Africa Trail

About

Africa Trail is a strategy game where you lead a team of cyclists across Africa to reach Cape Agulhas within a set number of days. You choose your starting point, pick three teammates with different skills, and manage supplies, bike parts, and cash. Each decision affects your progress as you navigate countries, handle visa requirements, and deal with health and morale. You must balance spending on food, lodging, and repairs while staying under the 300-pound weight limit. Gameplay mixes planning and adaptation as unexpected issues like injuries or lost confidence can derail your mission. Players appreciate the game's focus on logistical planning and the realistic challenges of cross-continent travel. With three starting routes and varied teammate combinations, it offers multiple strategies. Though released in 1995, its blend of resource management and educational elements about geography and cultures remains engaging for those who enjoy thoughtful, methodical gameplay.

Storyline

The object of the game is to make it to Cape Agulhas, South Africa in a limited number of days. First the player must pick a route, going for the longer route from Bizerte, Tunisia or two shorter routes from Lagos, Nigeria or Nairobi, Kenya. Next the player must pick three out of six possible teammates for the team. Teammates differ by profession, skills, biking experience, travel experience, and trek preferences. Certain teammates will make the journey easier and more likely to reach the final destination in good time. The player's team will start with a bike each, basic supplies and money to buy food, additional supplies and lodging. Then the player needs to buy spare parts for the bikes. The player can carry up to 300 pounds worth of items. Before the player can enter a new country, visas stamps are required on the passports, which can be obtained in large or capital cities, otherwise the player will be forced to backtrack. Visas cost money and take a number of days to be registered. Communication with the locals varies depending on the language qualifications of your teammates. The bike team will need to eat and rest from time to time. Food can be purchased in the form of groceries (which are cheaper and last longer, but do not nourish much) or meals (which adequately nourish, but spoil after a short time and are more expensive) to feed the bike team. Additional bike parts can also be purchased to make bike repairs. Accommodations are provided in lodgings to allow the bike team to rest. Prices will vary depending on locality and on the currency the player uses. Purchases can be directly bought, bargained for, or purchased using a credit card. Everything bought adds to the weight packed. The player cannot exceed the maximum weight the bike team can carry. The bike team's travel depends on their health and morale levels (the player does not have a morale level). Health decreases should a teammate sustain injuries, catch some health problem along the journey, or go hungry. If health runs out, the player or teammate must be sent home. Morale decreases when a teammate finds the player's decisions unreliable and loses hope of completing the journey. If morale runs out, the teammate will leave the team.