Lost Ruins of Arnak: Twisted Paths Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Using this Expansion
• Components
• Spider Temple
  • Setup
  • Dark Tablets
  • Invoking an Altar
  • Scoring Dark Tablets – The Cost of Ambition
• Owl Temple
  • Setup
  • Secret Passages
  • Taking Temple Tiles
  • New Temple Tile Powers
  • Scoring
• Solo Variants
  • Spider Temple
    • Setup
    • Spider Temple Action Tile
    • Scoring
  • Owl Temple
    • Setup
    • Secret Passages
    • Owl Temple Action Tile
• Solo Mini-Expansions
  • Rival Objectives
    • New Components
    • Setup
    • Gameplay – One Round
    • Tweaks
    • Key
    • Notes
  • Purple Actions
    • Components
    • Setup
    • Actions
      • Research
      • Overcome a Guardian
• General Index
  • Token and Card Effects
  • Cards and Exile
  • Actions
  • Sites and Idols
  • Assistants
  • Encounters and Board Effects
  • Starting Resources

Using this Expansion

Twisted Paths allows you to explore undiscovered regions of Arnak in the form of a new, double-sided main board. To play with it, leave the original main board in the box. Place the Twisted Paths main board on the side you would like to explore, and follow the setup instructions listed below.

The new main boards in this expansion feature challenging research tracks that were designed to be used with leaders from the Expedition Leaders and The Missing Expedition expansions. You can play without the leaders from these expansions, but expect a challenging game!

The new boards were not designed to be used with any of the additional research tracks from the Expedition Leaders or The Missing Expedition expansions. Of course, you are still welcome to experiment – at your own risk!

The scoring potential of the new temples may differ from the typical scores of other temples. For example, playing the Spider Temple generally results in lower final scores than the Bird Temple, while the Owl Temple tends to offer more plentiful scoring opportunities.

Components

• 1 double-sided board (Spider Temple or Owl Temple)
• 4 lantern research tokens
• 28 dark tablets
• 2 level I site tiles
• 2 level II site tiles
• 4 guardian tiles
• 8 assistant tiles
• 24 Owl Temple tiles
• 10 idol tiles
• 6 research bonus tiles
• 7 rival action tiles (used in the solo variant)
• 5 rival objectives
• 4 card dividers

Spider Temple

This place is unlike any other on this island! It offers so much more, dares us to delve into its secrets… but something about it feels increasingly chilling the further we go. At night, I feel as if we are being watched by the glowing eyes of the spider…

Setup

This temple uses dark tablets. When setting up the game, place one dark tablet per player into each of the dark tablet spaces on the board, below the sites marked with the generic site icon (the same icon as "any site" in the General Index), forming the dark tablet supply. Put any remaining dark tablets back in the box.

Dark tablet setup for two players.

Dark Tablets

Dark tablets are used to invoke altars on the Spider Temple research track, giving you a new way to use artifacts.

There is a limited supply of dark tablets in the game. Whenever you gain a dark tablet, take it from the leftmost space that still contains a dark tablet. If the dark tablet supply is empty, take a regular tablet instead.

Dark tablets can also be used in all the same ways as regular tablets. Anytime you use a dark tablet in place of a regular one – whether to pay a cost or to pay an artifact's Tablet cost – it is returned to the dark tablet supply. Always refill the dark tablet supply from right to left. Each space can be refilled up to its original number of tablets (which is the same as the number of players).

Invoking an Altar

There are five spaces on the research track reserved for artifacts. These are altars. As a main action, you may invoke an altar.

To do so, you must own a dark tablet, and have a research token positioned above the altar of your choice. The research token does not need to be directly above the altar – any space above it will suffice.

Altars will be empty at the start of the game. When you invoke an altar, you must place one of your dark tablets below the altar, on the spot that matches your color.

• If you invoke an empty altar, take an artifact from the card row and place it on the altar. You have the option to immediately resolve its effect. The artifact will remain there for the rest of the game, allowing other players to use it as well.
• If you invoke an altar that already has an artifact, resolve the artifact's effect. (If you want.)

Note: When invoking an empty altar, the Professor can choose one of the artifacts from his archive instead of the card row.

Each player can place a maximum of 3 dark tablets below each altar.

Example: The yellow player wants to invoke the Serpent's Gold – an artifact currently available in the card row. They may place it on either the second or third altar. They choose the third altar and place a dark tablet beneath it. Then, they move the Serpent's Gold onto the altar and resolve the effect of the artifact.

The blue player can currently invoke only the lowest altar, as their magnifying glass is not positioned above the others. However, they can do so only one more time – after that, they will reach the limit of three dark tablets on this altar.

Players gain dark tablets in two ways:

• From the main board. Four sites on the main board give dark tablets to players in the form of an additional dark effect: After you dig at, relocate to, or discover one of these sites with an archaeologist, you may resolve the dark effect. When discovering a new site, the guardian is revealed after the dark effect is resolved.
  • Important! Effects which allow you to activate a site, like Binoculars or the activation effect printed with an icon (the rulebook shows that icon without naming it in the text), do not allow you to gain the dark effect from these sites. However, cards that allow you to place or relocate an archaeologist, like Confused Compass or Pathfinder's Staff, do allow you to resolve dark effects.
• From the research track, as a bonus for reaching particular spaces.

Scoring Dark Tablets – The Cost of Ambition

The incantations worked! Just think about all the knowledge now within our grasp! Yet the sigils speak of a threat, and caution us not to touch the altars. Why has this place been forbidden?

The dark tablets that players use to invoke altars will remain on the research track for the rest of the game. Invoking altars may cause players to lose points at the end of the game:

1. Return unused tablets. Any unused dark tablets the players have left at the end of the game are returned to the dark tablet supply. Remember that each space holds as many tablets as there are players.
2. Score negative points. The rightmost empty space of the dark tablet supply determines how many negative points each used dark tablet is worth. For example, if that space is marked –3, then players lose 3 points for each dark tablet they played on altars.
3. Score altars. Finally, evaluate each altar with an artifact: determine which player placed the most dark tablets on each altar. That player gains the points printed above the altar. If there is a tie, all tied players gain these points.

Tip: While invoking altars can lose you some points, doing so provides significant advantages during play. To offset these losses, make sure to pay attention to who has the most dark tablets on each altar.

Scoring example: First, all the leftover dark tablets are returned to the supply. Yellow had three of these, and by returning them, they changed the negative points for each dark tablet from –4 to –3 for everyone.

Then, players score the negative points for tablets placed on the altars: Blue will score –15 for 5 tablets, and Yellow will score –12 for 4 tablets.

Finally, the majorities on altars are scored. Blue scores 2 points for the first altar, and Yellow scores 3 points for the fourth altar. Then both players score the 3 points for the third altar since there was a tie. Nobody scores any points on the second and fifth altar, since they were not used.

Owl Temple

Carved into the rock, this entire place seems to tell a story along the path. The story of a prophet, the man who wore the owl mask and tamed the guardians.

Setup

Each player will need a lantern research token. Leave these on your player boards for now.

This temple uses a unique set of temple tiles. Leave the regular temple tiles in the box.

• Top of the temple: Place Owl Temple tiles and face-down idols at the top of the temple according to the printed numbers. (For example, with 3 players, there will be two 1-point tiles on each pile.)
• Body of the temple: Place an Owl Temple tile or a research bonus tile on each of the appropriate spaces along the research track. Some spaces only receive a tile in a 3-player or 4-player game.
• Secret Passages: Be sure to add Owl Temple tiles and idols to the secret passages on the research track as well!

Top temple tiles setup for three players.

If you are playing with idols from the The Missing Expedition expansion, remove idols with the two effects shown on the crossed-out idol pictures in the setup illustration – they are not used in games with this temple.

Note that on this board, all level I sites on the second row start with 1 face-up idol and 1 face-down idol. These sites also cost 2 extra coins to explore (in addition to the usual 3 compasses).

Secret Passages

The Owl Temple's research track has six secret passages, which you can explore using your magnifying glass.

1. You may enter an unused secret passage that is connected to the space with your magnifying glass by performing a Research action and paying the cost.
2. Place your magnifying glass on the reserved space, and gain the tile or idol below the secret passage. The passage is now blocked for all other players; each passage can only be explored once!
3. Finally, place your lantern on the starting space of the research track.

If you take a secret passage, you cannot move your magnifying glass again for the rest of the game:

• On future research actions, you may either move your lantern or your notebook. Note that researching with the lantern yields different row effects.
• The notebook can be moved up to the level where your magnifying glass or lantern is located, whichever is higher.
  • Note: The Journalist can still move their notebook one step above their magnifying glass, even if they have taken a secret passage. Additionally, the Journalist may move their notebook one step ahead of their lantern.
• Because the magnifying glass remains on the secret passage, each player can only explore one secret passage per game. The notebook and lantern tokens can never enter a secret passage.

Taking Temple Tiles

Temple tiles are spread throughout the Owl Temple's research track. If you have any of your research tokens on the same space as a temple tile, you may use a Research action and pay the depicted cost to buy it.

Additionally, once you reach a row marked with one of the pyramid icons, you may start using your Research action to buy temple tiles from the top of the temple:

• If you have reached the 5th row, you can buy a 1-point temple tile or an idol, paying the usual cost.
• If you have reached the 7th row, you can buy an idol, a 1-point tile, or a 5-point tile, paying the usual cost.
• If you have reached the 9th row, you can buy any temple tile, paying the usual cost.

Note: The Journal card can only be used to advance the notebook token, not to acquire any temple tiles.

New Temple Tile Powers

Temple tiles from the Owl Temple have a special power associated with them. Once you collect any two Owl Temple tiles, you may combine them together to create an additional idol slot.

As a free action, you can use any of the five standard idol slot effects by placing an idol in this slot. You cannot use any blue idol slot effects unique to your leader. You do not lose any points for placing an idol into one of these slots.

Scoring

At the end of the game, score points based on the position of your magnifying glass (even if it's in a secret passage), notebook, and lantern.

If there's a tie, the player with the most points from research and temple tiles combined wins the tie. If players are still tied, they remain tied.

Solo Variants

Spider Temple

Setup

After you assemble the rival's 10-tile action stack, shuffle the Spider Temple action tile into the stack to form an 11-tile stack. Perform the rest of the solo setup as usual, setting up the board and the dark tablet supply as you would for a 2-player game.

Spider Temple Action Tile

When your rival reveals the Spider Temple action tile, their action varies depending on the current round. They may do one or both of the following:

• Invoke an altar: The rival places a dark tablet from the dark tablet supply below the topmost altar that holds an artifact, regardless of the location of their magnifying glass.
• Place an artifact and invoke the altar: The rival chooses an artifact from the card row, places it on the lowest empty altar, and places a dark tablet from the dark tablet supply below it. Use the decision arrow to determine whether the leftmost or rightmost artifact in the card row is chosen. If the rival's magnifying glass has not progressed above the lowest empty altar, nothing happens.

In the rare case that the dark tablet supply is depleted, the rival skips these actions.

Scoring

The rival does not lose points from any dark tablets they have placed, but they do score the points for having placed a majority of dark tablets on an altar just like a player would. All other scoring for the rival is performed as usual.

Owl Temple

Setup

After you assemble the rival's 10-tile action stack, shuffle the Owl Temple action tile into the stack to form an 11-tile stack. Perform the rest of the solo setup as usual, setting the board up as you would for a 2-player game.

Secret Passages

• Whenever the rival should advance their magnifying glass, check whether they are on a space connected to an unused secret passage. If they are, and the decision arrow points into the secret passage, they will enter it. The rival also gains any idols or temple tiles from the secret passage when they enter it.
• When the rival takes a secret passage, place a lantern in their color at the bottom of the research track. From now on, whenever the rival would advance their magnifying glass, they advance their lantern instead.

Owl Temple Action Tile

When this action is revealed, the rival takes the temple tile lowest on the research track. If more than one temple tile is lowest, the rival uses the decision arrows to select one.

• If it is a 1-point tile, the rival takes it and advances their magnifying glass one time.
• If it is a 5-point tile, the rival takes it.
• If it is a 10-point tile, the rival will mark it with a compass and advance their magnifying glass two times if it hasn't already been marked. Otherwise, the rival takes it. If the player obtains a marked 10-point tile before the rival, they do not get the compass used to mark it.

The rival can always take the lowest temple tile, regardless of the position of their research tokens.

Solo Mini-Expansions

Our joy at discovering the petroglyphs was greatly diminished when we also discovered the other expedition's footprints. Too many times have we been second. Well, no more! If they plan to leave their camp at sunrise, then we must leave ours before first light.

Rival Objectives

This mini-expansion provides the rival expedition with additional motivations. Each time they accomplish an objective, they will score additional points. You can thwart their plans by accomplishing their objectives first.

New Components

This mini-expansion uses 5 new tiles called rival objectives.

Setup

Use the 2-player setup, as you usually do for an Arnak solo game. Keep any leftover 2-point temple tiles and 6-point temple tiles handy – they represent rewards your rival can win by accomplishing objectives. (When playing with the Owl Temple, you will still need the temple tiles from the base game for this.)

Keep the 5 objective tiles in a face-down stack within easy reach.

Gameplay – One Round

Your rival is the starting player each round, as usual in the solo game.

Before your first turn each round, shuffle the objectives face down. Draw 3 at random and place them on the table face up. These are the actions your rival wants to take before you do.

Because the rival expedition has already taken one action this round, it is possible they have already accomplished one of these objectives. They don't get points for that. Replace that objective with one of the two remaining in the deck, drawn at random.

If you are the first player to accomplish a particular objective, just flip it face down – your rival will not get points for it this round.

If your rival is the first player to accomplish a particular objective, flip it face down and give your rival a 2-point tile – these points will be added into their final score.

Thus, in each round, your rival can earn 0, 2, 4, or 6 points from objectives. You do not earn points, but you can reduce the amount of points your rival gains.

Tile Shortage: If you run out of the leftover 2-point tiles, the rival exchanges three of their gained tiles for a leftover 6-point tile.

Tweaks

We feel that 3 objectives per round gives the game good variety and increases the challenge of the usual solo game. It is possible to get a taste of this expansion by dealing only 2 objectives each round. You can also increase the challenge by using 4 objectives, but the variety is best with 2 or 3.

Another way to tweak the expansion is to make the first objective turned up worth 4 points. Put two 2-point temple tiles on it to denote that it is a higher-priority objective.

Key

• Be the first player to buy an item this round.
• Be the first player to buy an artifact this round.
• Be the first player to discover a new site this round.
• Be the first player to research with their magnifying glass or lantern token this round.
• Be the first player to have a lot of archaeologists on the main board. Your rival needs 3; you need 2.
  • Tip: To help you remember this objective, put 3 rival archaeologists on the tile – or 2, if your rival has already sent one to the main board.
  • Note: For the purposes of this rival objective, the Explorer's snacks are considered the same as archaeologists.

Notes

• You can accomplish an objective (and thus prevent your rival from scoring it) even if the action is not your main action. For example, an effect that lets you gain an item for free counts as "buying" the item, which would accomplish the Buy an Item objective.
• It is possible to accomplish multiple objectives on one turn. Because the Discover a New Site objective overlaps with the Archaeologists objective, even your rival could accomplish two on one turn.

Purple Actions

I tell my comrades to stay on task, to ignore the other expedition and focus instead on what we can do. How I wish I could take my own advice! It seems that no matter how much we accomplish each day, the other expedition is always able to do a little more.

Congratulations on winning the Lost Ruins of Arnak solo variant. Multiple times. At the highest difficulty level.

Many fans of Arnak have written to us telling us how they have already beaten our toughest solo game and are looking for a bigger challenge. Here it is:

Components

This expansion includes a set of 5 purple rival action tiles for solo play.

Setup

To form the rival action stack use the 5 archaeologist action tiles, as usual: the tiles show a coin, a compass, a tablet, an arrowhead and a jewel.

And add 5 purple or red action tiles, one of each type.

Your difficulty level increases by 1 for each red tile and 2 for each purple tile, giving you a difficulty range from 0 when using only green tiles, to 10 if you use all purple tiles.

The other difference in setup is that the rival expedition will now have a notebook token to go with their magnifying glass.

Actions

Purple actions are mostly the same as red and green actions … but nastier.

Research

In round V, the rival expedition advances their magnifying glass twice. Thus, it is possible for them to get 2 temple tiles in one turn.

Overcome a Guardian

After overcoming a guardian (or researching with the magnifying glass when no guardian is available) the rival expedition will research with their notebook – just like a player, they can only move it up to the row with their magnifying glass or lantern, whichever is higher.

Their notebook can remove research bonus tiles, and it will score notebook points at the end of the game.

Note: If you are using the Rival Objectives mini-expansion, the notebook has no effect on the Magnifying Glass objective.

Buy a Card

Your rival buys two cards with one action, one of each type. One card is the one with the highest point value in the indicated type. The other is the card with lowest point value.

Discover a New Site

The action follows the same rules as before. However, at the end of the game, each of the rival expedition's idols is worth one extra point. (That's 4 points for each unique, face-up idol, and 3 points for those in the –1 stack.)

Note: This rule applies only if this purple tile is among those chosen for the game.

General Index

Free action icon: This icon denotes that the effect does not count as your main action for the turn. You can play as many free actions as you want before, after, and even during your main action.

Mystic idol effect icon: The Mystic has an idol effect that is not a free action.

Token and Card Effects

• Coin, tablet, arrowhead, compass, jewel: Gain the indicated tokens.
• Fear card, tablet, jewel: Gain a Fear card and the indicated tokens. You must take a Fear card from the supply and put it face up in your play area. (Ignore its travel value.) If no Fear cards are available, take a fear tile.
• Coin or compass (choose one): Choose one: Gain either coin or compass.
• Compass (cost) → jewel (benefit): You may pay the cost on the left to gain the benefit on the right. If you cannot pay the cost or do not wish to, then you do not get the benefit.
• Coin (cost) → arrowhead or jewel: Pay the cost to choose one of the two tokens.
• Trade icon: Make one of these two trades: tablet → arrowhead OR arrowhead → jewel.
• Tablet cost icon (on an artifact card): On an artifact card, this is a reminder that the effect costs 1 tablet. However, this cost applies only when you play it from your hand, not when you buy it.
• Hand-card cost icon: You pay this cost by putting one of the cards in your hand face up into your play area, ignoring the card's travel value and effect. If you have no cards left in your hand, you cannot pay this cost, and thus cannot gain the benefit of the effect.

Cards and Exile

• Draw icon (green plus): You may draw a card. If your deck is empty, then this has no effect.
• Take-from-hand icon (card with arrow, placed on top of deck): Take the card and place it on top of your deck. (You do not resolve the card's effect.)
• Draw-bottom icon: You may draw the bottom card of your deck. If your deck is empty, then this has no effect.
• Exile icon (red X): You may choose a card in your hand or in your play area and send it to exile.
• Draw and exile icons: You may draw a card. Then you may exile a card in your hand or in your play area. Note that each part of the effect is optional.
• Draw and put-into-play icons: You may draw a card. Then you must put a card from your hand face up into your play area, ignoring its travel value and its effect.

Actions

• Archaeologist icon: You may immediately take a Dig at a Site or Discover a New Site action, if you have an archaeologist on your player board. The effect may specify special benefits or limitations.
• Artifact or item icons (with coin cost reduction): You may immediately buy an artifact or item from the card row. The price is reduced by the amount indicated. Perform the Buy an Artifact or Buy an Item action, skipping the step where you pay its cost (see the next two entries).
• Artifact icon: Perform the Buy an Artifact action, skipping the step where you pay its cost, but do resolve its effect.
• Item icon: Perform the Buy an Item action, skipping the step where you pay its cost.
• Tree Temple cost (artifact exile icon): To pay this cost on the Tree Temple, exile an artifact from your hand or play area.
• Guardian icon: You may immediately overcome a guardian without paying the cost depicted on the guardian tile. This effect applies only to a guardian on a site where you have an archaeologist.
• Guardian with used boon: You may choose any guardian you have overcome whose boon has already been used. Flip it face up to make its boon usable again.
• Unused guardian icon: Choose one of the unused guardians you have overcome and flip it face down without gaining its boon.

Sites and Idols

• Any site icon (with checkmark): Activate any site.
• Level I site icon (with checkmark): Activate any discovered level I site.
• Level II site icon (with checkmark): Activate any discovered level II site.
• Unoccupied level I site icon (with idol): Activate any unoccupied level I site. Remove it from the game. Turn up the top tile of the leftover idols stack and place it where the site was. It is now possible to Discover a New Site there.
• Waterfall Temple icon: On the Waterfall Temple, this is a reminder to choose one of the hidden sites, activate it, remove it, and return it to the bottom of the regular stack.
• Face-down idol icon (research track or encounter cards): Pay (on the research track) or gain (on encounter cards) a face-down idol. Idols are gained from those leftover after setup.
• Idol effect icon: To resolve this idol's effect, take one of the 2-point temple tiles from any of the three stacks.
• Tree Temple idol icon: This icon, found on the Tree Temple, means you should place an unused idol on an empty pedestal to perform its depicted effect.
• Face-up idol icon: Use the effect of any face-up idol on the board. If there are no face-up idols, then this has no effect.

Assistants

• Silver assistant icon: Gain a silver assistant.
• Gold assistant icon: Upgrade one of your assistants to the gold level and refresh it.
• Silver or gold icon (take or upgrade): Either take a new silver assistant or upgrade one of your silver assistants to gold. (You cannot take more than two assistants.)
• Refresh one icon: You may refresh one of your assistants.
• Refresh two icon: Refresh two assistants. You cannot refresh the same assistant twice.
• Silver effect icon: Use the effect on the silver side of one assistant available in the supply.
• Gold effect icon: Use the effect on the gold side of one assistant available in the supply.
• Silver effect, then bottom icon: Use the effect on the silver side of one assistant available in the supply. Then place it on the bottom of its stack.
• Assistant-for-tokens icon: Use one of your assistants, but instead of resolving its effect, gain the depicted tokens. If the assistant's effect has a cost (such as the cost printed on it) ignore that cost.

Encounters and Board Effects

• Encounter icon: Draw and evaluate an encounter card from the indicated chapter.
• Saved encounter icon: Effects of encounter cards marked like this can be saved for later.
• Spider Temple dark tablet icon: On the Spider Temple, take the leftmost dark tablet from the dark tablet supply. If empty, gain a tablet instead.

Starting Resources

• Player 1: coin, coin
• Player 2: coin, compass
• Player 3: coin, coin, compass
• Player 4: coin, compass, compass

Starting Deck: shown as an illustration on the printed page.