Review: Through the Desert

Introduction & Overview

When crossing the scorching desert, strategy is essential to decide how and where to lead your tribe’s caravan. Should you build the longest caravan or dominate the desert oases? What if you tried capturing more territory? Keep a close eye on your opponents’ caravans, or you might find yourself cut off from the vital water holes scattered across the desert sands.

This is how Through the Desert presents itself to us, a game designed by the great Reiner Knizia that forms part of his famous Tile-Placement Trilogy (alongside Tigris & Euphrates and Samurai). Originally published in 1998 by KOSMOS in German, the most recent edition has been published by Allplay. The artwork for this latest edition is by Damien Mammoliti (The Witcher: Old World, Foundations of Rome).

Published in Spain by Devir, the game is completely language-independent, except for the rulebook. It plays with 2 to 5 players, with a recommended minimum age of 10 and an approximate running time of around 45 minutes. The MSRP is €35. A review copy of Devir’s Spanish edition was used for this review.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom), measuring 26×20×6.5 cm (a medium rectangular box similar to Habitats or Q.E.), we find the following components:

• Double-sided game board (cardboard)
• 5 Leader tiles (1 in each color) (cardboard)
• 175 Camels (35 in each color) (plastic)
• 25 Leaders (5 in each color) (plastic)
• 45 Water hole tokens (cardboard)
• 5 Palm trees (plastic)
• 45 Oasis tokens (cardboard)
• Rulebook

How to Play

Through the Desert is set in the Sahara Desert, where each player takes control of five caravans of different colors with the goal of expanding their territory, finding water, and blocking opponents. At the start of the game, players take clockwise turns placing their caravan leaders one by one onto empty hexes on the map, avoiding positioning them adjacent to oases or other leaders. Following this initial setup phase, the main turns take place, during which each player typically places two camels of any color to extend their respective caravans. Branching paths are permitted, but positioning next to a caravan of the same color belonging to another player is strictly prohibited. These placements serve to connect caravans to water holes, oases, or across the river, granting immediate point tokens. Furthermore, a player can completely enclose an area of the desert using a single caravan and the edges of the board, securing all the points within and cutting off access to everyone else. The game ends when the last camel of any color is placed or if a player cannot make a legal move. Finally, points are tallied by adding up accumulated tokens, bonuses for possessing the largest caravan of each color, and one point for each empty hex within enclosed areas, declaring the player with the highest score the winner.

Key Concepts

Let’s begin with the Board. It displays a map of hexagonal spaces representing the desert. Spaces can be empty or contain a blue dot (water hole) or a palm tree symbol (oasis). We will also find mountains that are impassable and serve as boundaries. The board additionally features a white border line that cordons off a certain number of spaces not used in two- or three-player games.

There are five types of tribes, represented by Camels in five distinct colors (red, purple, turquoise, green, and yellow). These camels will be placed on the board to expand the players’ tribes, subject to one single rule: tribes of the same color can never connect.

Players control five different tribes (each player managing their own five tribes), which are identified by the Caravan Leader—simply a camel topped by a Rider in the player’s chosen color.

These serve as identification markers. To keep track of who controls which player color, a sixth camel color is included upon which a sixth rider is placed, though it never enters the map and acts strictly as a reminder tile indicator. During the game, we have three main sources of scoring. The first are the Oases, represented by Palm Trees. Whenever a player connects a tribe to an oasis, they receive victory points.

The second method involves the Water Holes, represented by circular tokens with a printed value (ranging from 1 to 3). The player who extends one of their tribes into a space containing one of these tokens claims it immediately.

The third path is Enclosing Areas. Whenever a player surrounds a group of hexes on the board using a single tribe, they claim all the water hole tokens inside and will score points at the end of the game. For this to be valid, no other tribe can be present inside the enclosed spaces, permanently barring outside access. In addition, an extra bonus is awarded at game end to the player holding the Largest Tribe (most camels) in each color.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

1. Unfold the game board in the center of the table.
   • In 2- and 3-player games, hexes beyond the white border line are out of play.
2. Place the five palm trees on 5 of the oasis symbols.
3. Randomly place water hole tokens on each hex marked with a blue dot and on oasis hexes without a palm tree.
   • In 2- and 3-player games, return unused tokens to the box.
4. Prepare a reserve pool with the oasis point tokens.
5. Set aside the additional scoring tokens and the largest caravan bonus tokens.
6. Organize a general supply of camels separated by color.
   • In 2-player games, remove 10 camels of each color back to the box.
   • In 3-player games, remove 5 camels of each color back to the box.
7. Each player picks a color and takes 5 riders of that color (one placed onto a camel of each color) along with their reference tile.
8. Finally, determine the starting player at random.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Through the Desert unfolds over an indeterminate number of turns until the game end is triggered.

Before regular play begins, players must deploy onto the map. Five placement rounds are carried out, during which each player places one of their caravan leaders on the board. In the first round, players are required to place a leader whose camel color is not yet on the board. From the second round onward, any remaining leader can be placed. The following rules must be observed:

• A leader cannot be placed on an occupied hex (another leader, palm tree, or water hole).
• A leader cannot be placed adjacent to an oasis or another caravan leader (including the player’s own).

Once the leaders are placed, the main game gets underway. Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, each player takes a turn taking two camels from the supply and extending one or two of their tribes (the camels may be of the same color or different colors). The rules for placing a camel are as follows:

The new camel must be placed on an empty space or one containing a water hole token adjacent to a camel of the same color belonging to the player’s own tribe. The following restrictions apply:

• A camel cannot be placed adjacent to another camel of the same color belonging to an opponent’s tribe; connecting separate tribes of the same color is forbidden.
• Camels may be placed adjacent to camels of different colors, regardless of who controls the tribe.
• When occupying a hex with a water hole token, the player collects the token and places it in their play area.
• If a camel is placed adjacent to a palm tree and is the first camel of that tribe to do so, the player takes an oasis point token.
• When a single tribe encloses an area of hexes so that no camels of another color remain inside, the player claims all water hole tokens within that area.

If the scoring tokens ever run out, players simply track points by any convenient method.

Game End

The game ends following the turn of a player who depletes the supply of camels of any single color. Final scoring then takes place. To the points already gathered from oases and water holes, players add:

• Largest Tribe: For each tribe color, the player with the largest tribe (most camels) receives a 10-point bonus. In case of a tie, tied players receive only 5 points each.
• Enclosed Areas: Each hex within an area enclosed by a player’s tribe provides 1 victory point.

The player with the most victory points is declared the winner. In case of a tie, victory is shared.

Variants

Alternative board. The game is played on the reverse side of the board, which features a river. Setup is identical, though river tokens are laid out. During the game, the first time a tribe crosses the river (the borders are highlighted in blue), it earns one of these tokens, which provides 5 points.

Personal Opinion

Today it is time to analyze another title from Dr. Knizia’s tile-laying trilogy (for lack of a better label). The other two are Tigris & Euphrates and Samurai. The former is a masterpiece, and the latter is another design of remarkable quality. Does Through the Desert maintain that high standard? Let’s take a look.

We are looking at what is perhaps the simplest of the three games that make up the trilogy. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it must be kept in mind when comparing them. Off the bat, I find it somewhat odd that these three titles are grouped as a trilogy at all. How can a game where you do not place tiles be included in a so-called “Tile-Placement Trilogy”? Perhaps it is just our perennial habit of cataloging everything. The only somewhat logical explanation is that all three games were published in consecutive years. Still, they could have easily chosen a different moniker.

Let’s get down to business. Through the Desert is a tactical abstract (perfect information, no random elements, and a shared-board struggle for board control), where players compete by deploying colored plastic pieces (camels) across a hexagonal grid to optimize point collection. Swap camels for settlements, and this definition fits Kingdom Builder like a glove (read the tocho-review here).

In both games, the primary mechanism is occupying hexes adjacent to areas where you already have a presence, with the main difference lying in the constraints dictating how you do so. In Donald X. Vaccarino’s game, you are restricted to a specific terrain type drawn via cards, whereas Knizia’s desert crawler limits placement through blocking rules between matching caravan colors. One could say the camel game is far less restrictive, relying on opposing players rather than random card draws to dictate where you cannot place.

Lady Luck simply has no place here, save for the initial setup where tokens are distributed randomly—largely shaping initial positioning and development paths. The core premise boils down to ensuring that every camel you deploy serves a concrete purpose. Fortunately, there are plenty of avenues to make that happen.

First up are the oases. Connecting a tribe to an oasis yields five valuable points, making it arguably the most efficient scoring route available. You will typically want to connect each tribe to at least one of these mirage-like water sources. That amounts to twenty-five points you can hardly afford to pass up. Furthermore, if you manage to link a single tribe to multiple oases, all the better. Along the way, you might even cut off opposing routes to them.

This brings me to the game’s subtle yet brutal interactive element. Being unable to connect matching tribes might sound trivial at first glance. However, the instant two caravans of the same color draw near, a dead zone of unusable hexes opens up between them, permanently sealing off any water holes caught in the crossfire. More than once, you will place a camel purely to deny an opponent their prize, even if it means missing out on it yourself.

Moving on to the rest of the scoring picture, water holes represent the second key avenue. While value-3 water holes are well worth pursuing, the value-1 and value-2 tokens rarely justify mobilizing an entire caravan on their own. Instead, the real trick is enclosing them within captured territory to reap a double reward: claiming the water tokens instantly and banking end-game bonus points for the captured terrain. It sounds straightforward, yet weaving through crowded caravans makes it a tricky endeavor.

As the match progresses, the board fills with pastel camels that look straight out of Dumbo’s fever dream, making territory closures and high-value grabs progressively tougher to pull off. Some might assume the outcome is sealed once the prime oases and water holes have been divvied up. Even so, one should never overlook the final scoring vector that kicks in at the end of the game.

I am referring to the largest caravan bonuses. Expanding a caravan without immediate payoff often proves worthwhile if it positions you to snag that valuable 10-point bonus at final tally. With 50 points on the line across the five colors, securing two majorities efficiently—by enclosing space or linking oases rather than dumping camels aimlessly—can easily swing the game in your favor.

Much like Tigris & Euphrates (read the tocho-review here), balancing multiple competing fronts turns even the simple act of choosing which tribe to grow into a tough call. This tension escalates when a color supply begins to run dry and warning bells go off across the table. Players who feel out of the running for a majority will avoid that color like the plague, whereas frontrunners will hit the gas before rivals can overtake them.

Assessing who is actually in the lead is no easy feat. Water hole tokens can be kept face down, meaning anyone scanning the board only sees fixed oasis points and enclosed areas. You could pause to count every single camel on the map, but your tablemates would likely give you an earful for dragging out such a snappy design.

Indeed, suffering from Analysis Paralysis in a game like this is bordering on criminal. While tactical options abound and a brief pause is occasionally warranted, obsessively over-calculating every move, tallying camel counts, and second-guessing everyone else will only ruin the experience.

Through the Desert is built to be played in just over thirty minutes. Hitting the 60-minute mark is a clear sign that players are taking their sweet time. Push past an hour, and someone is bound to zone out completely or start scrolling through their phone.

All told, Through the Desert is a superb abstract from Reiner Knizia’s golden era, a prolific period when he consistently delivered brilliant releases year after year. It might feel a bit stripped-down for some tastes, but in my view, it holds up remarkably well after nearly two decades.

For a game that leans tactical, the scalability is well above average. It plays smoothly at every player count, shifting toward deeper strategic weight with fewer participants. My personal sweet spot is 4 or 5 players, where reading optimal paths becomes delightfully chaotic. At 2 or 3, it offers greater deliberate control, though player motives are much easier to telegraph and parry across fewer fronts.

Perhaps the biggest drawback of Through the Desert is its replay value. Modern semi-abstract designs typically incorporate variable setup conditions—much like Kingdom Builder, where the core mechanics stay constant while each match feels distinct. Here, once the system clicks, winning comes down to outplaying your rivals. While not a flaw on its own, it leaves the game slightly behind modern standards in that department. Allplay sought to address this by introducing an alternate board in the base box to spice up navigation, alongside standalone expansions (though Devir has yet to announce plans for them).

Regarding production, Devir’s release of the Allplay edition comes in a nicely compact box (comparable to Habitats), which is a welcome improvement over the bulkier old editions. Inside, the camels and palm trees offer solid quality, even if the plastic feels slightly lighter than past printings. The cardboard tokens are sturdy and cleanly punched, and the rulebook is clearly organized and unambiguous.

On the visual front, the cover art is evocative, complemented by two game boards brimming with subtle shading and details that breathe life into what used to be a rather barren desert (fitting though that may have been). The only minor gripe is for completionist players, who might be thrown off by seeing board icons tailored exclusively for the expansions rather than the base game.

And let’s wrap this up. Through the Desert is an elegant design delivering sharp, cutthroat positional warfare. Tight blocking maneuvers between rival caravans, route optimization toward high-value oases, and unrelenting player interaction combine into wonderfully tense and brisk sessions where every single piece must pull its weight. While excessive AP can drag down its breezy pace if players get caught up in deep calculation, its sheer accessibility, relentless tactical tension, and brisk playtime make it an enduring staple for classic eurogame fans—even if, beneath the sand, it plays as a pure tactical abstract. For all these reasons, I give it a…