# Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2017 - **BGG Rating**: 7.8 - **BGG Rank**: #161 - **Players**: 2-4 (Best with: 3) - **Duration**: 45-90 min - **Weight**: 2.58 / 5 - **Designers**: Paul Dennen - **Artists**: Franz Vohwinkel, Nate Storm, Rastislav Le, Raul Ramos, Rayph Beisner - **Publishers**: Dire Wolf, Renegade Game Studios, 17wanzy (Yihu BG), Arclight Games, Devir, Lucrum Games - **Categories**: Science Fiction - **Mechanics**: Deck, Bag, and Pool Building, Delayed Purchase, Modular Board, Open Drafting, Player Elimination, Point to Point Movement ## Verdict If you enjoy deck-building with a touch of exploration and plenty of tension, Clank! In! Space! is right up your alley! A super fun space adventure full of tough decisions.Addictive deck-buildingEngaging space themeConstant tensionHigh replayabilityFun interactionPlayer elimination possibleRequires some luckNoise can be frustratingHIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description Get ready for an intergalactic adventure of thievery and noise in Clank! In! Space! The villainous Lord Eradikus is taking a victory lap across the galaxy in his flagship, the Eradikus Prime, and, of course, you and your fellow thieves have spotted the perfect opportunity. The goal is simple (and dangerous): infiltrate the ship, hack into the command module, and snatch the Lord's most prized artifacts. Along the way, you'll recruit allies for your deck and grab some extra loot lying around. But beware! Any misstep can generate a 'Clank!' and draw the attention of our cyborg host. The more noise you make, the more Eradikus's rage increases, and the chance of getting caught is very real. Oh, and if you manage to steal the artifacts, his rage absolutely explodes! Your hope is that your companions are clumsier than you are so you can escape in an escape pod before things get too ugly. Clank! In! Space! takes the essence of the original Clank! – that deck-building system we love – and throws it into outer space. Players build their personal decks, using cards to move through the spaceship, attack enemies, acquire new cards, and, yes, make that little noise that could be their undoing. It's an electrifying race where risk management and cleverness are as important as luck. Who will be the stealthiest thief... or the luckiest? ## How to Play Game Objective: The Great Galactic Heist! Prepare yourself, space thief! In Clank! In! Space!, you and your fellow scoundrels have been challenged to infiltrate Lord Eradikus's mothership, the Eradikus Prime, to steal his most precious artifacts. The main objective is simple (in theory): Hack the ship's computer to obtain a two-part command code, which will grant you access to the Command Module. Steal an Artifact from the Command Module. Be careful, you can only carry one! Choose wisely, as some are worth more points, but the path to them is more dangerous. Escape the ship in an Escape Pod in the Cargo Bay. Escaping with your life is "technically optional, though vastly preferable"! Accumulate points with your Artifact and other valuable items to become the Greatest Thief in the Galaxy! This is a deck-building game, where each player starts with an identical deck but develops it with different cards throughout the game, creating unique strategies. The noise you make (Clank!) attracts Lord Eradikus's attention, so managing your noise level is crucial for survival! Setup: Infiltrating the Eradikus Prime! Let's set up the table and prepare your space incursion: Assemble the Ship Board: Connect the 7 pieces of the Game Board. Three of them are fixed (Cargo Bay, Command, and Corridor). The other three pieces, of identical shape, can be placed in any of the three possible positions, with either side facing up. For the first game, it is recommended to use the Hydroponics, Doomsday Cannon, and Medical Lab pieces, as per the diagram. Choose your Thief: Each player chooses a Player Pawn, takes 30 Clank! Cubes and two Data Cubes of the corresponding color, placing them in their personal reserve. Your Starting Deck: Each player receives a starting deck of 10 cards, containing: 6 Hack, 2 Stumble, 1 Access, and 1 Scramble. Precious Artifacts: Place the six Artifacts (with values from 5 to 30 points) face up in the Command Module spaces marked with the corresponding numbers. If playing with fewer than 4 players, shuffle the Artifacts face down and remove one for 3 players, or two for 2 players. Major Secrets: Shuffle the Major Secrets face down and place one randomly in each Major Secret space on the board. Minor Secrets: Shuffle the Minor Secrets face down and place two randomly in each Minor Secret space on the board. Black Market: Place the Market Board next to the ship and arrange the Market Items: two of each Contraband, Master Key, Medical Kit, and TelePass. In 2-player games, place only one item of each type. Escape Pods: Place the four Escape Pod Tokens in the Cargo Bay. The Bank: Create a Bank next to the board, containing the five Power Crystals, one Command Code Token for each player, and all Credit Tokens (values of 1, 5, and 10). Rage Track: Prepare the Rage Track: Place the four Bounty Hunter Cubes (red) in three different spaces on the Rage Track: one in each of the first two red zone spaces, and two in the checkered space. Place the Lockdown Token in the last red zone space. Place the Boss Marker in the space corresponding to the number of players (for example: in the first space for a 4-player game). Boss Bag: Place the 24 Boss Cubes (black) in the Boss Bag and position it next to the board. Reserve Cards: Place the enemy card G0/B-L1N in the Reserve, next to the board, along with the stacks of FAZR, Boldly Go, and Memory Core cards. Adventure Deck: Shuffle the Adventure Deck and deal six cards to form the Adventure Row, face up on the table. If any of these cards have the Boss Attack symbol on the right border, replace them with other cards until none show the symbol. Then, shuffle the replaced cards back into the Adventure Deck. Leave space next to the Adventure Deck to form an adventure discard pile. Starting Position and Hand: Each player places their Pawn in the starting space (in the Cargo Bay), shuffles their 10-card deck, and draws five cards. First Player: The stealthiest player starts (or choose randomly). The game proceeds clockwise. The first player places 3 Clank! Cubes in the Clank! Area. The second player places 2 Clank!. The third and fourth players (if any) place 1 Clank! and 0 Clank!, respectively. The Game Turn: Your Invasion Plan! Each turn is an opportunity to advance towards your objectives, but beware of the noise! You start each turn with five cards in hand and will play them all in the order you choose. Turn Phases (Implicit): Play Cards and Use Resources: Play all five cards from your hand in any order. Cards generate three types of Resources: SKILL: Used to acquire new cards for your deck. SWORDS: Used to defeat enemies. BOOTS: Used to move around the ship. You can perform the actions below as many times as you wish, as long as you have the necessary resources. You can play all cards first and then perform the actions, or intersperse actions between cards. But remember: all your cards must be played before ending the turn. Available Actions: Acquire a New Card for your Deck: Use Skill to acquire cards with blue banners from the Adventure Row (which change throughout the game) or cards with yellow banners from the Reserve (which are the same in all games). The Skill Cost of a card is in the bottom right corner. Pay the cost and place the card in your discard pile; it is now part of your deck. When acquiring a card from the Adventure Row, do not replace it immediately. Defeat an Enemy: Enemies are cards with red banners in the Adventure Row. Defeat them using Swords. The number of Swords needed to defeat an enemy is in the bottom right corner. When defeating an enemy from the Adventure Row, you gain the reward listed in the DEFEAT text. The card is then placed in the adventure discard pile (not your discard pile). Do not replace it immediately. You can also fight the G0/B-L1N in the Reserve. It is not discarded when defeated; each player can fight it multiple times per turn, gaining its reward each time. Shop from the Market: If you are in a Market space, you can make a purchase. All Market items cost 7 Credits. Place each purchased item in your play area. You can only buy one item of each type. Move around the Ship: Use Boots to move. Each Boot allows you to move along a marked path from one space to an adjacent space. Paths with footprint icons require two Boots. Paths with enemy icons cause one damage for each icon. You can use Swords to avoid this damage. Paths with a padlock icon require a Master Key Token. Paths with an arrow can only be used in the direction of the arrow. When entering a space for the first time, you can take a Secret Token (Major or Minor) without looking, and then reveal it. When entering a security checkpoint, you are forced to stop and cannot use more Boots this turn. Use a Hyperlift or Telepad: Hyperlift: If you are in a Hyperlift space, you can move to any other Hyperlift space. Telepad: If you are in a Telepad space and have a TelePass, you can move to any other Telepad space. You do not need Boots to use Hyperlifts or Telepads, but you suffer "dizziness" and cannot use Boots until the next turn. Hack a Data Port: In a space with a Data Port, you can place one of your two Data Cubes on it. You gain the bonus or penalty shown. The port cannot be used again. You cannot place your second Data Cube in the same ship module as the first. Upon completing your command code (two Data Cubes in two different modules), take a Command Code Token from the Bank and move the Boss Marker one space on the Rage Track. Without this token, you cannot enter the Command Module. Steal an Artifact: If you have your command code and are in the Command Module in a space with an Artifact, you can take it and place it in your play area. You cannot take an Artifact if you already have one. When taking an Artifact, move the Boss Marker one space on the Rage Track. Gaining Credits: When gaining Credits, take them from the Bank. They are worth 1 point at the end of the game and can be used for purchases. Clank!: Some cards cause you to gain Clank!. Add these cubes from your personal reserve to the Clank! Area. "Sneaky" cards can remove Clank!. End of Turn: After playing all your cards and using your resources, your turn ends. Place all played cards in your discard pile. Unused resources are lost. Draw five new cards for the next turn. If there are empty spaces in the Adventure Row, fill them with new cards from the Adventure Deck. If any revealed card has the Boss Attack symbol, Lord Eradikus attacks! (Only once, regardless of how many symbols were revealed). Boss Attack and Rage Track: At the end of each turn, if cards with the Boss Attack symbol are revealed, an attack occurs: Take all cubes from the Clank! Area and place them in the Boss Bag. Shake the bag and draw a number of cubes equal to that indicated in the current space of the Boss Marker on the Rage Track. Each black cube is set aside. Each cube of a player's color represents 1 damage to that player. The Boss Marker advances on the Rage Track when: a command code is completed, an Artifact is taken, or an Archive (a type of Minor Secret) is discovered. When the Boss Marker reaches spaces with bounty hunter cubes (red), these cubes are added to the Clank! Area. If a red cube is drawn during an attack, all players take 1 damage, and the red cube returns to the Clank! Area. When the Boss Marker reaches the last space of the red zone, the Lockdown Token is placed in the Cargo Bay, blocking a Hyperlift space. Damage and Knockout: Your health tracker is tracked in the corner of the board. When taking damage, place your cubes on the tracker. If your health tracker is completely filled, you are knocked out. If you have already taken an Artifact and are in the Cargo Bay, your allies rescue you. You count your points. If you do not have an Artifact or are not in the Cargo Bay, you lose the competition and are not rescued. Once knocked out or escaping, you no longer have normal turns. Instead, on your turn, you place all cubes from the Clank! Area into the Boss Bag and draw four cubes (if it's a 2-player game, draw six). End of Game and Scoring: The Great Reckoning! The game ends when all players have escaped the ship or have been knocked out. All players who reached an Escape Pod (or at least the Cargo Bay) tally their points, counting the following: The value of your Artifact. Points equal to the amount of Credits accumulated. Points from any other tokens you acquired (such as Secrets or Market Items). Points granted ## FAQ ### What is the main difference between Clank! In! Space! and the original Clank!? The main difference lies in the theme, which shifts from medieval dungeons to a futuristic spaceship, and some mechanics that have been adjusted for the new setting. The core deck-building and 'making noise' elements remain, but with new cards, board modules, and enemies. ### Is Clank! In! Space! too complex for beginners? No! It has a medium complexity rating (2.58/5), making it accessible for beginners who have played some board games, but still offers depth for more experienced players. The rules are easy to pick up, but the strategy deepens with each game. ### How many players can play and what is the average game duration? The game is ideal for 2 to 4 players, and a game typically lasts between 45 and 90 minutes. Perfect for a game night with friends, without dragging on too long. ### Is there player elimination in Clank! In! Space!? Yes, player elimination is a possibility. If you fail to escape the ship before taking too much damage, you can be eliminated from the game. This adds a layer of tension and the need to manage your risks well. ### Are the components of good quality? Yes, the components are generally praised for their quality, with vibrant artwork and durable pieces. The cards are well-illustrated, and the modular board contributes to the immersion in the space theme. ### Who is Clank! In! Space! most recommended for? It is highly recommended for those who enjoy deck-building games, exploration, and a touch of 'push your luck'. 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