When I see desert my mind immediately shifts to the classic cinematic cut from the film Lawrence of Arabia. A lit match is blown out in one instance, and in the next, we’re transported to the sprawl of shifting sands and shimmering sun. I’m also reminded of the answer that the titular character gives when asked why they are personally attracted to the desert. The answer given may sum up the entire review that is to follow: “It’s clean.”
The 1998 classic from Dr. Reiner Knizia is back with a new edition from publisher Allplay. Through the Desert is widely considered a high-tier offering from the good doctor and is also a part of his tile-laying trilogy which includes Tigris & Euphrates and Samurai. Was an update necessary? Do the new inclusions take away from what was originally a streamlined and “clean” design? Let’s strike the match and get ready to exhale.
Gameplay Overview:
How does one survive the granular sands of Through the Desert? By earning points through their caravans. Each player begins with leaders who sit atop one of the five different camel colors that represent the starting point of their caravans. As play wraps around the table, each player adds camels to the board to reach watering holes, visit oases, and expand their reach.
Let’s take this one step at a time. First, the board is set up by adding watering hole tiles and five oasis miniatures randomly to their corresponding spaces on the board. Watering hole tiles have point values ranging from one to three. Players then take turns placing their leaders on the board. Caravan leaders cannot be placed next to each other or next to an oasis.
There is no round structure. Play continues clockwise as each player may take two camels from any of the five different color options to add to their existing caravan. After initial placement, players are free to choose which of their leaders to expand upon. Each camel placed upon a watering hole tile acquires said tile, whereas routes that reach an oasis receive a five-point token.
There are placement restrictions and benefits. Restrictions include impassable borders and the inability to place a camel next to another player’s same-colored route. As for benefits, players who are at home in the desert may attempt to carve out territory all their own by blocking off areas that are no longer accessible to others. Any watering holes or oases within these territories belong to this player, as well as the surrounding watering holes. The player gains these points as well as end game points for all unoccupied spaces within these territories.
As such, players vie for territory control while building routes to valuable watering holes and oases, all while trying to develop long routes for end-game majority points. The board tightens, watering holes become scarce, routes become harder to extend, and players strategically maneuver and block along the way. The game ends when one color of camels has been fully added to the board.
Game Experience:
So clean. Through the Desert takes a simple mechanism and enhances its setting, pulling this design from abstract to near thematic. It plays well at all player counts, though I have preferred my plays at three and four players the most. Thankfully there is a shaded area of the board that tightens play at lower player counts. There is also scaling in place by removing camels at lower counts.
For such an easy teach, Through the Desert finds a mix of strategy and tactics that can be quite crunchy. There is a constant awareness of needing to gain points while also beating opponents to watering holes. Players must be mindful of others attempting to carve out territory, block easy route building, and the inventory levels of camel colors. There is a lot to consider, and it happens as soon as you begin leader placements.
Allplay’s production features a new board illustration that looks great. The back side of the board also features a night illustration with a river that adds a new wrinkle to the game. Players receive points when crossing the river with each of their caravans. I’ve enjoyed playing on both sides of the board and find both options excellent.
On the other hand, there have been a lot of rumblings about Allplay’s production quality regarding the hollow plastic camels (and their colors). I’ve not played earlier iterations of the game, though I’ve compared the 2017 version’s camels to this new version. While the earlier camels feel better, I do not mind the lesser quality of the plastic camels. I enjoy their contrast against the board, and I’ve not had a lot of issues with their colors. That said, I have played with others who’ve struggled with distinguishing colors as the board gets busier.
Box size has also been a sticking point for some. Allplay releases smaller box games, and the small footprint of this box size is admirable. That said, it is packed tight with all the base game components. Then comes the expansion called Through the Desert: Bazaar. This was sent to me for review as well and I shall include my thoughts on these new modules. However, it must be mentioned that the inclusion of these additional components does make the box size an issue.
Thankfully the expansion isn’t necessary. There are four modules to consider and the addition of a very nice bag for holding tiles. The one expansion module that I do enjoy is the Bazaars. These tiles are added to the board during setup, stacked with point values descending from fifteen, to ten, to five. Players who can create a route from them to a village near the edge of the board receive the tile on top. The added decision space from including these is exactly what the game needs to enhance its original design. I almost consider this an auto-include. Fortunately, it is easy to proxy without the expansion at all thanks to the bazaar and village locations being printed on the main board.
The other three modules I can do without. There are replacement tiles that include set collection and ways to add a third camel during your turn. Meh. There is a new set of end-game scoring options that pull from the focus of the main game. And then there is the Djinn deck, which completely removes strategy and is truly only for those who want to ruin the game by imposing random rulesets on others (and themselves). Chaos does not coincide with clean.
Final Thoughts:
We’ve reached our final watering hole. Through the Desert maintains its clean design and this new Allplay production gives it a fresh coat of paint. I prefer the small box, the new board illustrations, and the Bazaar expansion module. This is a keeper, and it will be tabled during light-to-medium gaming sessions at three and four player counts for many, many years. My final score reflects the expansion, which stands alone from the base game, but is small enough to be something that people will seek to add to their collection. I do see what Reiner was trying to do with each of the modules, but ultimately the game would be better served by washing away the grit with the clean waters from the existing oases.
Final Score: 4 stars – This updated journey may bring new sandy grit, but ultimately the polished grains stay with you for a long time. A classic for a reason.
Hits:
• Elegant and simple strategy
• New boards and illustration
• Bazaar module included in expansion
• Small footprint box size
Misses:
• Remaining expansion modules
• Camel production quality/color
• Unnecessary player and majority tokens
