How to Teach Lost Ruins of Arnak

Lost Ruins of Arnak has a lot of pieces on the table, and that tempts hosts to explain every one of them before anyone moves. Assistants, idol slots, guardian boons, temple tiles: by the time the host reaches the research track, half the table has stopped listening.

The fix is to teach the round, teach the travel rule, show one turn, and play. The board and the cards carry most of the detail on their own. Here is a script in the order you would say it. Print the Lost Ruins of Arnak teach sheet and put it where everyone can see it. Czech Games Edition also offers a free player aid in the Downloads section of its Lost Ruins of Arnak page, and the box includes a quick reference sheet with the travel icons on it.

Before anyone sits down

Set up completely first. Bird Temple side up. Card row dealt, with the moon staff on round I. Idols on the sites, blocking tiles placed if you have fewer than 4 players, temple and bonus tiles out, assistants stacked on the supply board.

Give everyone their board, 2 archaeologists, research tokens, and a shuffled starting deck. Hand out starting resources by seat. Then have everyone draw 5 cards. People learn faster with cards in their hands.

Minute 1: the goal

Say: “We are rival expeditions on a lost island. Over 5 rounds, we score points by exploring sites, finding idols and artifacts, beating guardians, and researching our way up this track to the Lost Temple. Most points wins.”

Point at the research track as you say it. It is the spine of the game, and new players tend to forget it exists.

Minutes 2 and 3: the shape of a round

“Each round we draw up to 5 cards. Then we take turns, one main action each, until everyone passes. When you are out of useful things to do, you pass, and the rest keep going.”

“At the end of the round, we shuffle the cards we used this round and put them under our decks. Five rounds and we’re done.”

Minutes 4 and 5: the travel rule

Hold up a card and point at the corner. “Every card does one of two things. Spend it for this travel icon, or play it for its effect. Never both.”

Then the icons: “Boot, car, ship, plane. A plane pays for anything, anything pays for a boot, and cars and ships can’t swap. Two coins make a plane in a pinch.”

Hold up a Fear card. “Fear does nothing and costs you a point at the end. But its boot still pays for travel.”

Minutes 6 and 7: one example turn

Take a real turn and narrate it. Spend a card for its travel icon, send an archaeologist to a starting site, and take the reward. Then play a Funding card for a coin and say, “That lightning bolt means it’s free. Free actions don’t use up my turn.”

Then name the menu: “Your main action can be dig, discover a new site, overcome a guardian, buy a card, play a card, research, or pass.”

Stop here and ask: “Questions on the turn?”

Minute 8: discovering and guardians

“With compasses, you can discover new sites out here. You get an idol, worth 3 points, and the site’s reward. But a guardian shows up. If your archaeologist is on a guardian’s site at the end of the round, you take a Fear card. Pay the guardian’s cost to overcome it, and it’s worth 5 points.”

Minute 9: buying and research

“Coins buy items. They go to the bottom of your deck, so you’ll see them next round. Compasses buy artifacts. They go straight into play, and you can use them right away.”

“Research moves one of these tokens up a row. Pay the cost on the bridge. First to a space takes the bonus tile. Your notebook can never pass your magnifying glass.”

Minute 10: start

“Scoring is on the sheet: research, temple tiles, idols, guardians, card points, minus Fear. First player, go.”

Teach the rest when it happens

• Idol slots. When someone gets their first idol, show the slots and the five rewards.
• Assistants. When the first notebook reaches an assistant row, explain once per round and refresh at round end.
• Exile. The first time an effect lets someone exile, point at the Fear cards.
• The Lost Temple and temple tiles. Explain them when the first magnifying glass gets close, usually in a later round.
• End of round. Walk everyone through it the first time: archaeologists home, Fear from guardians, shuffle the play area under the deck, adjust the card row.

What to leave out

• The Snake Temple side, the solo rules, and the expansions. All good, all for later.
• Strategy. Let people find their own first game.
• The appendix of card notes. Look up a card when it comes up.

Coaching during the first game

Help with the icons, not the decisions. “That ship can’t pay for a car space” is helpful. “You should research now” is playing for them.

Watch for two things: players hoarding cards they could spend, and players who forget the research track. A gentle “What could you do with that last card?” works better than a lecture. For more on teaching any game this way, see our guide to teaching a board game in five minutes.