Jamey discusses his favorite mechanism in the deckbuilding dungeon-crawler, Clank Catacombs. boardgamegeek.... Become a champion of this channel: stonemaier-gam...
I really appreciate how your videos go deep but are super accessible. I feel like it’s like having a great conversation with gaming friend! I also like how you try to weigh what decisions went into designing - there are more observations than straight up judgements or criticisms.
Just wanted to say, that I REALLY love that you keep doing these :) even tho I drop in and out from design, I always love hearing your thoughts on games and what makes them tick! Love what you're doing, good sir :)
Got a chance to play this at the Dice Tower Retreat. I own all of the Clank games, but this one seriously makes you think, why weren't all Clanks created like this. The exploratory nature of this version is perfect for the theme.
My guess is that Paul Dennen evolved as a designer by designing the Clank series and Dune Imperium, and probably playing tons of other games. The amalgamation of those experiences plus whatever else he may draw inspiration from led him to evolve the design of Clank in Catacombs. I'm just thankful I was late to the Clank party and just picked Catacombs up last week as my first Clank.
Really looking forward to getting this one. The legacy version is also still waiting for my son to learn how to read. But in general I just love that they find innovative ways to make the core concept interesting.
Clank Catacombs is something I've been looking out for. I haven't bought Clank and I had already wondered if they would fully embrace a procedural approach to the board itself so I was glad to find out about this. Think I might go for it and then I have the most replayability and don't need every expansion. Actually think a bit of chaos suits a dungeon crawler better; ironically reminiscent of old PC games in the same genre and feels more thematic because someone exploring a dungeon won't know all the rooms beforehand.
We are just loving Clank Catacombs!!! The lockpicks were extremely enticing to me as I just loved freeing all the prisoners and getting through locked passages thematically. Great video ☺️
Great thoughts on it. I got my copy a couple of weeks ago and played the first episode of the solo campaign to learn the mechanisms and I agree 100% with lock picks being the best thing about this game. The tile placement is phenomenal especially when it comes to cards that interact with the tiles and turn them making you have to reconsider options.
So glad this is a stand-alone version. I recycled my finished copy of Clank Legacy (kept a few things) a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of this which I was able to get during my FLGS BF sale. Sadly, I forgot to keep the 5-6 player Clank board from Adventuring Party expansion. Planning to try the solo mode tonight and multiplayer at Thurs game night. Sounds like a complete enough game with plenty of variability that this may be all the Clank (with Adventuring party) I need.
@@jameystegmaier without getting into spoiler territory, I kept most cards that allow for variable setup but did get rid of most, if not all, of the adventure row cards. I'm hoping that Catacombs will give me a tight yet complete enough experience to not have to dilute its deck with Legacy cards that would require more rules overhead. Clank Legacy was by far my favorite legacy game but don't need to go back to it.
Jamey, to continue from your "What I learned from Clank" video, I think Catacombs showed me that making a game more thematic does not necessarily make it more engaging. I think discovering the dungeon is a fantastic idea, but having played the game a dozen times, it leads to so many unexciting random setups. I realize I really miss strategizing my path/turns in other iterations of Clank.
I wonder, would it make sense to set-up all the tiles (in some random way) before starting the game, in other words, creating your own full board? And maybe take a picture, so the next time you can set it up again in the same way (provided the board turned out to be a good one to play on) . Or, simply 'design' (with your gaming group) a well thought-out board with the tiles, rather then creating it in a random way? I don't know of course if the game or tiles are suitable for that, just wondering.
Glad I watched, we just played this and I completely missed that each player starts with 3 lockpicks. We also found that it's less forgiving than regular clank... 1 person died and 2 ppl got out, but would have died 1 turn later. I do prefer it that way though.
Also I have a question about the game, I’ve never played any Clank game but I really want to buy one, I held off when I saw Catacombs was coming to see which version I should buy and so I want to ask you, which version do you recommend? :)
Oh, that's so hard to say. They're all good for different reasons. Clank Catacombs probably offers the most replayability due to the tiles, but I can also see them frustrating players who want to plan ahead (the original boards are very well designed). The original game is great and has lots of expansions available. The legacy game is one of the most fun legacy games I've ever played. And Clank in Space is good if you prefer the sci-fi theme.
@@jameystegmaier I see! I could see myself really enjoying all of them because of the reasons you listed but I think how easy the game is to teach is really important for my group, would you say that Catacombs is perhaps harder to teach due to the tiles or no? And thank you for taking your time to answer Jamey! :D
@@whitewolf6113 I think Catacombs is probably not the best for new Clankers, as there's less of a chance to plan ahead and much easier to die in the dungeon.
Do you have a shirt for every scythe faction? Love the video too, just tried Clank! the first time the other day, and this looks like an interesting iteration on the concept.
I love the original Clank! + water expansion, but have not jumped at this one yet. Is it really different enough to justify owning both? or just a cool iteration on the system?
Random question: Do you have John Company anywhere on your radar? It doesn't seem like a top 10 game for you, but it has a lot of interesting elements that would suit this mechanism series.
Played Clank! In Space with a few of the expansions and it was a great time. That why i wanted to get In Space over the normal game or Legacy as you end up with a unique but structured board. Love the tile placement and card design side. New tiles for new expansions but to bring the legacy part back in, they can always build an expansion with the rewards being based on Legacy mechanics. Would you say there is enough variation in the combination of tiles? Keeping the stakes high yet rewarding?🦙🦙🦆
There's lots of variations in the combination of tiles generated by the order in which they're drawn and where you are on the table when you reveal them.
@@jameystegmaier i know you love Clank! and Legacy, do you think the catacoms can replace the base game for you? I had the same happen between Zombicide and Zombicide Black Plague.
@@boardgamedesignsa I haven't gotten rid of any version of Clank--I think I'll keep them all. As for which one I'll be more inclined to get to the table in a few months, I'm really not sure.
@@jameystegmaier the same. Thankfully the somewhat modular design really helps with some games. Have you ever done a Frankenstein "house build" game or some the variations posted on places like BGG formus on some games. Myself i found the card split in Everdell when it comes to meadow cards created a nice flow on base game. Start the meadow with 4 creatures and 4 buildings (after hand drafting at the start) split the cards in the 2 section and when a catd is taken from the meadow, replace with the alternative type card. 2 player games. Not tried with 4player yet.
I really appreciate how your videos go deep but are super accessible. I feel like it’s like having a great conversation with gaming friend! I also like how you try to weigh what decisions went into designing - there are more observations than straight up judgements or criticisms.
Thank you so much, Genevieve! That's absolutely my goal with these videos. :)
Just wanted to say, that I REALLY love that you keep doing these :) even tho I drop in and out from design, I always love hearing your thoughts on games and what makes them tick! Love what you're doing, good sir :)
Thank you so much, Kenny!
Got a chance to play this at the Dice Tower Retreat. I own all of the Clank games, but this one seriously makes you think, why weren't all Clanks created like this. The exploratory nature of this version is perfect for the theme.
Yeah, this really seems like what the game was meant to be all along.
My guess is that Paul Dennen evolved as a designer by designing the Clank series and Dune Imperium, and probably playing tons of other games. The amalgamation of those experiences plus whatever else he may draw inspiration from led him to evolve the design of Clank in Catacombs. I'm just thankful I was late to the Clank party and just picked Catacombs up last week as my first Clank.
Can’t wait to play this! I’ll be receiving mine on Thursday. Looking forward to it. I loved the original Clank! and Clank! In! Space!
Really looking forward to getting this one. The legacy version is also still waiting for my son to learn how to read.
But in general I just love that they find innovative ways to make the core concept interesting.
Just played our first game. Loved it. Your comments are spot on.
Did you all get out alive? :)
@@jameystegmaier Yup, but my wife CRUSHED me by points 🤣🤣
Clank Catacombs is something I've been looking out for. I haven't bought Clank and I had already wondered if they would fully embrace a procedural approach to the board itself so I was glad to find out about this. Think I might go for it and then I have the most replayability and don't need every expansion. Actually think a bit of chaos suits a dungeon crawler better; ironically reminiscent of old PC games in the same genre and feels more thematic because someone exploring a dungeon won't know all the rooms beforehand.
We are just loving Clank Catacombs!!! The lockpicks were extremely enticing to me as I just loved freeing all the prisoners and getting through locked passages thematically. Great video ☺️
Thanks! I'm looking forward to playing it again.
Great thoughts on it. I got my copy a couple of weeks ago and played the first episode of the solo campaign to learn the mechanisms and I agree 100% with lock picks being the best thing about this game. The tile placement is phenomenal especially when it comes to cards that interact with the tiles and turn them making you have to reconsider options.
We had an Animated Wall card rotate all tiles we were standing on! :)
So glad this is a stand-alone version. I recycled my finished copy of Clank Legacy (kept a few things) a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of this which I was able to get during my FLGS BF sale. Sadly, I forgot to keep the 5-6 player Clank board from Adventuring Party expansion. Planning to try the solo mode tonight and multiplayer at Thurs game night. Sounds like a complete enough game with plenty of variability that this may be all the Clank (with Adventuring party) I need.
I hope you kept a lot of the things in Clank Legacy--lots of those cards work in normal Clank. :)
@@jameystegmaier without getting into spoiler territory, I kept most cards that allow for variable setup but did get rid of most, if not all, of the adventure row cards. I'm hoping that Catacombs will give me a tight yet complete enough experience to not have to dilute its deck with Legacy cards that would require more rules overhead. Clank Legacy was by far my favorite legacy game but don't need to go back to it.
Jamey, to continue from your "What I learned from Clank" video, I think Catacombs showed me that making a game more thematic does not necessarily make it more engaging. I think discovering the dungeon is a fantastic idea, but having played the game a dozen times, it leads to so many unexciting random setups. I realize I really miss strategizing my path/turns in other iterations of Clank.
I think that's a fair point! I really appreciate how well designed the paths are on the full Clank boards.
I wonder, would it make sense to set-up all the tiles (in some random way) before starting the game, in other words, creating your own full board? And maybe take a picture, so the next time you can set it up again in the same way (provided the board turned out to be a good one to play on) . Or, simply 'design' (with your gaming group) a well thought-out board with the tiles, rather then creating it in a random way? I don't know of course if the game or tiles are suitable for that, just wondering.
Glad I watched, we just played this and I completely missed that each player starts with 3 lockpicks. We also found that it's less forgiving than regular clank... 1 person died and 2 ppl got out, but would have died 1 turn later. I do prefer it that way though.
I agree, it's much less forgiving--I'll need to be more careful with the clank tokens the next time I play. :)
Bevvy … love that word and never hear it.
Also I have a question about the game, I’ve never played any Clank game but I really want to buy one, I held off when I saw Catacombs was coming to see which version I should buy and so I want to ask you, which version do you recommend? :)
Oh, that's so hard to say. They're all good for different reasons. Clank Catacombs probably offers the most replayability due to the tiles, but I can also see them frustrating players who want to plan ahead (the original boards are very well designed). The original game is great and has lots of expansions available. The legacy game is one of the most fun legacy games I've ever played. And Clank in Space is good if you prefer the sci-fi theme.
@@jameystegmaier I see! I could see myself really enjoying all of them because of the reasons you listed but I think how easy the game is to teach is really important for my group, would you say that Catacombs is perhaps harder to teach due to the tiles or no? And thank you for taking your time to answer Jamey! :D
@@whitewolf6113 I think Catacombs is probably not the best for new Clankers, as there's less of a chance to plan ahead and much easier to die in the dungeon.
@@jameystegmaier that makes sense. Thank you again :)
Do you have a shirt for every scythe faction? Love the video too, just tried Clank! the first time the other day, and this looks like an interesting iteration on the concept.
I have a few such t-shirts; Meeplesource has all of them. :)
I love the original Clank! + water expansion, but have not jumped at this one yet. Is it really different enough to justify owning both? or just a cool iteration on the system?
It's essentially Clank with a variable board--it's different, but not all that different. :)
Random question: Do you have John Company anywhere on your radar? It doesn't seem like a top 10 game for you, but it has a lot of interesting elements that would suit this mechanism series.
Thanks for the recommendation, Derek! A friend owns it, so it's one I may try at some point.
What are your cats’ names? They’re really cute :))
Biddy and Walter. :)
Played Clank! In Space with a few of the expansions and it was a great time. That why i wanted to get In Space over the normal game or Legacy as you end up with a unique but structured board. Love the tile placement and card design side. New tiles for new expansions but to bring the legacy part back in, they can always build an expansion with the rewards being based on Legacy mechanics. Would you say there is enough variation in the combination of tiles? Keeping the stakes high yet rewarding?🦙🦙🦆
There's lots of variations in the combination of tiles generated by the order in which they're drawn and where you are on the table when you reveal them.
@@jameystegmaier i know you love Clank! and Legacy, do you think the catacoms can replace the base game for you? I had the same happen between Zombicide and Zombicide Black Plague.
@@boardgamedesignsa I haven't gotten rid of any version of Clank--I think I'll keep them all. As for which one I'll be more inclined to get to the table in a few months, I'm really not sure.
@@jameystegmaier the same. Thankfully the somewhat modular design really helps with some games. Have you ever done a Frankenstein "house build" game or some the variations posted on places like BGG formus on some games. Myself i found the card split in Everdell when it comes to meadow cards created a nice flow on base game. Start the meadow with 4 creatures and 4 buildings (after hand drafting at the start) split the cards in the 2 section and when a catd is taken from the meadow, replace with the alternative type card. 2 player games. Not tried with 4player yet.
@@boardgamedesignsa I've pretty much tried to put all cards into one big deck, removing only cards that work only for Clank Legacy. :)