Hi everyone, it’s Mín here, and I would like to share a few things about the new addition to the Lost Ruins of Arnak!
The name says it all: the Surprise Shipment is an expansion even we didn’t really expect. It wasn’t planned originally, but when we were designing the Adventure Chest, there was this little bit of extra space in the card compartments that we ended up with, and we thought it would be cool to use it for some more cards. That is also the reason why Twisted Paths was advertised as the last major expansion–we were hoping to be able to fill that empty space in the Adventure Chest.
When we got back to actually designing the cards, it surprised us that there was actually still a lot more design space than we expected. When designing some of the previous expansions, it was easy to feel like we already exhausted all the interesting ideas for card effects. But as it turned out, there were many fun ideas still waiting for us, some actually changing the game in interesting ways.
New card effects
The base game comes with 75 items and artifacts, and the Surprise Shipment adds 50 more unique items and artifacts, which is actually a lot. We tried to aim for effects that are not overly complicated so that you can play with them even with beginners, but they still offer interesting effects that can change your playstyle and open the game to new strategies.
Adding new effects into an existing game can be both easier and harder than coming up with a new game. You already have some framework in place, but you need to fit into it and make sure you do not break anything.
Thankfully, we had the “CGO”–the CGE online testing platform–at our disposal. This expansion was tested there extensively, for which we’re very grateful to the community of testers there!
We were pleasantly surprised by how big of an impact this seemingly small expansion had on the gameplay.
Let us introduce a few of the cards!
For example, the Thermometer card affects the timing - suddenly, you want to play a lot of cards in a turn. Even gaining a fear from an effect does not sound like such a bad idea, because that is also a card that goes to your play area 🙂.
The Golden Wing can also be a game-changer if you are fairly rich and manage to snatch it at the right time. It can be especially useful when you are short on cards and need to travel a lot.
Have you ever had a game where you were just drowning in Fear cards? These artifacts may make that a strategic choice!
And sometimes, especially towards the end of the game, you might be lacking travel symbols when all the cards in your hand are just too precious to use just for the travel icons. That's where these new cards shine, giving you just the extra push you need to reach your destination.
One of my personal favorites is definitely the Stew Pot–a card with great versatility! It allows you to get to the gold side effect of an assistant much faster, and even interact with your opponent's assistant. That can be especially useful in some situations, like when they snatch the one assistant you really need. It's definitely a card that creates some memorable moments and encourages friendly banter! Like: “Why is my assistant eating at your camp again?” “Well, if you fed your assistant properly, maybe they wouldn’t come over!” and so on 😀
Art progress
We had a lot of fun with the artwork. Milan Vavroň is a pleasure to work with–he comes up with interesting concepts for the cards easily, which was very useful here, especially for Artifact card illustrations. The Item cards are much easier in that regard, since it’s easy to find some inspiration in the everyday world, but Artifacts need to feel unique and mysterious. They represent the culture of the Arnakian past and need to fit into the rest of the world seamlessly, while also communicating the in-game effect visually. For example, we usually try to have the illustration carry the same color as the important resources you gain from the card effect.
Ondřej Hrdina once again worked on the illustration for the cover, the new sites, and also the Kitten and Puppy cards. The idea we had for this cover was to make it cute and playful.
One of the all-time favorite cards is the Dog, of course. We wanted to create cheaper and weaker versions of the Dog and Cat cards, and when I saw the new cards next to each other, the image you see on the cover just popped into my mind. It was hard to unsee it–I really liked the idea of these two being the first ones to find a lost shipment in the Jungle. So keep an eye out for two new cute and cuddly expedition members - if they're not too busy chasing butterflies, that is!
Sometimes the theme of a card is closely connected with the way we represent its effect, but the intention does not always “survive” thanks to limitations like readability or balancing issues.
The Calendar card is a nice example of the former - we really wanted the effect to slowly change into another bonus from round to round, just like the seasons change. But the icons were too small when placed on the card like that. Placing the icons in the zig-zag looked strange because the round and square icons in different places created a scattered feel. So in the end the idea may not be as obvious from the final effect, but at least those of you who read this Diary will know.
Oh, and the date in the calendar also changed - it’s the date of the day when we (shortly before midnight) sent the Arnak rulebook to print, and with that, all the work on the base game was finished, and all we could do was to anxiously await how the game would be received. We have a few more Easter eggs like that hidden in the game, but let’s not spoil you all the fun of looking for them 🙂
New sites
When designing new sites, we wanted to keep the balance among the different resources that you may gain while digging at sites. Since we only had room for two extra sites, we decided to go for a unique new effect that is more flexible in what resources it can offer. The effect allows you to take back one of the previously used idols, making both the idol and the slot available for use again. This creates some interesting new combo opportunities!
We hope Surprise Shipment brings fresh energy to your games of Arnak, whether you’re exploring new strategies or just enjoying the unexpected twists these cards can create. The new expansion will be released July 30, 2026.
See you on the island, explorers!
