Yunnan

Run a tea dynasty on the ancient Tea-Horse Road: train traders, buy horses and out-trade your rivals to the farthest provinces.

Designer: Aaron Haag
Published by: Argentum Verlag

Yunnan is a 2013 economic game about the Tea-Horse Road, the ancient trade route that carried Pu'er tea from the jungles of Yunnan over the Himalaya into Tibet. You lead a tea dynasty and set up a trading network that reaches the farthest provinces faster and more safely than your rivals. At home in Pu'er you train new traders, buy better horses and request border passes, so that your caravans can actually get through. Worker placement and constrained bidding decide who acts first. Trading alone will not win it: influence in society matters too. A thoughtful, medium-heavy game for two to five, usually best with four or five.

Tea-Horse Road from Yunnan to TibetTrain traders, buy horses, request passesWorker placement with constrained bidding

Who it's for

You like a midweight Eurogame with a real-world trade theme, where timing and bidding matter as much as your network.

Not for you if…

You want a light, quick game, or you do not like bidding for turn order. It rewards careful planning and takes a while.

Vibe's take

Planned and busy. You juggle your home base in Pu'er and your caravans on the road, and bidding for the right order often matters as much as the trade itself.