Delightful deckbuilder Clank! now has a digital version

GamesCard GameDelightful deckbuilder Clank! now has a digital versionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Dire Wolf)

Digital version of board game Clank!

Everyone has at some point thought about what it would be like as a fantasy burglar crawling down into a monster-infested dungeon to make off with heaps of loot, all while not waking up the terrible dragon that dwells within. Don’t you dare tell me you haven’t or my perception of reality will be absolutely ruined.

Anyway, tabletop adaptation experts Dire Wolf have dropped a digital version of Clank, a deckbuilder about doing just that: Sneaking into some caves and stealing cool stuff. Your cards let you get loot, fight monsters, and sneak around. You’re aiming for one of a few especially precious artifacts—but it’s inevitable that a player will, eventually, make a loud ‘clank!’ and wake the dragon, accelerating the danger of someone getting caught and eaten.

Right now the digital version of Clank has the two boards of the original tabletop Clank, local play against the AI, and online support for four players.

The combination of pushing your luck and deckbuilding is catnip to a certain kind of player (me) who cannot help but do things that will come back to bite them in the butt (again, me). Clank’s rules are pretty simple to grasp, and the deckbuilding is built on the approachable principle that you add new cards to your discard and only reshuffle your deck when it runs out. There’s none of that constant reshuffling you see in digital-only deckbuilders.

Clank is eight years old for tabletop players now, but still pops up as a recommendation and stays both in-print and selling. It was both a MENSA select and a Spiel Des Jahres recommended game, two rather notable awards. It’s notable as a more approachable deckbuilder for people who don’t always love the ultra-deep combos and metagame strategies—something that might be fresh if your only exposure to deckbuilding is via videogames.

Dire Wolf is a well-known name in digital board game adaptations, most recently fortheir quite good spin on Dune: Imperium. The Clank release is currently in Early Access, but only aims to be there for “a couple of months” with Dire Wolf expecting a full release in the fall. The full version will include better visuals, more customization, expanded game modes, and cross-platform play.

You can findClank! on Steamfor $23.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

More about card gamesLegendary joker ports Balatro to the 44-millimeter screen of an Apple Watch, calls it ‘Wee Balatro’You should definitely grab today’s free Epic Store giveaway: this ‘dicebuilder’ might quietly be the best freebie of the seasonLatestWhen 2K removed its annoying launcher it broke a bunch of XCOM 2 modsSee more latest►

More about card games

Legendary joker ports Balatro to the 44-millimeter screen of an Apple Watch, calls it ‘Wee Balatro’You should definitely grab today’s free Epic Store giveaway: this ‘dicebuilder’ might quietly be the best freebie of the season

Balatro being played on an Apple Watch

Legendary joker ports Balatro to the 44-millimeter screen of an Apple Watch, calls it ‘Wee Balatro’

Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles art

You should definitely grab today’s free Epic Store giveaway: this ‘dicebuilder’ might quietly be the best freebie of the season

LatestWhen 2K removed its annoying launcher it broke a bunch of XCOM 2 modsSee more latest►

Latest

When 2K removed its annoying launcher it broke a bunch of XCOM 2 mods

XCOM 2 with Warhammer 40,000 customization and weapons modded in

When 2K removed its annoying launcher it broke a bunch of XCOM 2 mods

See more latest►

Most Popular

23-year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the ‘unpaid software engineers’ of its unkillable community

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

Lords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its games

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’

If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo video

Square Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fans

The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals