Azium Altogether
Creature Caravan is the newest addition to the ever-expanding fantasy world of Azium. Ryan Lauket has crafted several games that narratively tie together within this enchanting universe, blending various themes and concepts. This fantastical world encapsulates everything from steampunk machines to magical elves, amphibian engineers, and wandering ghosts (who may or may not resemble Dementors!). Ryan’s colorful, storybook-esque art feels like visiting old friends as you sift through the cards. Veterans of Red Raven’s catalog will recognize Azium from Above and Below, Near and Far, and other titles. There’s even an upcoming tabletop RPG book that will breathe even more life into this magical setting.
Azium-based games often feature low player interaction with Euro-style engine-building elements. Some include narrative mechanics with story text offering thematic, choice-based situations. While Creature Caravan doesn’t delve into narrative elements, it retains many core mechanics that fans have grown to love. Part of the fun is creating your own narrative about how these mismatched characters ended up traveling together in this caravan!
Dysentery-Free Caravaning
Creature Caravan is a cozy dice-drafting, tableau-building, and worker-placement game lasting 12 turns, with the highest-scoring player claiming victory. The game presents an Oregon Trail-esque map, with the mythical city of Eastrey as the final destination. Four double-sided boards create paths filled with varied terrain types, dangers, and exploration rewards. Players typically move 1–2 spaces orthogonally but can never move backward or diagonally—unless a power permits it.
Each turn, players roll five D6 dice and assign them to actions on their player boards and played caravan members. Actions have minimum die values required, and some need multiple dice. Players get one reroll per turn, but they must use the new roll. After actions and free actions (taken in any order) are resolved, players receive bonuses based on their final positions. These bonuses might include drawing three cards, gaining juicy treasures (which offer points or resources), or earning fruit tokens, which permanently lower die requirements on creature cards.
Passing through combat spaces on the map triggers ember zombies, fiery foes that latch onto caravans. While players can choose to deal with them later, these zombies deduct points at the game’s end if left undefeated. Reaching Eastrey isn’t mandatory, but doing so grants additional points, making it a tempting goal for adventurers.
All Creatures Great and Small
The roast beast of the game lies in its actions. With just 12 rounds, efficiency is critical, making every die placement count. Clever action chaining can make turns highly productive, while poor planning can leave players scrambling and falling behind.
Players have base actions like gaining food or backpacks, combat, selling at the market, drawing cards, and moving across specific terrain. Free actions let players discard cards to gain resources: one card for food or three cards for a coin. The dilemma? Deciding whether to sacrifice a handsome frog mechanic (who could turbocharge your engine later) to meet immediate needs.
Creatures cost food, coins, or backpacks to add to caravans. Once played, they grant powers like cheaper actions, passive income, or free movement. Each creature is worth points, with some granting conditional bonuses—like a card scoring 8 points if four machines are in your caravan. But beware! Others, like the Wandering Ghost, penalize you unless you meet specific criteria.
Visiting the market lets players trade resources for points and a food multiplier. The market board features two tracks: coins and backpacks. To take the market action, players discard resources and place a cube on the corresponding value. They gain two food plus bonuses based on their placement and earn end-game points. Being first to market is crucial! As rounds pass, cubes drop-down, and after two drops, that value is locked, barring others from using it. This creates a two-round timer, urging players to act quickly or miss out. Multiple players sell a value until it locks.
The final basic action is combat. As caravans move through specified tiles, they attract fiery zombies. While these don’t initially harm players, they can stack up and cost points if left unconquered. The combat board starts with low values (five) that escalate. Early victories lock out low values, making zombies tougher to defeat. Players place dice to determine “attack power,” maxing at six pips and must rely on creatures with extra attack actions to boost their total for the higher values. Those fighting folks may never make it into your tableau, battle carefully! Success in both commerce and combat is the key to commanding the caravan!
Cozy Cruising
The game has minimal player interaction. Aside from market and combat boards, caravans rarely cross paths. Spaces aren’t piece-limited, and no creatures affect other players. For some, this multiplayer solitaire vibe might be a dealbreaker. But for those seeking a tranquil gaming experience, Creature Caravan offers a perfect 60–90 minutes of cozy adventure—best enjoyed with a cup of tea and loved ones.
The core puzzle revolves around adapting to challenges and crafting an efficient caravan engine. Each playthrough feels fresh, with unique creature combinations and new synergies to explore. The 135-card deck ensures that no two games are alike, as nearly half the deck remains unseen in any single game and there are almost no repeated creatures.
Solo Exploration
The game features automa bots to simulate other players, useful for filling empty seats or solo play. Solo sessions don’t require bots if players prefer focusing on high scores. When using bots, players roll five dice for them and fill out the bot’s action board based on the values rolled. Actions follow a top-down order, with leftover dice used for combat rolls. Combat dice, combined with combat cards, block spaces on the combat board.
Bots are challenging. In several solo runs using the recommended starting cards, I lost every time. Bots don’t pay card costs or face card limits in their caravan, giving them a major edge. They easily collect high-scoring cards, leaving your wagon behind. Two bot actions focus on drawing cards: completing sets (8 points for 4+ Folk) or taking the highest-value card (ignoring modifiers). Other actions autofill the market board, propelling their caravan to victory. While they’re great player substitutes, their wagons operate without speed limits.
Creature Comforts
Creature Caravan feels like diving into a welcoming adventure book. If you enjoy tableau builders with satisfying action chains and don’t mind low player interaction, this game will be a great fit. It reminded me of Everdell’s cuddly creature cards, with similar DNA present here. The unique cards and variable combos offer plenty of replay value, sparking post-game chatter about creature engines and synergies. After a few plays, I found myself seeking out specific creatures for their abilities—and maybe their charm too! That said, dice rolls lack much mitigation, making the game more tactical as you adapt to obstacles in Azium. While adding cards for more player interaction or upgrading the wagon boards could enhance replayability, I’m eager for my next adventure with my creature companions on the trail.
Creature Caravan details
- Designer: Ryan Laukat
- Artists: Ryan Laukat
- Publishers: Red Raven Games
- Release Date: 2024
- Player count : 1 - 4
- Age range : 8+
- Time range : 60 - 90 minutes
- Mechanism(s): Multi-Use Cards, Worker Placement with Dice Workers
- BGG Geek Rating: 8.01394 - converted to Meeple Mountain scale: 4.0.
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