Lost Ruins of Arnak is an outstanding game with excellent artwork, mechanics, production quality, and replayability value. However, the Expedition Leaders expansion takes the game to a whole new level by adding a tremendous amount of replayability and new mechanics.
The expansion introduces new sites, guardians, assistants, and cards, which add plenty of new combinations to the game. The new item and artifact cards, in particular, are a great addition, with many of them coming with unique features not found in the base game.
Additionally, Expedition Leaders features two unique research tracks. The monkey track has an artifact that activates when players’ magnifying glass tokens reach it, while the lizard track features a facedown guardian on the fourth step that players must defeat before they can progress further up the track. Both tracks come with new costs and benefits that make them different from the tracks in the base game.
However, the standout feature of this expansion is the introduction of leaders and their related player boards that replace the ones in the base game. The six new characters come with unique and vastly different powers, ranging from varying worker-placement actions to using fear cards as a resource. This addition adds a new layer of strategy and ensures that each playthrough feels fresh and different depending on the combination of leaders in the game. The leaders have varying levels of complexity, catering to players of different skill levels and preferences. The addition of leaders alone is enough to make it hard to go back to the base game and play it without the expansion.
Overall, Expedition Leaders is one of the best expansions for any game and is an absolute must-have. It provides an abundance of new content, and the addition of leaders and asymmetric player powers changes the game significantly. It’s worth noting that we enjoyed it so much that we played it 27 times in less than three weeks, setting a new record for us with a new game/expansion!
Disclaimer: We received a review copy of this expansion. Also, there may be an affiliate link in the links included at the end of this article.
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