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Oasis by Alan R. Moon & Aaron Weissblum

Oasis or Desert Oasis by Alan R. Moon & Aaron Weissblum art Franz Vohlwinkel publish Uberplay players: 3-5 (best with 4-5) duration: 45-60 mins. type: Medium board game. Tile placement. PACE: Fairly quick. The only real slowdown occurs when a player needs to look around at other players' holdings to see whether or not they should reveal another card during the bidding round. COMPLEXITY: Medium. As far as family games go, this is nearly perfect. Simple rules, but good tactical tile placement, and interesting decisions during the card flipping phase. LUCK: Medium. The card flip is where the game has the only luck in the game. A player may flip something incredibly useful on the first card and be happy, or may flip 3 cards and have none of them useful to anyone. A near perfect amount of luck for a family game. TENSION: Medium. Hoping you'll flip certain cards, or hoping a set you like will still be around when it's your time to pick give this game a little dose of tension.. VICIOUS: Medium. Playing 'defense' (taking sets that don't benfit you much but which would have benefitted another player a lot) is an important part of the game. Also, careful tile placement can limit expansion options for other players. Still, the game doesn't feel vicious. SOCIAL: Medium. Since the rules don't forbid it, the players I have played with usually try and 'sell' their sets (whoever's set gets picked first gets to pick first next round) which makes the game quite social indeed. VISUALS: Very Good. Thick chunky wooden camels and land claim markers in primary colors: I wish the colors weren't strictly primary -- it just doesn't feel very Mongolian to me -- but it is very clear. The board itself looks great, and the tiles, while a bit plain, are nicely differentiated. THEME: Low. It's almost an abstract tile placement game, but the Mongolian setting is a nice one, and the presentation of the game, probably won't disappoint anyone. GAMER APPEAL: Maybe. Fairly light by gamer standards, and a fairly big heap of luck at times. Still interesting decisions and quick game time may appeal. NON-GAMER APPEAL: Yes. Simple ruleset, nice board, unique mechanics that non-gamers seem to gravitate towards. The tactics are perfectly suited for non-gamers who want to make decisions, but to burn their brains. 2 PLAYERS: n/a REPLAY: Very Good. I've played 5+ times. Good with 4-5 players. Best with 4-5 players.

Gold Game: 8/10 after 10+ plays July 2004 Game of the Month

Quick Summary | Players take control of Mongolian families carving out land holdings in the Mongolian plains. Claim and expand sections of different land types (such as steppe land) by tile placement, then try and obtain multipliers (horses on the steppe land) that will greatly increase your score. All actions are performed by cards, and cards can only be obtained from other players, and only what they offer you. The underlying mechanic for getting cards to players is a unique offering system that is difficult to describe, but quite easy to figure out, and makes for a neat game. Plays quick and has been a hit with the non-gamers I have played it with.

This page by Yirmeyahu Avery