Clank! Catacombs: Underworld Design Diary 5 – Shopping for Souvenirs

July 24, 2025

As we move into the final weeks of the Clank! Catacombs: Underworld Kickstarter, we’re grateful to the many thieves and adventurers out there who have already pledged their support, and we welcome you back to yet another Design Diary!

Underworld Shopping

In previous entries, we’ve introduced the Underworld, how to enter it, some nasty nuisances waiting within, and some of the new rooms you can expect to find. In one of these, I mentioned the ability to buy “Underworld market items.” One of the fun things about the Underworld expansion is that it comes with a whole new suite of market items, and a special rule whereby you can only buy Underworld market items when you’re in the Underworld, and you can only buy regular market items when you’re not in the Underworld. Also, Underworld comes with a new “split” market board for storing all your market items!

Let’s go through the new market items one by one and see what’s on sale. (Technically, none of them are on sale; they all cost 7 gold just like all the other market items in Clank!… but undercoins are also accepted!)

The River Lamp is available outside the Underworld and is the only new item that isn’t bought in the Underworld. It’s worth 5 points at the end of the game, but the reason you might buy it is to immediately get 3 undercoins to fund an Underworld expedition.

The Boots of the Wind. Worth only 1 point at the end of the game, but each turn (including the turn in which you buy it), you get an extra boot. If you’re pursuing the harpy hunting strategy, this could be the item for you. Or if you’re an in-and-out fast kind of player, who likes to watch the rest of your friends get burned by the dragon, maybe this is up your alley.

The Jester’s Cap. This is worth 7 points for each Stumble you have at the end of the game. And it counts as a Crown. This rewards players who carried their Stumbles along for the whole game, especially considering the opportunities afforded by Underground Lakes. (Also see The Fool Fate card in the previous design article.) If you find a way to trash one of your Stumbles early in the game, then this item certainly isn’t for you!

Blood Amulet. This works exactly like the Blood Amulets in Catacombs, except that it can only be bought in the Underworld. This was added during development to help lower player death counts, since the Underworld does add more value, but also more danger.

The Gauntlets of Destiny. In the last article, we talked about Fate cards and how each player can only have one Fate card. That’s generally true, but this item creates an exception. When you buy the Gauntlets of Destiny, you immediately get another Fate card, and you now have the ability to have two Fate cards. It’s also worth 6 points at the end of the game, so… are you feeling lucky?

The River Boat. This is the most complex of all the new market items, so I saved it for last. While you have a River Boat, whenever you trash a card, that card is stacked underneath the River Boat. At the end of the game, you can count all the stacked cards as if they were yours. So, for example, this allows you to trash Secret Tomes and still count them at the end of the game. You could also trash Stumbles to the River Boat and still score a full 14 points for having a Jester’s Cap. If you have a River Boat, you might want to head toward revealed underground lakes. It’s a fun strategy to pursue every once in a while, but it does take time, so you typically need to commit to the River Boat earlier rather than later.

Hopefully, one or two of these market items caught your eye! There are also new cards that interact with Underworld markets and their wares:

The Burial Urn is an attractive card to trash with a River Boat, and the Hero of Prophecy might motivate a player to purchase the Gauntlets of Destiny. Want to go shopping as soon as possible? The Mystic Elevator will get you there immediately, and as an added bonus, provides an alternate way into the Underworld!

Clank! Catacombs: Underworld – Live on Kickstarter!

Clank! Catacombs: Underworld is live on Kickstarter! If you haven’t yet backed it, now’s your chance to order the new expansion (or the whole Clank! Catacombs set if you’re just getting started) and get some extra goodies in the process!

Learn More About Clank! Catacombs: Underworld: