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: 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 will choose whether to assign a card to their Journey, or move cards from their Journey to their Scrapbook. Cards feature stars (points), special abilities (affect the value and position of cards), and some interesting facts about Death Valley.

Each card also has a hazard (Heat, Terrain, Flood or Animals) listed. Having 3 of the same Hazard visible in their tableau will cause the player to bust and lose all the progress in their Journey.

At the end of the game the player with the most stars in their Journey, plus any additional points from card abilities, is the winner.


Finalist (top 3) of Button Shy's 18 Card Challenge: Design a game about a real life location.

Death Valley National Park is a beautiful desert landscape of extremes. Enjoy its life and scenery to build the best tableau of Death Valley attractions while also pushing your luck and being cautious of the desert heat and other hazards.