Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure
DECK-BUILDING + PUSH-YOUR-LUCK DUNGEON-CRAWL BOARD GAME (2016) by PAUL DENNEN + RENEGADE GAME STUDIOS — thieves race into a DRAGON'S LAIR to steal artifacts + escape before it wakes. Signature: EVERY ACTION MAKES CLANK (noise) that fills a DRAGON'S ANGER BAG — when triggered, dragon attacks noisiest thieves. Balance greed vs stealth. Multiple sequels + expansions (Clank in Space, Clank Legacy). Deck-building meets dungeon-crawl in an elegant tight package.
Quick facts
Category
Board Games
Type
Individual
Players
2–4
Duration
~60 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Estimated origin
2016 Renegade Game Studios release; Clank! in! Space! 2017; Clank Legacy 2019
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Steal at least 1 artifact + escape the dungeon (or die trying with most VP).
Rules
Basic rules
Deck-building: play hand each turn to gain SKILL (buy cards), SWORD (fight monsters), or MOVE (travel dungeon)
Signature 3-resource deck-building.
CLANK: many cards + actions produce CLANK cubes that go into Dragon Anger Bag
Signature noise mechanic.
DRAGON ATTACKS: triggered when card indicates; pull cubes from bag; each YOUR cube = damage
Signature dragon attack.
STEAL: pick up ARTIFACT tokens (must have at least 1 to score anything!)
Signature artifact requirement.
ESCAPE: reach dungeon entrance to exit safely with your artifacts
Signature escape path.
HEALTH 0: die; still score VP if artifact obtained + you were 'in play' when dragon attacked
Signature death mechanic.
Scoring
VP from artifacts + gems + monkeys + gold + market cards; MUST have artifact for anything to count.
Win condition · Highest VP among players who obtained at least 1 artifact.
Equipment
Dungeon board (paths + rooms + artifacts) + player deck starter cards + market of buyable cards + player pawns
Signature components
Clank tokens + Dragon anger bag + dragon attack cards
Signature noise + dragon mechanic
Terminology
- Clank
- Noise cubes generated by many cards/actions; go into Dragon Anger Bag.
- Dragon Anger Bag
- Shared bag holding player Clank cubes; when dragon attacks, cubes are drawn as damage.
- Artifact
- Main-goal item; must own at least 1 for any VP to count.
- Skill / Sword / Move
- 3 deck-building resources played each turn.
- Paul Dennen
- American designer, also of Dune: Imperium.
Where it is played
Sources & provenance
- Renegade Game Studios — Clank!— Renegade Game Studios
- BoardGameGeek— BGG