How to Play Lost Ruins of Arnak Online
By the Tavernly team ·
Lost Ruins of Arnak is a board game by Mín & Elwen, published by Czech Games Edition in 2020, which won the Deutscher Spiele Preis in 2021. There are three routes to consider today: Board Game Arena, the coming official Steam version, and our browser game. Only the browser routes are ready to play. We make Lanternfell on Tavernly, so this post includes our own game and explains what it does and does not offer.
The short answer (checked 2 October 2026)
- The original game, free in a browser: Board Game Arena. Every player needs an account. It supports 2 to 4 players, but has no solo game.
- The official Steam version: Coming soon. You can wishlist it, but you cannot buy or play it yet.
- Free, with friends or bots, no account: Lanternfell on Tavernly. It runs in your browser and has its own theme, art, cards and names.
Which way is right for you?
These choices were checked on 2 October 2026. Board Game Arena is ready for the official game with other people. Lanternfell on Tavernly is ready for browser games with friends or bots. The official Steam version is still listed as coming soon.
| You want to… | Best choice |
|---|---|
| Play the official game now, free | Board Game Arena, with an account for every player |
| Play with friends without accounts | Lanternfell on Tavernly, at a private table |
| Play alone against the computer | Lanternfell on Tavernly, against bots |
| Take turns without playing in real time | Board Game Arena, using turn-based play |
| Learn at a real table with a coach | Lanternfell on Tavernly, using Learn by playing |
| Follow the coming official digital release | Lost Ruins of Arnak on Steam, which you can wishlist |
Board Game Arena: Lost Ruins of Arnak in your browser (free)
Board Game Arena lets you play Lost Ruins of Arnak free in your browser with 2, 3 or 4 players. A free account can open a table or join one. Every player needs an account. It has a tutorial and both real-time and turn-based play, but no solo game.
- Create a free Board Game Arena account, then sign in.
- Visit the Lost Ruins of Arnak game page.
- Join a table, or open your own.
- For a game with friends, make a table and invite them. Ask everyone to create an account before joining.
- Choose real-time or turn-based play.
Lost Ruins of Arnak is not marked as a Premium game on Board Game Arena. You do not need a paid account to host it. This matters when you arrange a game with friends: the host and guests can all use free accounts.
Board Game Arena lists an average game length of 28 minutes. That is the site's listed average, rather than a promise for your table. The game has been on Board Game Arena since 26 May 2021.
The official Steam version: coming soon
The official Lost Ruins of Arnak version from CGE Digital is not out yet. On 2 October 2026, Steam listed it as coming soon, with its release date to be announced. There is no listed price, and you cannot buy it. You can add it to your wishlist.
- Open the Lost Ruins of Arnak Steam page.
- Read the coming-soon status and the listed platforms, Windows and Mac.
- Add the game to your Steam wishlist if you want to follow the release.
The store lists single-player, online player versus player, shared or split screen, and Remote Play Together. These are listed features of the coming release. They do not make it a way to play today.
CGE Digital is both the developer and publisher. If you want the official game now, Board Game Arena is the available browser route. If you want this digital version, you must wait for its release. The store gives no date or price to plan around yet.
A Lost Ruins of Arnak alternative: Lanternfell on Tavernly
Lanternfell on Tavernly is our free browser game for 2 to 4 players, with no account or download. It takes about 60 minutes. It has its own theme, art, cards and names, and no expansions. Playing alone means playing against bots, because it has no separate solo mode.
Your expedition enters the fog of the Fell. You visit old lantern towers, meet wardens and work towards the Beacon. The names differ from the plain words used in the rules recap below. The legend after the lesson shows how to read them.
- Open Lanternfell on Tavernly. On your first visit, the birth-date screen asks for your month and year. Enter them and press Continue. The game is for players aged 13 and over.
- For a quick game, choose Easy, Medium or Hard, then press Play now. This table has 2 seats. A bot takes the empty seat within five seconds.
- For a guided start, press Learn by playing. The lesson uses a real table against one bot.
- For friends, press Play with friends. Choose 2, 3 or 4 seats, then press Open a private table.
- In the waiting room, press Share invite, or tap the link to copy it. Send it to your friends. Press Start now when you are ready; bots take the seats that remain empty.
Each decision has a 75-second timer. The choice of cards to keep at round end gets 1.5 times as long. If the timer runs out, the game passes for that player. Read the table before the timer ends, especially when you are choosing between travel and a card effect.
The What happened box lists moves in plain words. You can use it to follow what the other players did.
What "Learn by playing" teaches
The lesson is called Your first game. It has 27 steps across two rounds. We played it to the end on 2 October 2026. It teaches actions at a real table, then lets that same table continue as your first full game.
The coach rings the part of the table you need and gives it a short label. You can move through the lesson with Back and Next, or leave it with Skip lesson.
The opening step explains the goal: have the most points after five rounds. Step 5 asks you to tap a ringed chart card in your hand. You play the card yourself, rather than only reading about its effect.
Step 7 teaches digging. Your surveyor travels to a site and takes its goods. Cards pay the travel cost with their symbols. The lesson also teaches buying a card and ending a round. At round end, tap the cards you want to keep, then press Done.
At step 17, you find a tower by paying three charts and one foot. A chill card supplies the foot symbol. You take the site's star stone, and the Stone Owl wakes there. A few steps later, you calm this warden for five points.
The lesson also covers a free action and a study step. After step 27, the table continues. The coach suggests a move and explains it briefly at each decision, but you may choose any move. Use Hide tips to hide the advice, or Start a real game to leave the lesson table and begin a new game.
Use this legend to connect the plain words below with the names in Lanternfell on Tavernly.
| Plain words | Lanternfell's names |
|---|---|
| worker (explorer) | surveyor |
| coins | silver |
| compasses | charts |
| tablets | slates |
| arrowheads | flints |
| jewels | ambers |
| item cards | gear |
| artifact cards | relics |
| fear cards | chill cards |
| guardians | wardens |
| idols | star stones |
| assistants | guides |
| research track (magnifying glass and notebook) | study ladder (lantern and quill) |
| temple | the Beacon (top row) |
| level 1 and level 2 sites | towers and halls |
The rules in two minutes
Lost Ruins of Arnak mixes deck-building with worker placement. You send workers to sites, use cards, gather goods and move along a research track. This recap gives the original game's rules in plain words. Lanternfell on Tavernly follows them, with its own names, cards and research-track rewards.
Rounds and turns. Play lasts 5 rounds. Each player has 2 workers, a deck and a hand of 5 cards. Players take turns until everyone has passed. On your turn, take exactly one main action. You may add free actions before, during or after it, but cannot take a turn made only of free actions.
Main actions. Dig at a site, find a new site, calm a guardian, buy a card, play a card's main effect, research, or pass. Passing ends your turns for the current round. Free actions include marked card effects, an assistant's power, a guardian's favour and placing an idol in a slot.
Travel and digging. Pay a site's travel cost with symbols on cards in your hand: foot, pony, boat or kite. A kite pays any travel cost; any symbol pays a foot cost. You can spend 2 coins for a kite symbol. A card spent on travel gives its symbol, not its effect. To dig, put a worker on an empty space, pay travel and take the site's effect.
Finding sites. Place a worker at an empty level 1 or level 2 spot and pay travel plus compasses. Those compass costs are 3 and 6. Take the site's idol and reveal its tile. A guardian appears at the new site.
Guardians and fear. You can calm a guardian where your worker stands by paying its cost. It gives 5 points and a favour you may use once during the game. At round end, a worker returning from a site with a guardian brings a fear card. Each fear card costs 1 point at scoring and takes space in your deck.
Buying cards. Items cost coins and go to the bottom of your deck. Artifacts cost compasses and are used at once when bought. Playing an artifact from your hand also costs compasses. The shared row has 6 places. At round end, a card on each side of the dividing line leaves, and the line moves right.
Research. Move your magnifying glass or notebook up the research track. The notebook cannot go above the magnifying glass. The magnifying glass can reach the temple at the top, where earlier arrivals score more and you may buy tiles.
Idols and round end. Each idol is worth 3 points. Put one in a slot to take a reward, but remember that empty slots also score. Keep any cards you want from your hand at round end. The rest join your play area, which is shuffled under your deck. Draw back up to 5 cards.
Final score. After 5 rounds, count research, the temple spot and tiles, idols, empty slots, guardians and card points. Subtract 1 for every fear card. Most points wins. A tie goes to the player who reached the top row first.
Rules differ a little between editions; the rulebook in the box decides.
Tips for playing online
Plan each turn around your workers, cards and goods. The rules above make those choices matter: a travel card loses its effect, passing ends your round, and a guardian can bring a fear card home with your worker. These tips follow the rules used by Lanternfell on Tavernly.
- Check travel before playing a card. A card used for travel cannot also give its effect. Look at the site you want before spending the symbol.
- Count the full cost of a new site. Finding needs compasses and travel. At step 17 of the lesson in Lanternfell on Tavernly, you pay three charts and one foot to find a tower. The chill card pays the foot cost. Check both costs before you find a site, then look at what you would need to calm its guardian.
- Use free actions alongside your main action. They never make a turn on their own.
- Think before passing. You cannot take another turn that round after passing. Check your workers, cards and goods first.
- Choose what to keep. Round end lets you keep cards in hand. Consider their next use before sending them under your deck.
Questions people ask
The main differences are accounts, opponents and release status. Board Game Arena needs an account and has no solo game. Lanternfell on Tavernly needs no account and fills empty seats with bots. The official Steam version lists more modes, but you cannot play it yet.
Can I play Lost Ruins of Arnak online for free?
Board Game Arena offers Lost Ruins of Arnak without a Premium requirement. A free account can both open and join a table. Lanternfell on Tavernly is also free and needs no account. The official Steam version has no listed price yet, so we cannot call that coming release free.
Do I need to download anything?
Board Game Arena and Lanternfell on Tavernly both run in a browser. You can use either browser route without downloading a game. Board Game Arena requires an account; Lanternfell on Tavernly does not. The official Steam version lists Windows and Mac, but it is still coming soon and cannot be bought yet.
Can I play alone?
Lanternfell on Tavernly lets you play against bots at Easy, Medium or Hard level. Its quick table has 2 seats, with a bot taking the empty seat. It does not have a separate solo mode. Board Game Arena has no solo game for Lost Ruins of Arnak. Steam lists single-player for the coming release.
Can I play with friends?
Board Game Arena lets you make a table and invite friends, with an account required for everyone. Lanternfell on Tavernly uses a private table and an invite link, without accounts. Choose the seats, share the link and start when ready. Bots fill empty seats. Steam lists online play, but that version is not available yet.
Can I play on a phone?
On 2 October 2026, we found no official Lost Ruins of Arnak game app on the App Store or Google Play. Score-counter apps are not the game. Board Game Arena and Lanternfell on Tavernly are the browser routes described here. The official Steam page lists Windows and Mac, rather than a phone release.
How many players can join?
The Lost Ruins of Arnak box supports 1 to 4 players. Board Game Arena supports 2, 3 or 4, without solo play. Lanternfell on Tavernly also supports 2 to 4 players. Its private table lets you choose that seat count, and bots take empty seats. A quick game against bots has 2 seats.
Can I use a card for travel and its effect?
In Lanternfell on Tavernly, spending a card for travel gives you its travel symbol, not its effect. Choose which use you need before spending it. A kite symbol pays any travel cost, and any symbol can pay a foot cost. You may also spend 2 silver to get a kite symbol.
Sources
We checked these pages on 2 October 2026: Board Game Arena for browser play, Steam for the coming digital version, Wikipedia for the game's background, and Lanternfell on Tavernly for our game. The links below show where the details in this post came from.
- Wikipedia, Lost Ruins of Arnak: designers, publisher, first publication, player count, playing time and award.
- Board Game Arena, Lost Ruins of Arnak: free-account access, players, tutorial, game length and play modes, and the names of the original game's pieces in its game description.
- Steam, Lost Ruins of Arnak: coming-soon status, platforms, listed modes, developer, publisher and wishlist.
- Lanternfell on Tavernly: our rules, bot levels, table controls, timer and the lesson we played to the end.
Lanternfell is not affiliated with or endorsed by the owner of Lost Ruins of Arnak. Lost Ruins of Arnak is a trademark of its owner. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you want the physical game, here is Lost Ruins of Arnak on Amazon.