In Van Life Challenge: Off the Eaten Path, players are contestants on an RV reality show, traveling across the United States to try regional foods and earn viewers.
Players manage their hands to travel along the map’s connected spaces, using fuel or taking a chance on an Explore card that sends them to a random destination. Food Court cards offer another way to travel, and Road Hazard cards allow a contestant to head to a Repair Shop. To try a dish, a contestant must reach the star in its state while holding the matching Food card.
Tried foods fill region-matched and wild spaces in each player’s twelve-space personal tableau. Collecting foods from the same family earns bonuses for becoming an expert in that type of food. Visiting and trying foods in as many different states as possible earns another bonus, rewarding players who plan a route across the country. Additional foods can be tucked beneath cards already on the board for one viewer each, but tucked foods do not count toward bonuses. Producer’s Challenges apply to everyone, and the contestant with the most viewers at the end wins.