Timbuktu (or Tombouctou as it is known in the international version) is an impressively produced desert-themed deduction game by Dirk Henn, for 3-5 players. It's a game of imperfect imformation, but there's enough clues that, at some point during the game, you'll be pounding your own noggin, wondering how in the world you walked right into that stinker of a situation.

Rating: 8/10

How to play:

Timuktu is played by moving camels along pre-planned routes in the desert to the oasis of Timbuktu. The board size (it comes in pieces), number of camels you start with, and the dealing of the cards all depend on the number of players in the game.



In any case, you stock up your camels with coffee, gold, water, pepper, and salt before they take off, then place them on the board. You then take turns moving you camels into the next "pen", which is row, and "pitch", which is a specific spot, on the next gameboard. Unfortunately for you, the poor merchant, there are always thieves lurking nearby, waiting to strike.



In order to avoid these thieves, you're trying to get as much information on them as you can before they make off with the goods. That intel comes from the cards that are dealt around the table- you always start with access to at least one set of cards. When certain pitches are occupied on the board, the sets of cards are rotated around the table, and you'll get to see even more of the thieves' devilish plans.



Even more revealing than the cards, however, can be your opponents actions, so you'll spend a lot of time analyzing where they have gone, and what they're camels were carrying, and what your cards say, and are they trying to trick you, and can you even get your camel over there and aND AND...boom! Your head explodes! It can be a real brain teaser to figure out the best possible, i.e. safest, move.

Once the caravan has occupied Timbuktu, the thieves strike once more, and the game is over. Your goods are counted, and depending on the scarcity of the commodity, you are awarded a number of points as compensation for your trouble. The rarer the resource at the end of the route, the more it is worth.

What works:

For me, the deduction mechanic works great, and is the primary reason I'm rating the game so highly. I love trying to reason out which pitches and pens might be more dangerous than others. I don't mind that I don't know absolutely everything- it's exciting to try and make the safest bet you can make, given the information you've got.

The artwork and design of the game is top notch. The presentation shows the quality and attention to detail you'd expect from a Queen game. Thumbs up.



The variable scoring scenerio at the end is pure genius. It really changes the choices being made during the game when everyone can see how much, let's say...coffee, has been pilfered. In the later rounds everybody is trading so hard to hold on to their valuable coffee they may walk right into a far more dangerous trap! It also allows for some unexpected come from behind victories, if someone is the only guy left with a particular resource.

The scaling from 3 to 5 players that is built into the game rules is great. It shows how much play testing and thought went into the balance of the game, and recognizes how each situation requires a different treatment. Bravo for that- far too many games ignore how poorly the work with varying numbers of players.

What doesn't work:

While the design is rock solid visually, I was a bit bummed by the components. I never like applying stickers myself to pieces (I can't ever get them straight!) and in this case, the stickers refuse to actually, uh, stick. I think I'm going to have to go back through all the pieces and glue them down. It feels a little shoddy.



If you or anyone is your group suffers from extreme analysis-paralysis, run away screaming from this game. You'll be there all night. Your players need to be willing to gamble a little bit and not spend too long running every possible combination to find the magic answer. Wing it sometimes, people- it's good for you! I for one, will never ever ever ever play this game with my father. No one would make it out alive.

Bottom Line:

If you like deduction games, but are tired of the monk with the crowbar in the library kind of game, this might be just the ticket. Yes, there's a lot of thinking, but it's the fun kind of thinking, as opposed to managing a complex rules set as we are so often asked to do.

With experienced players, I feel like it can move along at fairly steady clip, and might only get bogged down by the sluggish turn-taker. It's very satisfying in a Vegas kind of way when you manage to avoid a camel jacking by pure dumb luck, and then drive your victory home with careful planning and strategic moves.

It's true that you sometimes feel forced into some moves, but you usually have enough choices to not feel trapped. Rest assured, the thieves won't spare anybody, so sometimes you just have to laugh- and hey, isn't that the point?!?!?