2020 · Fantasy
Lost Ruins of Arnak
Players lead expeditions on an uninhabited island, sending teams to uncover traces of a lost civilization, recover artifacts, and confront guardians. The game combines deck-building and worker placement: cards can be played for effects or to place workers, and exploring the map unlocks new action spaces and benefits. Resource management matters because some actions cost resources rather than workers, and players take one action per turn, competing for limited spaces and opportunities. Small personal decks, evolving board options, and varied artifacts and equipment create tactical decisions and different strategic paths each play.
- Players
- 1–4 best 3
- Playing time
- 30–120 min
- Age
- 12+
- Complexity
- 2.9 / 5
About the game
- Publisher
Expansions
See them in Ludoya
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Expedition Leaders2021
Lost Ruins of Arnak: The Missing Expedition2023
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Twisted Paths2025
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Saxophone Promo Card2021
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Alicorn Promo Card2021
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Soothsayer's Runes Promo Card2021
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Rat Promo Card2024
Lost Ruins of Arnak: The Search for Professor Kutil2021
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Surprise Shipment2026
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Solo Mini Expansions2021
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Steam Version Promo2025
Lost Ruins of Arnak: Storage Box2025Photos from Ludoya tables
All photos in Ludoya
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 3,992
- Plays logged
- 2,196
- Players
- 1h 32m
- Average play
- 712
- In collections
- 77
- On wishlists
7.8/10
from 316 Ludoya reviews
Mestremuten8.0 Rating: 4/5 Production value: 3/4 Is the game in my collection/Love to have?: 1/1
Played it 15 times
Garfield2.0 Boring gather resource, change resources for other resources to get some VPs. [c] Theme: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Weak theme --> Gameplay: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Nah --> Interaction: ★☆☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]No --> Artwork: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Nice --> Luck: <!-- size 7]can't remember --> Strategy: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Not much possibilities --> Components: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Very good --> Play duration: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]A little bit too long --> Easy to teach: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]A lot to teach --> Rules quality: <!-- size 7]not read --> Setup time: <!-- size 7]can't remember --> No downtime: <!-- size 7]can't remember --> Replay value: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Not much I can think of --> [/c]
No plays logged
- Base -
Played it 9 times
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
If a card shows a travel (boot/ship/etc.) icon, can I play it for its effect and still use the travel value on the same turn?
No — a card can be used either for its travel value or for its effect, but not both; choose one when you use the card. (Rulebook, p.8; p.13)
When I discover a new site and a guardian is placed, does the guardian affect me immediately or do I get stuck/get Fear right away?
The guardian has no immediate effect when placed; however, at the end of the round you gain a Fear card for each archaeologist you take back from a site that still has a guardian on it. You can overcome the guardian later as a main action to avoid that Fear and gain its boon. (Rulebook, p.10–11; p.17)
A cost asks for two icons (e.g., ship+boot) — can I pay that with two separate cards or with one card that shows two icons?
You can cover a two‑icon cost using travel values from two sources (two separate cards) or with a single card that itself provides both icons; a card that provides extra icons can also overpay a one‑icon cost but the extra icon is wasted. (Rulebook, p.9)
How do assistants work — do they refresh automatically and can I use an assistant again immediately after upgrading it?
Assistants are exhausted when used and normally refresh (become available) at the end of the round, but when you upgrade an assistant to gold you flip it and it is refreshed immediately, allowing an immediate reuse. (Rulebook, p.16)
If I choose to pass, do I immediately take back my archaeologists and receive Fear from guardians, and can I still play free actions?
Passing is your main action and you should use any free actions you still want before you pass, but you do not take back archaeologists or resolve guardian Fear until the end‑of‑round setup when all players have passed; archaeologists are returned simultaneously then and each return from a guarded site gives a Fear card. (Rulebook, p.17)
If I buy an artifact from the card row, can I use its effect right away even though artifacts have a play‑cost when played from hand?
Yes — when you buy an artifact you move it to your play area and may immediately resolve its effect while ignoring the artifact’s normal play‑cost in the corner; playing that same artifact later from your hand would require paying its play‑cost. (Rulebook, p.12; p.13)
Score sheet by Ludoya
Lost Ruins of Arnak score sheet
Every scoring category, from the Ludoya kit. On your phone the totals add up by themselves.
Score sheets and play helpers
- Full Game Kit
- Hoja de Puntuación y roles
- ES ✶ Las Ruinas Perdidas de Arnak (+exp.)
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Lost Ruins of Arnak with Ludoya
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.