Clank! A Deck-Building Adventure succeeds in the goal of improving on a simple deck-building format. The dungeon crawling component creates a much more engaging experience for players. In a simple deck-builder, you look at your money, you look at the available cards to purchase, you make your selection and that’s it. Going above and beyond with the dungeon-crawling, token collecting, dragon-fearing race that creates a turn with a plethora of available turn actions. Do you move deeper and engage the dragon, go for a larger artifact, turn around to escape the dungeon, fight monsters, or purchase new accessories?

That said, this surplus of choices comes at the expense of several rules and facts to remember, which occasionally means several rulebook checks especially in early plays. While I argue that this is still a good options to introduce new gamers into the hobby, you will need to have at least one experienced member in the group who can teach and interpret the rulebook.

The overall gameplay of Clank! Is an incredibly thematic experience. I really enjoy constantly questioning myself: Do I go deeper in search of rare treasure, endangering everyone in the dungeon, or do I return to ensure that I escape with my goods? The whole idea of the ‘clank’ is that certain actions cause ‘clanks’ to occur that wake up the dragon and may result in damage to the explorers. It’s a fantastic push-your-luck mechanic that really sells the theme.

While I have a variety of deck-builders in my collection, I certainly am thankful my collection is Clank!-ful.

You may also like: Dominion, Marvel Champions, Legendary Marvel

Information for this review is based on my plays with 2 and 4 players.