What’s new in Lost Ruins of Arnak Expedition Leaders?

Lost Ruins of Arnak is one of the best games of 2020. So it’s no wonder that there’s an expansion, well, several expansions. Although they’ve previously released a single-player campaign, the Expedition Leaders expansion is the first one that adds to the multiplayer game.

So let’s see what’s in the box.

New Cards!

Firstly there are 18 new items, 12 new artifacts, and 1 excited board game reviewer. This was one area where I thought Lost Ruins of Arnak could improve. In the base game, there were a lot of cards that, while powerful, just weren’t interesting.

Often in my plays, people wouldn’t bother picking up any of the available options because they didn’t seem to do much. This seems to be tackled in this expansion as some of the revealed cards are already adding more exciting options.

For instance, the Hand Lens gives you a choice of three bonuses to grant depending on where you are on the research track. Providing you with some additional flexibility within your deck.

Explore more Lost Ruins of Arnak

Also in this expansion are two additional research tracks that can be overlaid on top of the board. One of these research tracks, the Monkey Temple, introduces an artifact you can use for free. While the Lizard Temple track has a guardian that must be defeated before players can advance.

Otherwise, they bring over travel costs from the exploration side of the board, as well as allowing you earlier access to the temple.

Change your game with new Expedition Leaders

The main draw of Expedition Leaders is the new character boards. Before each game, every player takes on the role of one of the expedition leaders. Some examples include the Captain, Falconer, or Baroness.

Accompanied by a unique player board, starting cards, additional rules, and tokens. Each character promises a radically different style of play.

The Captain is gungho about getting out in the wild. Therefore, they’ll have 3 archaeologists (one more than everyone else). They are also able to get help from assistants not yet claimed.

On the other hand, the Falconer benefits from defeating guardians. And surprise, surprise, also has a falcon that can be used to retrieve resources and unlock more guardians around the map.

There are six characters in total, and these two are both the simplest to use but also a good representation of the game-breaking effects in play. I’m excited to try them all out, but also a little wary of how they might affect the balance of the game.

However, if well-balanced, this could be a phenomenal addition. And elevate Lost Ruins of Arnak to a mainstay within my collection.

What else is in Lost Ruins of Arnak Expedition Leaders?

Several other smaller additions will help round out the game. These additions include new guardians, sites, assistants, and idols.

Lastly, they’ve introduced the Red Moon Staff variant which discards more of the market each round. Allowing more cards to hit the market throughout the game.

Overall, this expansion is chockablock full of new ideas and mechanisms to try out. While I love the new cards, I can’t wait to test out the different leaders and see which one fits my play style.

What do you think of the new expansion? Are the new expedition leaders going to make or break the game?