Through the Desert

About this board game

Through the Desert is a strategy board game for 2–5 players, with games lasting around 45 minutes. Designed by award-winning game designer Reiner Knizia and released in 1998, it challenges nomad tribes to compete for control of a vast, treacherous desert.

Players establish caravan routes across the shifting sands, seeking valuable oases and building their tribes’ influence. Every route can help increase your score, but the desert offers limited opportunities, making the placement of each caravan an important strategic decision.

There are several paths to victory. You might pursue the longest caravan, aim to dominate the desert’s oases, or work to block sections of the desert before your opponents can reach them. Keeping watch on rival caravans is essential, since an opponent may cut your tribe off from valuable water holes.

• Build and extend caravan routes through the desert
• Reach oases to gain points and increase your tribe’s power
• Block opponents and compete for control of key sections
• Choose between multiple scoring opportunities, including long caravans and oasis dominance

With its evocative desert setting and distinctive plastic camels, Through the Desert combines strategy, patience, and careful observation. Its focus on connecting routes and claiming space has led many players to compare it to Go.

Part of the so-called Knizia tile-laying trilogy, Through the Desert offers a competitive contest in which every caravan can reshape the balance of power across the sands.