In Bonkan, players are explorers traveling through ruins and looking for anything they can find. Players will discover both artifacts and traps, then must decide to go on exploring or escape. Every round, each player decides to continue or exit the expedition. If you choose to continue, you draw a card. Items found have weights, from heavy treasures to lighter artifacts (which are useful against traps). Each player that continues has to contend with this accumulating weight. Disasters and traps also come up in play, and a player can get stuck in the cave if they get too heavy or get stuck in a trap. Players who don't make it out score nothing for their treasures. At the end of the game round, the player with the most points wins.