Kervansaray is a planning puzzle set on the caravan roads of Seljuk Anatolia. The map shows cities, the roads between them and caravans ready to set out. Each day a caravan walks only one day's road; if it is not under a roof by evening, it is caught in the open. Your job is to build inns in the right places with a limited purse of akçe so that every caravan is safe every evening. The game has 12 levels in three acts.
Goal
In each level one or more caravans travel from one city to another. To win, every caravan must arrive without spending a single night in the open. If a caravan is caught in the open for even one night, the level is lost; that night it loses 25 units of goods.
There are two kinds of roof: a city (free, takes any number of caravans) and an inn that you build.
How to play
- Choose Inn or Sultan Inn on the bottom bar.
- Tap one of the small stopping points on the road; the inn is built there. Inns can only be built on these points.
- Tap an inn again to remove it and get its akçe back. Clear removes all inns.
- Press Start: the caravans walk day by day, and in the evening each one stops at the farthest roof it can reach.
- If a caravan cannot reach a roof, it is caught in the open: a red tent and a coloured line showing that day's road stay on the map. Adjust your inns and try again.
Inn and Sultan Inn
- Inn: 100 akçe, takes one caravan a night.
- Sultan Inn: 170 akçe, takes two caravans a night.
If two caravans reach the same inn on the same night, one is left at the gate and spends the night in the open. An inn can host different caravans on different nights; the only problem is arriving on the same night. Two caravans leaving the same city on the same day by the same road travel side by side and stop at the same place every evening: they need a Sultan Inn.
Roads: mountain, snow, city, crossroads
- Mountain road (grey section): caravans walk at half speed and no inn can be built on the slope. Both ends of a mountain section are stopping points.
- Snowy road (white section): caravans walk one and a half times slower, but unlike a mountain you can build an inn on snow.
- City: a city on the way is a roof too and costs nothing. Inns cannot be built too close to a city.
- Crossroads: no inn right on the point where roads meet; the points near it can be used.
Caravans
Above each caravan on the map you can see its number, the day it sets out and its destination (for example "2: day 2 → Ankara"). Some caravans leave on the second day. A caravan with a thick line is heavily loaded: it covers only three quarters of a normal day's road. A heavy caravan reaches different places on different evenings than the other caravans on the same road; plan your inns for it too.
Levels and stars
The 12 levels are split into three acts: I. The Konya Road (1-4), II. The Silk Road (5-8, finale Sultanhanı) and III. The Winter Road (9-12, finale the Kayseri Sultanhanı). Each new rule is shown once with a bubble on the map in the level where it first appears.
Each level has a budget and a three-star limit. If every caravan arrives safely:
- spending within the limit earns 3 stars,
- going over by at most 100 akçe earns 2 stars,
- spending more earns 1 star.
Finishing a level unlocks the next. On the road map of the main screen, the caravan waits at the next stop to play.
Controls
- Tap a stopping point: build an inn of the selected type.
- Tap an inn: remove it and get the akçe back.
- Start: send the caravans off. Speed 1× / 2×: speed up the march.
- Center: fit the map to the screen.
- Drag: move the map. Two fingers / mouse wheel: zoom in and out.
- Light bulb: hint. Gear: sound, music and language settings.
Hints and help
The light bulb button gives a free written hint: it tells you which caravan is caught in the open on which night and shows on the map, with a coloured line, the road it can cover that day. There must be a roof somewhere on that line.
If you like, Show where an inn goes lights up one of the right spots with a glowing ring. This help works with a short ad, only when the player asks for it; when no ad is available you get 3 free uses a day. At most 2 spots are shown per level; the full solution is never given. The How to play card on the main screen sums up the rules in three pictures.
Story
Konya, 1228. Young caravan master Doğan is given the task of making the Seljuk roads safe. With him are master builder Mahmut, who builds the inns, Bedreddin the merchant, always worried about his goods, and the Sultan's man Celal Bey. The story is told in short scenes before and after levels, and during play the characters chime in with short lines. Act II ends in 1229 with the opening of Sultanhanı, Act III in 1232 with the opening of the Kayseri Sultanhanı. Scenes you have seen can be replayed with the Story button in the level briefing.
Common mistakes
- Putting an inn at the very end of a day's road: a caravan stops at the farthest roof it can reach that evening and walks on from there the next day. No gap between roofs should be longer than one day's road.
- Treating mountain and snowy roads like flat road: a mountain counts double, snow one and a half times.
- Building a single Inn for two caravans travelling side by side: both reach the same gate on the same evening and one is left outside.
- Forgetting the city in the middle of the road: a city is a free roof and saves the cost of an inn.
- Ignoring the heavily loaded caravan: it reaches different places on different evenings than the others.
- Building Sultan Inns everywhere: the caravans arrive safely, but the budget is blown and you lose stars.
Frequently asked questions
How many levels does Kervansaray have?
There are 12 levels in three acts: The Konya Road, The Silk Road and The Winter Road.
Why was my caravan caught in the open?
There was no roof on the road it could cover that day, or the inn it reached was full that night. The red tent shows where night fell, and the coloured line shows that day's road.
What is the difference between an Inn and a Sultan Inn?
An Inn costs 100 akçe and takes one caravan a night. A Sultan Inn costs 170 akçe and takes two caravans a night.
Can I build an inn anywhere?
Inns can only be built on the stopping points along the road. You cannot build on a mountain slope, too close to a city or right on a crossroads.
How do mountain and snowy roads work?
On a mountain road caravans walk at half speed and no inn can be built on the slope. On a snowy road they walk one and a half times slower, but you can build an inn on snow.
How are stars awarded?
You earn stars if every caravan arrives safely. Spending within the three-star limit gives 3 stars, going over by at most 100 akçe gives 2, more than that gives 1.
What does side by side mean?
Two caravans leaving the same city on the same day by the same road always walk together and stop at the same place every evening. An Inn cannot take both; they need a Sultan Inn.
Do hints cost anything?
The written hint is free. Showing where an inn goes works with a short ad if the player wants it; when no ad is available there are 3 free uses a day. At most 2 spots are shown per level.
Can I watch the story again?
Yes. The Story button in the level briefing replays that level's scene.
