The story
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Wadi is situated in the heat and drought of the ancient Egypt desert, where you irrigate the dry land. Water is scarce and you try to build your shadoof (a sort of water pump) on the best spots near the riverbed. A wadi, however, is a desert river. Only occasionally water flows through it. Soon again the river bed dries out once more. |
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In the short wet period, you try to pump as much water as possible to the water reservoirs. Preferably in the vicinity of fertile land, because the more fertile the land, the better the harvest. And the better the harvest, the more points a player earns.
The dilemma
But... to harvest, water must be pumped to the water reservoirs in the vicinity of your shadoofs. You don't necessarily have to do this yourself. It's ok if other players do this. Better even. If they do it, you don't have to 'waste' your actions on it.
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It gets problematically, when other players notice the same good spot you found and build their shadoofs close to yours. They rather have you pump the water, than do it theirselves. So it might happen that in pumping water, you not only give yourself points, but also help another player. |
Are you willing accept this? Or not? But if you do not pump and the other player does not pump either, other players might pump all water from the Wadi. Or worse, the water streams down the wadi and the land close to your shadoof remains dry and barren. And that's something you will want to avoid at all cost.
You can choose to pump once. And hope that the other player will pump once too. In this way both of you can benefit from it. You can also take the risk and hope that the other player does all the pumping. And, well, if he does not, you still have your contingency plan. You build your shadoof close to a spot where water has already been pumped to the reservoirs. Or you pump some water away from another players shadoof. Just as long as you get your points!
The game characteristics
| Number of players: | 2-4 | |
| Playing time: | 20-30 Minutes | |
| Age: | 10 years and older | |
| Playing level*: | 5 | |
| Publisher: | Emma Games | |
| Availability: | See purchase and fairs. |
* Playing level according to this scale: 1=Game of Goose, 3=Category 5/6 Nimmt, 5=Carcassonne, 6=Settlers of Catan, 8=Puerto Rico
| 2 Players | 3/4 Players | ||
| Chance: | 0 | 3 | |
| Tactics: | 8 | 8 | |
| Strategy: | 6 | 4 | |
| Interaction: | 7 | 8 | |
| Communication: | 3 | 3 | |
| Puzzling: | 4 | 4 |
* Scores based on a scale from 1-10.
Contents: 39 Land tiles, 17 Wadi tiles, 28 Shadoofs, 21 Water pawns, 1 talisman (made of glass!) and game rules.
There are a few scenarios for Wadi delivered with the game. They bring a lot of variety. Of course you can build your own scenario. But you can also download extra scenarios from this website.
The game rules
Wadi is not a difficult game. The game rules have been structured in such a way that most people will have no difficulty in playing the game.
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You can download the new game rules (Version October 2009) here. Please click on the illustration (file size: 5MB).
Windowsusers: right-click to save. Mac users: CTRL-click to save.
To open the game rules you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. This software can be downloaded here (for free). |
The demo game shows you how Wadi can be played. This can be very helpful, if there is anything you do not understand.
The talismen
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Every game of Wadi contains a talisman. The player in possession of the talisman is the starter. The talisman brings luck, because the starter can profit most from the new situation on the board. |
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The talisman has been produced in Egypt. Craftsmen heat the glass in an open flame and blow air in it to produce the right form. After the talisman has cooled down, they engrave it and apply colours to it. The colours only become visible after the talisman has been heated in an oven. |
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Every talisman is handmade. Many different forms and colours are the result. Each game contains a unique specimen!
If you would like to collect them, you’re going to have to buy a lot of games. :) |
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