tabletoppingboardgames 
Two hundred years ago, deep in the Thar Desert, the village of Kuldhara disappeared overnight. The story goes that the villagers, tired of the Grand Vizier’s cruelty and his demand for the chief’s daughter, set their homes on fire and vanished into the night. Since then, people say the place is cursed, with hidden treasures buried under the sand.
Now, in the board game Kuldhara, we step into that legend, but not as ghosts. We’re treasure hunters, wandering through the ruins in search of gemstones, trying to make jewelry before night falls. It’s a mix of exploring, collecting, and puzzling things together while your water supply slowly runs out. Honestly, you won’t be chaining ten actions in a row here. It’s not that kind of game, and that’s what makes it interesting. Kuldhara’s more about small, clever moves that add up, like squeezing the last drop of water out of your turn.
👥 1-4 players, ages 8+
⌛ Playing time: 30 minutes/player
📝 Designers: Glenn Dejaeger
🎨 Artwork: Nicholas Westgård
🏢 Publisher: Jolly Dutch (review copy provided)
Gameplay Overview
The day in Kuldhara is split into four parts: morning, midday, afternoon, and evening. You could call them rounds, but it feels more like the sun just slowly turning up the pressure.
At the start of each phase, everyone gets fifteen drops of water. That’s your time, your currency, and basically your lifeline. Every single action costs water: moving across the desert, digging up gemstones, unloading them, or even reserving jewelry cards. When you’re out, you’re done for that phase.
You start with a jewelry card that gives you three gemstones to place on your little workbench. From there, it’s up to you. Travel to ruins to dig up gemstones, you can take one or two at a time, and pay water depending on how far you go and how big the gems are. Bigger gems take more effort to dig out, which feels about right for a desert under the blazing sun.
When you return to camp, you can unload your camel. That always costs one drop of water, no matter how much you’re carrying. Once you place gemstones on your board, they’re locked in. You can’t move them again unless you use one of your rare tool tokens.
There are five tools in total, each letting you bend the rules just a bit: swap gems, move them, change their colour, clear space, or refill three drops of water. You can use each tool only once in the whole game, so it’s one of those “don’t waste this too early” kind of things.
You can also reserve jewelry cards to plan ahead. That costs one drop of water as well, and you can do it in two ways. Either grab a face-up card from the table or look at the top three of a deck and pick one to keep. Just be careful not to overdo it, you can only hold two, and unfinished ones will lose you points at the end.
When your gemstones match a jewelry card, you can craft it. Lower-level jewelry gives you protection tiles, while level two and three pieces actually need one already on your board before you can make them. Protection tiles let you keep gemstones in place for later crafts, and they become essential to pulling off bigger scores.
After everyone’s out of water or done for the round, the sun moves forward, you refill your water, and a new phase starts. When the fourth and final phase ends, it’s night and the game is over. Then it’s time to count your points from jewelry, leftover gems, and unused tools. If you’ve still got an unfinished reserved card, that’ll cost you.
It’s straightforward once you get going, but every single decision eats into your water, and that’s where the real tension builds.
Artwork, Components, and Design
Just a quick note first, we played a prototype, so the final version will look a bit different.
That said, Kuldhara already looks fantastic on the table. The art by Nicholas Westgård and design by Vicky Trouerbach make the desert feel warm and alive without being overdone. The colour palette is mostly sandy yellows and browns with bright gemstone colours popping out. It’s striking, but not flashy.
The big board shows the ruins of Kuldhara with a rotating sun dial that keeps track of the day. Around it are little wooden chests filled with gemstones in five colours: red, orange, green, blue, and purple. Each ruin produces one colour, which makes it easy to remember what’s where.
Your personal board, your “workbench,” is clever. It’s double-layered, with a small rotating disk full of hexagonal spaces. You can spin it around to see if your gemstones match the jewelry cards more easily. The cards even show the pattern mirrored, which is surprisingly handy.
And then there are the camels. Honestly, they’re great. Each one’s a cardboard figure carrying a small wooden tray that holds exactly six gemstones. No more, no less. It keeps things neat and also brings a bit of humour, because yes, you will try to fit a seventh gem at some point, and no, it won’t work.
The jewelry cards are lovely too, drawn like sketches of antique ornaments on parchment. It gives the game a nice, quiet atmosphere.
The other pieces, like the tool tokens and water droplets, are simple but do the job beautifully. In the final version, the gemstones, with clusters of connected gems, will be made of re-wood, and the camels will be larger. Even in prototype form, it already looked quite impressive.
Our Experience
Playing Kuldhara feels calm at first, almost meditative, but then the tension slowly creeps in. You start with plenty of water and a simple plan. Then halfway through, you realise you’ve miscounted a few drops, and suddenly you’re deciding between digging one more gem or actually making it back to camp.
The water system is brilliant for creating that sense of pressure. Everyone’s watching each other’s supply, trying to figure out who’ll pass first. The first to pass gets to start the next round, which can be quite powerful. But wait too long, and you’ll lose access to cards or actions you needed. It’s a small but constant push and pull.
The workbench puzzle itself is what really stands out. Once you place gems, they’re fixed. It sounds simple, but it makes every placement count. I like how it forces you to think ahead, it’s a puzzle you can’t freely rearrange, which keeps the game tense without being stressful.
The protection tiles change how you think about your next turns, especially once you realise level three jewelry can’t even be made without those. They also let you set up neat combos, where one piece of jewelry flows naturally into another.
At two or three players, it feels sharp and focused. At four, there’s definitely more downtime while people plan, but it still stays interesting because everyone’s watching the same market of jewelry cards. Honestly, if your group likes fast turns, I’d recommend it with two or three.
The game has a nice overall flow. The sun dial moves, camels travel back and forth, and your board fills up with gemstones and patterns. Even quiet turns have this sense of progress.
Our Thoughts
Kuldhara is a slow-burn kind of puzzle that rewards patience and precision. It’s not a game full of player interaction or big surprises, and that’s both its charm and its limitation. If you like calm games where you optimise your moves and quietly build towards something, you’ll probably enjoy it.
The workbench mechanic is the best part. It’s a proper puzzle, logical, a bit restrictive, but satisfying when things click. It’s not for everyone though. Some players might find it too solitary or too thinky, especially when others are taking their time.
The reservation system is tight and a bit punishing. You can only hold two cards, and unfinished ones cost you points. It keeps you honest but also means you can’t just grab cards for fun. Personally, I like that restraint, but some players might find it restrictive.
Kuldhara works best at two or three players. It moves faster and still keeps the tension. At four, it can drag a little if people overthink, though the core puzzle stays interesting.
Early level-one jewelry is important, it clears space, gives protection tiles, and sets up later moves. We quickly learned to unload with intent, that became our group motto. Dropping gems without a plan usually comes back to bite you.
Tool timing really matters here. Swapping and transferring gems are the most useful, changing colour is often situational, and the extra three water can really save your round if timed right.
Two playstyles tend to show up: the steady planner, who builds small jewelry and finishes with a big one, and the risk-taker, who travels far and gambles on big moments. Both can work, though the steady approach feels safer.
If you enjoy puzzle-like games where the pressure comes from time rather than from other players, Kuldhara hits a sweet spot. But if you’re after direct interaction or a lot of excitement, this might feel a bit too calm.
In the end, it’s a beautiful and well-balanced design that rewards good planning and clever sequencing. It’s the kind of game where you lean back afterwards and think, “I could’ve done that one thing better.” And honestly, that’s exactly what keeps you wanting another go.
📝 We received a prototype copy of the game from Jolly Dutch Productions for coverage.
