People refer to this vast place only as the desert since no one remembers what was here before. The golden age of human beings has long passed. Now there is only sand, and the only hope is in the humidity.
Travelers cross the desert that stretches from the slopes of the Akaishi Mountains to the cliffs of Seaclaw. Half-ruined ancient cities are home to the last human communities struggling to survive by foraging for what little green remains standing. These desert travelers transport goods on the backs of their caterpillars. Although their only goal is to make as much money as they can, at the same time and in a more or less deliberate way, they are helping to bring life back to the desert by carrying small plants from the artificial greenhouses of the cities to the most remote corners of this ocean of sand.
Designed by Ariel Di Costanzo and Javier Pelizzari and illustrated by Ernest Sala, Sand is a game with a main mechanism of pick-up-and-deliver that can be enjoyed alone or in groups of up to four players in games of about 120 minutes long. Players have to earn as much gold as possible after six rounds (five in a four-player game) to win.
In Sand, players put themselves in the shoes of these intrepid desert travelers who travel the paths of the board and visit the different towns. They collect goods to take them to other places and thus earn gold for the transport service. They cross the dunes on the backs of their faithful caterpillars, which, cared for, will grow and help players complete their tasks more effectively. Along the way they will be joined by helpful companions and be entrusted with missions that, if completed, will bring good benefits at the end of the journey. Help the plants take root again, and perhaps there is still some hope for this desolate place...
—description from the publisher
- Interesting desert/worm theme
- Comedy elements
- Pick-up and deliver games hit-or-miss
- desert
- worms
- space travel theme
- White Castle
- Three-Ring Circus
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I just acquire a couple of games that I was interested in a couple of review copies here and there
- the Expo was still good fun but they do need to work on utilizing the space and getting those costs down
- a game that I kind of have a hit and miss relationship with you know some of it I like
- I immediately decided it was the first one I was going to gun for on the Friday
- when it gets released later in the year at Essen I believe oh man do I want this game fast
- Shut Up And Take My Money
- it's kind of on the levels of something like lost ruines of arac for me
References (from this video)
- excellent example of pickup and deliver genre
- adorable worm meeples
- interesting tension system
- pickup and deliver mechanism not for everyone
- not engaging for players who dislike the genre
- desert
- traders
- sandworms
- Dune
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- hey everybody this month's Roundup is brought to you by Arcane wonders
- April was a fantastic month J and I played 15 really great games
- turning out is arguably a game of the year
- if anybody can make a traditional pickup and deliver palatable for me and Jen it's going to be Dev
- as a longtime Die Hard Gloom fan gloomy is my top five games of all time this thing is amazing
- one of the most um um thematically strong worker placement games I've ever seen
- I love everything about this game and I haven't even told you about the really cool way
- this is such a fun puzzly game and not for nothing a gorgeous game too
- a rising tide floats all boats
- 10,000 times better than the original castles of Mad King Ludwick
- Daybreak just broke in to my number one spot for best game of 2023
References (from this video)
- Interesting dice color to movement mechanic
- Unique player abilities
- Progression of player power
- Simple ruleset
- Repetitive gameplay
- High randomness
- Boring actions
- Lack of strategic depth
- Unbalanced companion abilities
- Merchant traveling and delivering goods
- Desert
- Pickup and delivery
- Steam
- Istanbul
- Broom Service
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dice-based action selection — Players slide tokens to select colored dice and corresponding actions
- Pickup and delivery — Move around the board collecting and delivering goods to towns
- Song/Area control — Place song tokens on a shared board to gain extra income
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- It's just a competent game
- Sometimes after a long day of work, I could play this easily because it requires no brain power
- We'll give it the stamp of mediocrity
References (from this video)
- summer-themed and accessible
- quick to learn; playful physical theme
- abstract mechanics may not appeal to everyone
- sandcastle/deconstruction motif
- desert sands; summer backdrop
- light, family-friendly
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deck-building / deck-deconstruction — build and deconstruct a deck to achieve goals
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Black Sonata is a solo game so you know what you don't want to be bugged during your summertime activities
- you could play this game by yourself
- Five cucumbers is a trick taking game where you are trying they're pickles they're definitely pickles
- For Sale you are buying and selling properties just like you do in the summertime in real life
- The Witches Brew their potions in the forest
- Friday the game
- in Friday it's technically named after a person called Friday but every day for him is Friday
- it's not really summertime appropriate
- you are building out habitats… the land is pretty rad
- everything is in neon colors just like in the summer
- sand is a Freedman Freeze give this where you're like building sand castles
References (from this video)
- thematic and tense planning
- tight gameplay
- rules can be challenging to learn
- dice-driven worker-delivery and contracts
- Desert/sand-worms world
- Array
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- It's fun, but it's not too hard to learn; there's a lot to do.
- The donuts look very realistic; they really pop on the display.
- Cities from de Games and it's a fun citybuilding game on your little player board.
- It's a simple game but strategically all it's not simple.
- Rockard is thematically so strong; you feel like you’re managing a rock career.
- Windmill Valley is beautiful and ambitious; the tulip-windmill combo looks fantastic.
- The candy is D and now we know the candy is dandy.