarious when you get a dud draw that totally screws you. I did end up in a situation where it was impossible to get back, we had a market card come out that rotated a tile I was on and caused me to be permanently stuck. So instead we rotated it one more time, but there are edge cases when the catacombs just eat you! I wonder if the game creators intended that.
We love Clank! After dominion, our first modern euro (not counting settlers of catan) we got Clank and loved it. The majority of games we play are only my gf and I and while clank does work as a 2-player, its much better with 3 or more. Thus, it does not see the table often as other games.
However, we got Clank Catacombs soon as it came out and loved it. Works better as a two player too, because the routes are not so predictable. We had some games with super easy dungeon escape routes and others where almost everyone died trying to escape. I love that aspect of the game.
There are also a lot of cards that make +clank and this makes playing much more dangerous. I like that since dying in original clank was rather rare. Dying below the green line happened maybe once or twice in al the games we played of the original in 5 years.
Catacombs is borrowing some aspects of legacy and I think it really works well.
Catacombs does seem better with two in my experience as well, but I do miss the absolute glut of tokens to pick up that you get in the main games. Also the “reaction” cards in Catacombs aren’t as useful when there’s only one other player doing stuff, but we use the Adventuring Party characters which keeps things interesting enough since we each have our own personal mechanics to use. I love the mage lady who can gain and spend mana, saving up the max amount then having a huge turn feels really good.
