In the expansion review series, we take a look at a game expansion to discuss whether it is a necessary purchase/addition to one’s collection.
This breakdown is for the mini-expansions for the set collection/worker placement game Wreck Raiders. The mini-expansions are: The Giant Clam, The Relic Hunter, and The Shark. These mini-expansions can all be played together with the base game, or you can pick and choose one or two to use if you so wish!
To play with the Giant Clam mini-expansion, you place the Clam near the game board with the mouth shut (top shell and bottom shell closed together), and place the Pearl tokens facedown around the Clam. During gameplay, any time a player rolls the dice pool at the top of the round, you will slide open the top shell of the Clam to the number equal to the number of dice that landed in Seashell zones (if 2 dice landed in Seashell zones, open the Clam up to the number 2, etc.). The Clam continues opening this way each round, until it reaches the “!” symbol, which causes it to slam shut. To interact with the Clam, on your turn you may move a Diver to the Clam, and choose a face-down Pearl. If the Pearl is of equal or lesser value than the number that the top shell of the Clam is open to, you get to keep the Pearl for end-game scoring! If the Pearl you select is higher than the top Clam shell number, or is the “!” symbol, the Clam slams shut and you get nothing. Either way, after a Player has interacted with the Clam, it closes again and resets for the next round.
To incorporate the Relic Hunter mini-expansion, each player receives 1 Relic Hunter card at the start of the game. These cards are kept secret from opponents. Your Relic Hunter card has a layout of your player board’s Vault, and specific Relics in specific spaces. During the game, you will try to place these specific Relics in their corresponding places in your Vault in order to earn some extra end-game points.
And finally, to incorporate the Shark mini-expansion, you will add the Shark die to the pool, and keep the Shark meeple handy. Whenever the dice pool is rolled, the Shark die is rolled as well. If the Shark die comes up with a blank face, nothing happens. If the Shark die comes up with the Fin symbol, you will pair the Shark die with the nearest other die. During the dice claiming, if a player chooses the die that is paired with the Shark die, they get to activate the Shark this round. When you activate the Shark, you move it to another wreck on the board. Any Diver in the Shark’s new spot, or the adjacent spots, are immediately sent back off the board to their owners. The Shark is now blocking this space, and will continue to send any adjacent Divers back off the board until it is moved to a new space.
It is important to remember that these are all mini-expansions – they do not really alter the gameplay significantly. That being said, they are enjoyable to include in the game! Each mini-expansions offers a new and unique mechanic that helps enhance the overall gameplay, without being so involved or different that it feels like a totally different game.
Official recommendation: So the final verdict? I would definitely say to try these mini-expansions. They are very easy to learn and include in the overall gameplay, and if anything, they just add to the entertainment, immersion, and strategy. The decisions you make when using the expansions admittedly won’t make or break the game, but they could give you a small boost to juuuuust push you to a higher score than your opponents! Just another small and unique way to earn some points. These mini-expansions were Kickstarter exclusives, I think, so they may not be available in retail. Which is unfortunate. But if you ever get the chance to try these mini-expansions out, I would say go for it! They’re small and light, but also enhance the overall gameplay of Wreck Raiders.
