Leave a Lasting Legacy (Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated)

If you haven't gathered by now, I am a major Clank! fanboy. So, when I heard about a Clank! legacy game, I was beyond ecstatic. I'll admit, my excitement wavered when I realized that it would be not be solo playable. This is not a must for every game, but it's definitely an important perk for me. This has turned into a blessing in disguise, however, because I've now partnered up with two of my long time friends (since kindergarten - almost 30 years ago) to play through the campaign together. Not only do I get to experience this game with them, but they pitched in to pay for it! Win-win!

Last week we played the opening scenario (mission? quest?). This is a tough game to write about because I don't want to spoil anything! So I won't. I'll post a few pictures that don't give anything away and reflect on the game in a general way without giving away any details. I guess I could just not talk about this game, but it was so much fun, that I have to!

I'll start with a shout out to Apt To Game, my FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store) here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada! They have a zillion games for great prices and a whole whack of events and competitions throughout the week (none that I've been able to be a part of, yet, but hopefully sometime!). Crystal was nice enough to pose with the gigantic box that I picked up. Bigger is always better, right?

Took the box to my friend's house and we worked together to open it up and begin opening things. I'm the resident Clank! expert so that task fell mostly on my shoulders.
Here are our brave adventures (all pictured on the outside of the box, no spoilers!). I am the hammer wielding dwarf on the left and I stole the name from my DnD character: Thalgot Rockforge. I don't remember Brennan and Stirling's names - but they're not important as long as I leave them dead behind me.

After one game, amazingly, Stirling came out victorious. This is especially startling because he has never scored points in the few times we've played the regular game - he's always died in the depths. This time, though, Brennan actually died in the depths, I died close enough to the top that the villagers could carry my body to safety, and Stirling doubled my score. One game down, a bunch more to go. Here are my reflections on game one.

(1) This is not your grandmother's Clank! While the main mechanics of the game are the same as in regular Clank!, right out of the bat your strategy needs to be different. Instead of just running, getting the treasure, and getting out, you really need to think about the things you (and your fellow adventurers) want to accomplish. There are so many things, even in the first game, that you want to acquire/unlock/complete that you really need to think about what you're going to do. Are you going to work with your competitor's to get as much stuff as possible? Are you going to think just about yourself? Or are you going to pretend to be a team player and then back stab everyone? I really went selfishly this time, going for unlocking one new thing, grabbing the treasure, and getting out (that didn't work). I really want to hang out a little bit longer and get more things done.

(2) This takes a lot longer than regular Clank! Game number one took the three of us about three and a half hours to play. That included the set up time, but mostly it was because we had to stop often to (a) read a new story element and add the appropriate cards/rules to the game or (b) double check the rulebook to make sure we were doing everything correctly. There are quite a few new little rules that you need to look out for. It's a smoother learning curve than if you had never played Clank! before, but still some things to learn. I probably would not suggest this as someone's first legacy game. It's pretty deep.

I've heard some complaints about the length of the game, especially in regards to opening up new stuff mid-turn, but I really enjoyed that. I felt like I was really in the experience and it didn't matter to me that we had to stop and add more stuff. It was exciting! It was a very fast three and a half hours.

(3) There is SO MUCH STUFF! There are stickers, sealed boxes and envelopes, cards, chits, and probably more! I felt like we unlocked a good amount of stuff in the first game, but there is just a buttload left. I can't wait to explore more of the contents of this giant box.

I can't wait to jump back into Clank! Legacy. Our next game night is schedule for December 9 and I am counting down the days! I will continue to do my best to share some thoughts and feelings without giving anything away. Thanks for reading!