See Caravan: Logs for list of wastelands / dungeons encountered by League players.
The co-op version of Caravan adds an “encounter” deck as a sort of third “player” to the game.
After the players have started their caravans and completed one hand, the Encounter Deck begins to be drawn from.
It is recommended that a brand new deck be used for each session. The deck is “consumed” in the form of the cards being added to the player’s own decks throughout play. Alternatively, the Encounter deck may be assembled as a standard 52-card deck or a variant (e.g. higher number of hearts for a radiation heavy desert for example). Encounter decks should always contain 52 cards.
Setup
Fig 1. Co-op Caravan Layout Diagram (click to enlarge)
A new 52 card deck of cards plus jokers is used for each wasteland / dungeon to be explored. Decide on the theme of the dungeon and write this down, to be recorded in the Caravan logs.
To setup the Encounter deck:
- Shuffle the Encounter deck
- Burn one card to the Encounter discard pile — needed for randomized targeting. Continue burning until a number card is drawn.
- Draw 12 cards to the Treasure Deck, face down
Caravan Management
- Each player maintains their own three caravans, but players can assist each other against Encounters
- On your turn, you still place number cards on your own caravans
- The player who started is the “lead” caravan in each line. Imagine that two caravans are following each other through the desert, one behind the other, on each of the three lines.
- Players collectively need to have at least one caravan per player reaching the valid 21-26 range to progress. If this is not accomplished, the players re-attempt the remaining cards of the Encounter deck.
Encounter System
After each player completes their turn, draw one card from the Encounter Deck.
The card's suit determines the threat type:
| Suite | Threat Type | Targets |
| ♥ Hearts | Radiation zones | All caravans |
| ♦ Diamonds | Bandits | Highest value caravan |
| ♣ Clubs | Mutated creatures | Random caravan* |
| ♠ Spades | Harsh weather | All lead player’s caravans |
* To determine the random caravan encountered, count from the non-lead player’s no. 1 caravan up to the value of the last discarded Encounter card.
The card's value determines the severity. Ace and number cards (2-10) apply damage effect equal to the card's value (Ace=1).
Placement
All encounters are placed horizontally in one of three places:
- ♥ Hearts between the players caravans, as they impact all caravans of both players.
- ♦ Diamonds are placed below the lead player’s caravan.
- ♣ Clubs are placed below the targeted player’s caravan.
- ♠ Spades are placed below the leader player’s caravan.
Face cards have special devastating effects:
- J Jack — Removes the highest card from target caravan(s)
- K King — Doubles the negative effect of the next encounter card.
- Q Queen — Double the negative effect of the next encounter card.
A K King can only stack with a single Q Queen and vice-versa. If a K King or Q Queen is drawn from the Encounter deck when one is already laid, it is immediately discarded.
Encounter Examples
8♥: Radiation affects all caravans of all all players, reducing all caravans’ value by 8 3♣: A mutated creature attacks a random caravan, destroying cards totaling 3 points Q♠: Harsh weather forces all caravans to reverse direction K♦: Bandits ambush, doubling the effect of the next encounter
Surviving Encounters
Players must collectively decide how to respond to encounters:
Use face cards from hand to counter threats:
- Jack removes a single numbered threat card. Note: Jack cannot remove a K King or Q Queen.
- Joker removes any number of threat cards, including K King or Q Queen
Sacrifice cards from caravans to absorb damage.
Use special abilities gained from treasures.
Treasure System
When players successfully sell a caravan (reach 21-26):
- Draw a card from the Treasure Deck
- The card grants a special ability/resource:
Number cards: Add that value to the party's "scrap" resource pool Face cards: Provide special one-time abilities:
J Jack: Cancel one encounter Q Queen: Change the direction of any encounter effect K King: Double the value of any one card in a caravan J Joker: Allow any player to draw 3 cards or retrieve any single card from their discard pile
Spending Scrap (Treasure Number Cards)
Players can spend accumulated scrap to:
- Repair damaged caravans (+2 value per scrap point)
- Construct defenses (reduce encounter effects)
- Purchase supplies (draw additional cards)
Victory Conditions
Players win when:
- Each player has sold at least two caravans, AND
- The Encounter Deck is depleted without any caravans being completely destroyed
Difficulty Scaling
Easy: Remove Kings and Queens from Encounter Deck Normal: Use full Encounter Deck Hard: Add a second Joker to Encounter Deck that triggers two simultaneous encounters
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