Overview:
If you own LROA then the Twisted Paths Expansion 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 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.
Overview:
If you own LROA then the Twisted Paths Expansion 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 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 it’s effect. It will remain there for the rest of the game, meaning other players can also use it, again by them 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 place 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 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 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 have 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.
Gameplay:
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 face with human opponents.
Artwork and Components:
The artwork fits in seamlessly with all the previous expansions and main game, and the components are once again exceptionally good.
The Good:
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:
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.
I for one can’t wait for more plays, whether solo, or with friends, who will I’m sure also love how the complete world of Arnak plays out.
Arnak, a treasure worth discovering.
