# Through the Desert: Bazaar ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2024 - **BGG Rating**: 7.3 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 2-5 (Best with: 3) - **Duration**: 45 min - **Weight**: 2.33 / 5 - **Designers**: Reiner Knizia - **Artists**: Daniel Profiri, Hien Le - **Publishers**: Allplay - **Categories**: Abstract Strategy, Animals, Arabian, Expansion for Base-game - **Mechanics**: Chaining, Connections, Enclosure, Hexagon Grid, Hidden Victory Points, Market, Network and Route Building, Pick-up and Deliver ## Verdict If you already enjoy *Through the Desert* and want to spice up your games, *Bazaar* is the perfect choice! It brings new features that maintain the game's essence, but with extra challenges.Adds great replayabilityFlexible modulesNew strategiesMaintains original eleganceChallenges for veteransRequires base gameMay increase playtimeMore rules to learnHIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description Get ready for an even more exciting journey through the desert with *Through the Desert: Bazaar*, the modular expansion that promises to add extra spice to the classic camel-placement game! If you're already a fan of the base game, you'll love how this expansion introduces strategic twists without messing with the elegance we already know. You can add a single new element for a subtle change, or combine all four for a complete and challenging experience, perfect for those who have already mastered the desert. With *Rival Nomads*, each game becomes a unique adventure. A deck of Nomad cards will reveal very specific and intriguing scoring conditions, forcing you to be a master of adaptation and change your strategy with each new revelation. The *Djinns* bring a touch of magic and mischief: by visiting oases, you might awaken these playful spirits, who use their powers to make crossing the desert a bit more difficult for everyone. It's an extra challenge for those who enjoy a good obstacle! *Special Watering Holes* offer a crucial advantage: by taking a camel piece, you gain the chance to place an extra piece on the board. In a game where every move counts, this additional action can be the difference between victory and defeat. And, of course, the *Bazaar* couldn't be missing! Trade is the soul of the desert, and here, buying a commercial good alone is worthless. But if you manage to form a pair of goods and find someone to trade with, that translates into ten valuable points! Furthermore, the expansion allows you to create lucrative trade routes linking desert bazaars to distant villages, adding a layer of route planning and connections. *Through the Desert: Bazaar* is the dose of novelty you needed to revisit this classic with fresh eyes! ## How to Play Objective of the Game In Through the Desert: Bazaar, you play as rival nomads offering treasures to whoever can best fulfill their desires. You'll be forming valuable trade routes from desert bazaars to far-off villages. The game ends, and points are scored, based on fulfilling rival nomad desires, claiming bazaar tokens, and collecting special watering hole tokens. Preparation (Setup) Place any 2 rival nomad cards faceup near the board. You may pick them or deal randomly. Note that the river nomad can only be used with the river map, and the mountain range nomad can only be used with the mountains map. Shuffle the djinn deck and place it facedown next to the board. Sort the bazaar tokens into 3 stacks: a 5-point token on the bottom, a 10-point token in the middle, and a 15-point token on top. Place 1 stack on each bazaar hex on the map (marked with a ). Before placing watering hole tokens, remove 7 each of the 1-point, 2-point, and 3-point tokens (21 total) and shuffle in the special tokens to replace them. Then place as normal. Gameplay Consult the manual for details about this section. Actions and How to Play Connecting to Oases and Djinns If you connect 1 or more caravans to an oasis marker during your turn, then at the end of your turn, you must reveal the top card on the djinn deck. Read aloud the djinn’s new rule and place it faceup next to the deck (covering the previous djinn, if there is one). The faceup rule applies to all players until a new djinn is revealed. When the djinn deck is empty, reshuffle all but the last faceup card to make a new facedown deck. Once the first djinn is drawn, there will always be a single active djinn for the rest of the game. If a djinn’s rule requires you to place a camel of a specific color, but you can’t legally do so, you may ignore it. Bazaars When one of your caravans connects a bazaar to a village, claim the top tile on the stack and keep it facedown to add to your total during scoring. A caravan is connected to a bazaar or village if it either is placed next to or encloses it (just like an oasis). Hexes next to villages are marked with a icon. Each caravan can claim one tile from each bazaar for each village it connects to. If 2 different caravans connect the same bazaar and village, they can both claim a tile. Leaders can’t be placed on or next to a bazaar (but can be placed next to a village). Camels can’t be placed on a hex that has bazaar tokens left. If a hex runs out of bazaar tokens, it becomes an empty hex, and a camel can be placed there (or it can be enclosed to score 1 point). Special Watering Holes Special tokens can be claimed like other watering hole tokens, but are kept faceup in front of whoever claims them. Extra Camel: This token may be discarded on your turn to place 1 extra camel of any color. This token may be used immediately when claimed. Only 1 may be used each turn. Unused tokens score 0 points at game end. Trade Good: At game end, score 10 points for every 2 tokens you have. Single tokens score 0 points. Playing with Special Watering Holes Expansion The Special Watering Holes expansion contains extra camel tokens that allow the player to place an additional camel on their turn. This Extra Camel placement completely ignores all djinn card rules, being placed in addition to the other camels placed on the player’s turn. Fim de Jogo e Pontuação At the end of the game, each rival nomad card is awarded to the player who best fulfilled it. Each card is worth 10 points. If 2 or more players tie for a card, they each get a 5-point token instead. Bazaar tokens claimed by caravans are added to your total during scoring. Special Watering Hole tokens are scored as follows: Extra Camel tokens that are unused score 0 points at game end. Trade Good tokens score 10 points for every 2 tokens you have. Single tokens score 0 points. Dicas para Vencer Consult the manual for details about this section. ## FAQ ### How many players does Through the Desert: Bazaar support? This expansion supports 2 to 5 players, just like the base game. It's perfect for a gathering of friends or a two-player challenge. ### What is the average playtime with the expansion? A game with the expansion typically lasts between 45 and 60 minutes, depending on the number of modules you decide to include and your familiarity with the new rules. ### Is the base game Through the Desert required to play Bazaar? Yes, *Through the Desert: Bazaar* is an expansion and requires the *Through the Desert* base game to be played. It adds elements and rules but is not a standalone game. ### Does the expansion significantly increase the game's complexity? It adds strategic layers and new rules, but in a modular way. You can introduce one module at a time to get accustomed, or use all of them for a more complex challenge, without overwhelming the experience. ### What are the main new components the expansion brings? The expansion includes Nomad cards, Djinn pieces, markers for Special Watering Holes, and Bazaar pieces, plus new trade tokens for routes and the market. ### What type of player is Through the Desert: Bazaar best suited for? It's ideal for players who already enjoy *Through the Desert* and are looking for more depth, variety, and new strategic challenges. If you like abstract games with planning and indirect interaction, you'll love it! ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 22.89 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=5710571&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/68314/through-the-desert-bazaar?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com