The Silk Road Caravan

Trade, haggle and cross the desert: a merchant adventure built for sales and business teams.

  • Duration2 hours
  • StyleCompetitive
  • Group sizeFrom 10 guests
The Silk Road Caravan photo 1

About

The Emperor has spoken: the caravan that carries the Great Tang’s most precious goods to the far end of the Silk Road will be honoured above all others. Each team is a merchant caravan leaving Chang’an with bolts of fine silk.

The journey runs on GoQuest, TeamTika’s team game app, with each caravan on a phone or tablet. Five chapters cover the road: the Capital Chang’an, the Gobi Desert, the Desert Oasis, the Samarkand Bazaar and the Port of Constantinople. The 25 tasks are full of money maths, exchange rates, haggling and history, with a camel train photo, a sandstorm scene and a live negotiation in the bazaar.

A live leaderboard shows which caravans are pulling ahead. In Constantinople, teams work out their final profit and pose for a deal-signing photo.

With so much trading and negotiation, it is a natural fit for sales, business development and finance teams.

Learning outcomes

Loading camels, buying dates, converting silver to gold and calculating profit and loss give teams constant practice with quick, accurate business maths. Every answer goes in once, so teams learn to double-check before they commit.

The bazaar negotiation puts two people face to face over a price while the team coaches from the side, a light way to rehearse real sales conversations.

Crossing the desert means rationing water and finding direction without signposts, which rewards planning ahead and sharing information early.

Teams leave with a shared story about value, trade-offs and what it takes to close a good deal together.

Program flow

  1. 1. The Capital Chang'an

    Caravans hear the Emperor's decree, learn the secret of silk, load the camels and set off in a camel train.

  2. 2. The Gobi Desert

    Caravans ration water, find their way without a compass and push through a sandstorm together.

  3. 3. The Desert Oasis

    Caravans solve the guard's riddle, buy dates at the best price and share campfire stories at the caravan inn.

  4. 4. The Samarkand Bazaar

    Caravans convert silver to gold, haggle down a Persian carpet and act out a tough negotiation.

  5. 5. The Port of Constantinople

    Caravans name the city today, work out their final profit, sign the deal and see the final leaderboard.

What is included

Included

  • Facilitation by experienced game hosts
  • The The Silk Road Caravan game on the GoQuest app
  • Live leaderboard for the big screen
  • Judging of photo, video and audio tasks
  • Winner announcement and closing recap

Not included

  • Venue rental
  • Catering and refreshments
  • Audio-visual equipment (projector, screen, sound)
  • Phones or tablets for each team
  • Transportation to and from the venue

Frequently asked questions

How many people can take part?

We run up to 30 teams per event, each playing on its own phone or tablet. Players join in the phone browser with a game code, so there is nothing to install. Tell us your headcount and we will suggest team sizes.

How long does the program take?

About two hours of play, plus a short briefing at the start and the leaderboard reveal at the end.

Is this good for sales teams?

Very. Much of the game is pricing, exchange rates, haggling and profit, so sales and business teams find it both fun and relevant.

Can this be run indoors or outdoors?

Both. The tasks only need the app and things found nearby, so it works in a meeting room, a hotel ballroom, a resort or a garden.

Is the game available in Vietnamese?

Yes. The Silk Road Caravan has full English and Vietnamese versions, and we set the language for each event.

Request a quote for The Silk Road Caravan

Tell us your group size, date and goals. We will reply with a tailored proposal.

ProgramThe Silk Road Caravan

Your request is handled by Catalyst Vietnam Co., Ltd..