Making the treacherous trek from Qasala to Sakhmet can be quite a challenge, but for those who know what to do and where to look, it can also be a rather profitable mission. In The Great Desert Race, you and up to three of your friends can take the trip for fun, or you can set out on your own and earn a handsome reward along the way. Are you ready to take up the voyage and test your fortunes? If so, then gather your gear and prepare to embark on this most generous of journeys…
When signing up for single player mode, your mission as a participant in The Great Desert Race is to gather as many Neopoints as possible before the game ends. Those who square off against the computer begin by selecting two of the game's four players and making the race's first roll of the die. Three spaces from where the four players are gathered, you will see a bag of Neopoints. There are three kinds of NP bags in the game, worth 5, 10 or 15 NP. This first bag is worth 5NP.
Immediately after the bag of NP, you will notice that there is a space that is twice as large as a regular spot on the map and sticks out on either side of the game's path. This one spot is, in actuality, two spaces. As a result, you will have to roll one number higher than you would have if this had just been a regular space. Two spots after the double space, you will find a map lying along the path. If you happen to pick up the map, you will be able to stay in the two gold spots that lie between the pyramids just six and seven spots beyond the map's location. Those who land on one of these sports but do not have the map in their possession are forced to go back to the very start of the game and lose all the NPS that they have earned so far. Therefore, it is in your best interest to grab the map if you get the opportunity.
Immediately in front of the “Lost in Sutek's Tomb” squares is a quartet of pink whirlpool squares. Landing on the first of these whirlpool squares will allow one to skip past 11 squares and avoid those “Sutek's Tomb” spaces entirely. The downsize of using this shortcut, however, is that it causes one to bypass a trio of food items and a 15 NP bag of NPS. The shortcut also only provides five points for the distance travelled, rather than the 12 points that would have been awarded for taking the long way around. On the other hand, the path that runs behind the whirlpools also contains a patch of quicksand that, if you land in it, will cost you a turn. In the very next spot after the place where the whirlpool shortcut leaves players, you will notice the giant obelisk known as Coltzan's Shrine. Landing in this place may result in either a)nothing happens, b)the loss of 10NP, c) a randomly selected gain of between 25 and 50 NP. Seven spaces later is the game's most important spot: the Tug-O-War competition. When maneuvering around the board, players should always make their very best effort to land on this space. Doing so allows the player to select one or two Tug-O-War participants. Once a participant has been selected, you will be asked to roll the die; rolling a 1, 2, or 3 results in the loss of a turn, but rolling a 4, 5, or 6 will add 100NP to your score!
Three spaces after the Tug-O-War square is a bag worth 10NP, so be sure to pick it up along the way, if possible. The very next spot has an Ummagine on it; those who grab the Ummagine will be spared if they should land on the Ummagine Thief's spot 10 spaces later. However, those who visit the Ummagine Thief and fail to have the Ummagine in two will be forced to sit out a turn. Directly after the Ummagine, you will notice a trio of pink whirlpool squares. Depending on which whirlpool is landed upon, players are moved forward between one and three spaces.
The next point of interest after the Ummagine Thief is a sand dune whose six spaces are not marked. Those who complete their turn on any of the sand dune's first five spots will be blown back two spaces by a sandstorm. However, those who roll a six while standing on the last square before the dune will be spaced the sandstorm's wrath. Thankfully, an abundance of riches awaits on the other side of the storm, as a 10 NP bag lies two spaces after the dune and a 15 NP bag is directly beyond that. After the two bags of NPS, you will notice a Scamander scurrying back and forth after each turn. Those who happen to land on the Scamander's square are presented with four doors and asked to choose an exit. Guessing correctly leads to a five space jump; an incorrect guess, however, results in either the loss of a piece of food or the loss of a turn.
