Silk Roads: Caravan Kings

I love the concept of this game. Unfortunately there is just too little content to justify even its modest price. The game play is slow and repetitive. There are few genuine decisions to be made. The clip art is crude and unimaginative. The game could be salvaged if more events, consequential choices, and visuals are added.

It's a nice little kill time game, but I find that a lot of the random events reoccur far too frequently. It would be a nicer game if there was more consequence and new dialogue each time, or at least, less repeating.

It has good and simple mechanics though, there isn't a lot to do, just trade 5-6 different things, go to china then boat back to Venice. Wish there was more content then there is, can't recommend for this reason.

Very fun, well-made and relaxing Oregon-trail style game! Really invokes the feeling of medieval travel. Highly recommended, especially for history nerds!

This game is a gem in the rough, but as it is right now it's just too rough. This game isn't hard, there are some cool historical details, the music is nice, but gets repetitive quickly. The events are fun at first, but eventually it felt like I was only experiencing the same five events over and over again. The biggest problem with the game is that it didn't really feel like any of the stats mattered a whole lot or maybe I couldn't figure out how to raise them up to a point where they would. I also didn't feel like the journey was dangerous. where were the wild beasts and bandits? where were the desert sand storms or tumultuous sea voyages? Also The way that food is done is really annoying and un-intuitive. The game gives you the pounds needed, but then doesn't tell you how many rations are in a pound. I get that if I give food to someone, or if I didn't budget for winter and blizzards pin me down I starve, but why isn't one unit of rations = 1 pound of food? and if it's not then what is it equal too? When I purchased this game I was hoping for either a good story or a trade management game, but the game falls short on both sides. As a result, after the first play through I didn't want to play it again. If the game was 4-5 dollars I'd recommend, but I felt like some of the content should be more flushed out for that 7-8 dollar price point.

5/10 Симуляторы путешествий, особенно в историческом контексте, могут оказаться очень полезным источником новых знаний. А когда игра подана как цепочка динамических событий, как в играх Paradox, это добавляет риска и разнообразия. Так я думал, когда брал игру. Удивительное. Начнем со знаний. На дворе вторая половина 13-го века. Выбираем построить маршрут до Константинополя, плывем. Город встречает нас Айей-Софией с минаретами и мечетью Султанахмет на фоне. В 13-м веке. Ну, ок, едем дальше. Из Азова караван идет до города Аральск. Все бы ничего, но Аральск был основан в 20-м веке, а первые поселения там - от силы в 19-м. И самая мякотка - из Аральска караван следует до остановки Дружба. Дружба, Карл! Русь стонет под Ордой, князья униженно отправляются за ярлыками в Сарай, а то и в Каракорум, не всегда возвращаясь живыми. Но посреди казахских степей основан город с прекрасным названием "Дружба" (на деле возник после Второй Мировой). С названиями разобрались, посмотрим на историчность механик. В зимний период игра либо предлагает остаться зимовать на какой-нибудь базе, либо страдать на свой страх и риск от лютых событий, связанных со степными морозами. В том числе по Великом Колесному Пути из Дели в Патну. Морозы, видимо, накрывают и джунгли тоже. Из прочей милоты - евреи, бойко торгующие на гималайских перевалах. Плюсы. - Местами эпоха показана более-менее верно. Я бы сказал, чем ближе к Европе, тем вернее. - Неплохой аутентичный саундтрек. - В первом прохождении события еще не примелькались и вносят ощутимый риск в путешествие. - Сам движок с динамическими событиями и путешествием по карте хорош, и из него можно выжать много интересного, если добавить контента раз этак в 10 больше. Минусы. - Если правильно выстроить игру в первый заезд (а это несложно), вы поднимитесь по деньгам так, что все последующие заезды можете не глядя выбирать варианты ответов с оплатой и вообще ничем не торговать - просто туристом ездить по локациям. - В самих локациях нет никаких событий, даже во время зимовки. По сути, отличаются они только доминирующим населением и ценами. Выбирать разные направления дорог есть смысл только ради ачивок. - Разницы между прохождениями нет никакой, ничего не открывается при повторных заездах, а все события мелькают по двадцатому разу, и их отщелкиваешь автоматически. - Зимовки в игре вообще какие-то странные по учету времени. Кроме того, оценка расстояний и трат в путешествии неверная. Наверное авторы меняли логику, но забыли поменять оповещения. В общем, если хочется попробовать покататься по средневековой карте и на своей шкуре ощутить невзгоды торговца, игра вам подойдет, но брать лучше по скидке. Она забавная, но бедность механик и возможностей обнажается очень быстро. Ну и с исторической достоверностью у нее так себе.

TL;DR Mo' camels, mo' silks. Bring them from China to Venice and make BANK. It's a fun game! it's one of those choices-matter resource-trading games you end up playing for way too long. You travel from Venice to the heart of China, trading goods as you go at varying prices, hopefully for profit. As you travel, you are met with various events that hinder or aid you, depending on your choices. Some are more surprising than others, and there seems to be -some- RNG or hidden factors in those choices. In example, there are gambling ones that I'm not entirely sure are random. I found myself being surprised by the length of certain paths I walked and not being prepared, only to get an event that filled my bags up with rations, it was crazy awesome in the moment. The visuals are fairly basic, a lot of static images moving across your screen, to it's detriment, but there's usually enough happening in the game to keep your eyes moving. I found myself staring at the map, wishing I could move it around, but I also feel that's somewhat intentional, as it prevents you from overthinking on it. The music/sound design is pretty solid, fits the mood, but it DOES get a bit old. There are a couple slappers, though. Flute solo intensifies. The skills, equipment and relationship mechanics are basic yet sensible. If you have a fishing rod, you can fish. If you have good relations with a group, you'll get better prices for work at that group's settlements. I'm not sure but I think some events are swayed from this as well. When I made it back to Venice, I didn't know that Venice buys out your inventory at a substantially higher price than the settlements, so I sold a lot at the town prior to it, only to find I lost out on like 5 times the gold I would have got. I learned the hard way. Overall, it's a nice, fairly relaxing experience, where you don't have to think TOO hard, but you definitely need a brain. Pick this up if you're into these kinds of games, especially if it goes on sale!

In any game there comes that particular crossroad point of is there enough to keep me interested or do i go back to the old faithful ones. Four hours of game time in i think i have hit that crossroads. I am now wondering if there is more to it or have i had my fill. I had this game on my wishlist, and part of my decision to purchase was based on its pricing. I like the map set up, and the game icons are simple and to the point - which is a good thing. I concur about other reviewers statements about character development - the cat, the lute and the fishing rod. However, once the initial surprise of receipt is over, the actions around them seem disconnected and grindy. To be fair, the not wanting to disappoint my customers aspect of my gaming personality means I have not ventured too far to the East, as I want to meet my contract obligations. I think I will give it a little bit more - yomp all the way across to China just to say I did it. Also, it is a bit like some Netflix tv series, you want to watch one more episode just in case the best is still yet to come. Would I recommend it - actually I would. For the price it is not a bad game, and there are some very nice simple touches. I think Priory have produced a good game. However, if I may add a caveat, if you are like me and you hate repetition starting early in your games and things just seem repetitive - then this is not the game for you, regardless of price.