Survival Guide

You will die. Probably several times. The valley doesn’t care about your feelings, but it does play fair. Here’s what the survivors learned.

Travel Is King

Every turn you spend resting, hunting, or repairing is a turn you burn food and water without getting closer to the exit. The clock is always ticking. Travel whenever you can. Only stop when stopping prevents something worse.

The Wagon Is Your Life

If the wagon breaks and you have no spare parts, the run is over. Period. Watch that condition number. When it drops below half, you need to act. Don’t wait for the warning — by then it’s a coin flip.

Maintenance Windows

Rest followed by repair (or repair followed by rest) creates a “maintenance window” — a brief period where breakdowns are much less likely. This is the single most valuable trick in the game. Learn to time it before the wagon gets critical, not after.

Hunt Smart

Hunting costs a full turn and one ammo. Success isn’t guaranteed. In forests and plains, your odds are decent. In deserts, don’t bother. Only hunt when food is genuinely running low — not “getting low,” but “we eat tomorrow and then we starve.”

Read the Warnings

When you see a cliff-edge warning like “Food for one day,” that means exactly what it says. You have one day of margin. The next turn without food, people start dying. These warnings are your last-chance signal. Don’t ignore them.

Escape Valves Are Last Resorts

Hard ration halves your consumption but hurts morale and everyone’s health. Desperate repair is a coin flip that can make things worse. Abandon cargo dumps supplies to save the wagon. These exist so you can survive a crisis — they’re not a strategy. If you’re using them every other turn, something went wrong earlier.

Pace Matters

Steady pace is the sweet spot for most situations. Hard pace covers more ground but burns more food, more water, and breaks wagons faster. Slow pace sounds safe but extends the journey, which means more total consumption. Use slow only when the wagon is fragile.

Doctrines Shape Your Run

Each run assigns a doctrine that changes the rules slightly:

• Travel Light — Less consumption, slightly more breakdowns. Good hunting bonus. A speed run doctrine.
• Careful Hands — Better repairs, slower travel. Maintenance windows last longer. The careful player’s choice.
• No Debts — Morale floor prevents total despair. Better trading at towns. Steady and resilient.

No doctrine is best. They reward different play styles.

Towns Are Safe Harbors

Towns refill water, offer a chance to trade for food (better if morale is high), and serve as ledger checkpoints if you’re using the backpack. Plan your route to hit towns when possible.

Events Are Choices, Not Dice Rolls

Every event gives you options. Cautious choices cost time or supplies but keep you safe. Bold choices save time but risk damage. When your wagon and supplies are healthy, you can afford bold moves. When things are tight, play it safe. The game rewards reading the room, not always picking the same option.

Understand that the stakes are real. Some events can wound or kill a party member outright — a bad call at a crossing or a gamble that fails can cost a life, not just morale. When a member dies, the cause is recorded plainly: injury, dysentery, exposure, whatever it was. Weigh a bold choice against who is sick or hurt before you make it.

How You Leave Matters

Escaping the valley is not the whole story. A run is graded on what the escape cost you — whether you came out whole, worn down, or hollowed out, and how long it took. You can survive and still earn a hard ending. So don’t only ask whether you’ll make it; ask what you’ll have left when you do. A few extra days of caution that bring everyone home are worth more than a fast escape with empty seats in the wagon.

Don’t Panic

A smart player escapes the valley about one run in three. That’s by design. Some seeds are harder than others. Some twists stack against you. But the systems are fair — the same strategy that fails on a bad seed will carry you through on a good one. Learn the patterns, adjust to what the valley gives you, and keep moving.