2-4 players, ages 11+, 20+ minutes
by Allplay
Build Your Caravan Of Camels! The board fills up quick. Will you be left out to dry?
Reiner Knizia's enduring classic, Through The Desert, makes a triumphant return. The iconic camels and elegant gameplay will captivate newcomers and longtime fans alike.
Travel the desert with five different colors of camels. Build long, sweeping caravans to score points at watering holes and oases. You also get points for claiming territories by enclosing sections of the map with your camels.
Through The Desert shines in how tight the gameplay can be. At the beginning of the game, the map looks wide open. But, as turns progress, it becomes harder and harder to score points. There's a "knife-fight-in-a-phone-booth" nature to the gameplay that reveals itself towards the end. Water is scarce in the desert, but will the points can be scarcer?
What sets this new edition apart? Damien Mammoliti contributes all-new artwork to bring this tabletop desert world to life. The beloved camels get an updated design while remaining alarmingly cute and functional.
Allplay's edition comes in a smaller box, with a bigger board, at a lower price. We also introduce new gameplay elements through several expansions. They add new mechanics and challenges to tweak the rich simplicity of the core game.
There's no time to waste when water is on the line. You only get 2 camel placements each turn. Do you get to that oasis before you're blocked? Do you claim that valuable watering hole before your opponent? Or, do you lock in big points by blocking off a part of the board and claiming that territory?
With a randomly seeded board and different play styles at every table, Through The Desert rewards both creativity and adaptability. As the game progresses, new opportunities open up as some disappear like a mirage. There's no time to dwell on a missed opportunity. Take advantage of a different scoring option or area of the map! You're almost never out of it!
There are many ways to score in Through The Desert. Don't focus too hard on one strategy if it's easily blocked. If there's a lot of heat on one area of the board, maybe you can quietly surround some tiles or scoop up easy oasis spaces!
When the board is empty, it looks like you can score everywhere. But, as it fills up, your opportunities dry up fast. Always think about tempo: that is, if there are moves that can't wait under threat of blocking, do those before moves elsewhere!
