Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Sunlight glaring through the windshield. Your favorite songs blasting through the speakers.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Pattern Building
Place elements to create arrangements that satisfy scoring or action patterns.
Push Your Luck
Choose whether to secure current gains or risk them for a larger reward.
Take That
Direct negative effects at selected opponents.
Solo / Solitaire Game
Provide rules and objectives designed for a single player.
Read the full game description
Sunlight glaring through the windshield. Your favorite songs blasting through the speakers. Candy bar wrappers piled next to a warm drink in the cheap plastic cupholder. Your companion riding in the passenger seat, snapping pictures of landmarks as you settle into the hypnotic rhythm of the road. But be careful as this fun road trip could get dangerous as you drive through Death Valley. Death Valley is a pocket-sized, push-your-luck, tableau-building game for 1-2 players, with each traveler striving to assemble the best mix of cards in their journey and scrapbook in order to win the game. Each turn, players choose whether to assign a card to their journey, or move cards from their journey to their scrapbook. Cards feature stars (points), special abilities (which affect the value and position of cards), and some interesting facts about Death Valley. Each card also lists a hazard: heat, terrain, flood or animals. Having three of the same hazard visible in their tableau causes the player to bust and lose all the progress in their journey. At the end of the game, players sum the stars in their journey and any additional points from card abilities to determine who wins. Death Valley was a top-three finalist in Button Shy's 18-Card Challenge: Design a game about a real life location.