Traders & Barbarians: The Caravans Scenario Deep Dive

The scenario, briefly

The Caravans scenario from Traders & Barbarians replaces the standard desert hex with the oasis tile, which contains two desert cities. Each player has one camel piece that starts at one of their settlements. On their turn, players can spend specific resources (typically 1 wheat or 1 sheep, per the scenario sheet) to move their camel one space along a defined caravan path toward the oasis.

Reaching the oasis with your camel earns 2 VP and a one-time bonus (resources or a special tile). The race continues as multiple players can reach the oasis.

Why it changes the game

The desert is now a destination, not dead space

In base Catan, the desert is a corner everyone avoids. In Caravans, the oasis is the most-targeted intersection on the board. Settlements adjacent to it benefit from caravan-route adjacency and from "owning the oasis approach."

This flips standard placement logic — desert-adjacent settlements, normally weak, become genuinely strong.

Camel movement is a parallel VP track

Like Rivers' bridge-coins, caravan progression is a parallel VP source. Players who optimise camel movement gain 2 VP from the oasis plus resource bonuses (which translate to 1-2 more VP indirectly). That's 3-4 VP achievable from the caravan track alone — substantial in a 10-VP race.

Trading is more intense

The wheat and sheep needed for camel movement compete with settlement and dev-card resources. Players need to acquire more wheat/sheep than they would in base Catan, increasing trade demand. Negotiation rounds are longer and more aggressive in Caravans than in any other Catan scenario.

Opening placement adjustments

Desert-adjacent (now oasis-adjacent) settlements are top-tier

The intersection adjacent to the oasis benefits from caravan-path adjacency. Your camel can start near the oasis, reducing movement cost. The bonus production from oasis (some scenario rules give the oasis a special production effect) adds to settlement value.

Look for the oasis-adjacent intersection during initial placement. It may be the strongest spot on the board in Caravans.

Resource priority: wheat and sheep

Camel movement costs (typically) 1 wheat or 1 sheep per move. Players who place to maximise wheat/sheep production will move faster than players who place for traditional pip totals.

A 10-pip opening on wheat + sheep can outperform a 14-pip opening on wood + brick + ore in Caravans.

Coastal vs. inland is less critical

Standard port logic still applies (2:1 wheat or sheep ports are especially valuable for camel movement). But the oasis-adjacent intersection often eclipses port economics — settle there if available, then add port access on the second settlement.

The race dynamics

Multiple players race toward the oasis. The first to arrive gets the highest reward; later arrivers get diminishing returns. This creates explicit time pressure that base Catan lacks.

Tournament-level Caravans play involves coordinated trading to deny opponents wheat/sheep needed for camel movement. If you can starve your opponent of caravan resources, they fall behind in the race.

The 5-6 player variant

Caravans scales to 5-6 with the T&B 5-6 extension. The 30-hex board has two oasis tiles (one per desert hex), and each player has one camel. The race expands across multiple destinations, but bandwidth constraints kick in — six camels moving across overlapping paths creates frequent traffic jams. Plays slowly at 5-6 (2.5+ hours).

Combining with other scenarios

Caravans combines moderately well with Cities & Knights — the C&K commodity track and Caravans' camel-resource demand both push wheat/sheep production. But layering both takes a 3-hour game. Don't try this combination at 5-6 players.

Caravans does not combine with Rivers (the river hex placements conflict with the caravan path geography).

Common mistakes

• Ignoring the camel. Some players treat Caravans as base Catan with a weird centre hex. They miss the parallel VP track.
• Over-investing in caravan-only resources. Going all-in on wheat and sheep leaves you with no wood/brick for settlement expansion. Balance.
• Racing for the oasis without securing the route. If opponents can disrupt your caravan path through their own ship/road expansion or robber placement, your camel investment is wasted.

How long it plays

Caravans runs 90-120 minutes for 3-4 players — longer than base Catan due to caravan-movement decisions adding overhead per turn. Sessions feel more strategic than standard Catan because of the parallel VP track.

Why it should be in your rotation

Most groups try Fishermen of Catan or Rivers as their introductory Traders & Barbarians scenario. Caravans rewards the deeper try. The negotiation pressure and race dynamics make it one of the most replayable Catan scenarios ever published.

If you own T&B and have only played Fishermen and Rivers, try Caravans next. The strategic feel is the most different from base Catan among the five T&B scenarios.

To practice the underlying placement logic, generate a base Catan board via the Catan generator and consider which intersections would be oasis-adjacent in a Caravans setup. The mental exercise sharpens placement intuition.

Related: Rivers deep dive · underrated scenarios · negotiation tactics