Camel Up (Second Edition) | Strategy , Dice Game | Family Board Game for Adults and Kids | Ages 8 and up | 3 to 8 Players | Average Playtime 30-45 Minutes | Made by Eggertspiele

Tap into your inner desert sheikh with this fast paced camel racing game. This game is mostly luck but there’s a strategy to how the bets unfold. First off this game is best played with Bollywood SD Music’s song “Camel Racing” playing the background from your favorite music streaming service. Thank me later for what this adds to the game.The game unfolds as players bet against camels working their way around the board by chance. The earlier bets are worth more and the latter ones worth less. There’s an educational value to the strategy for kids in this way (consequences). The game is easy to learn and the board is really innovative. There is a small oasis that unfolds and folds cleanly back into the board. Be careful, that part is delicate, but if treated respectfully it should last. This oasis is purely aesthetic, but adds some fun dynamism to the game board. The board art is well crafted and has a fund 3D element to it. The most standout aspect of the board is the pyramid. The pyramid is the dice distributor (roller) for the turns. The game designers could have simply had dice to toss in the regular traditional fashion, but shaking the dice in a pyramid and dropping one off the bottom is a fun innovation and the order of the dice can make a difference for initial board setup - so be sure to use the pyramid.This game is a good for a wide age range and remains fun for adults too. Overall this is a winner, with a fragile element on the board (the oasis) that needs to be treated gently.

Took a little while to read through the instructions, but the game play is relatively easy once you’ve played it once. It’s become one of our family favorites, we play it with a 7 and 9 year old and it’s great! Enough skill to keep the adults engaged, simple enough for younger gamers to learn!The board is cleverly designed and fun to play, the pieces are well made and sturdy. Takes about 20-30 minutes to play a round. The randomization that the pyramid gives the dice is really fun!

Camel up is a competitive press your luck game. It has one the best-coolest board design, it has pop-up palm trees. You race camels and bet how they will turn out each leg of the race and how they will end up overall. Throw in the two Crazy camels that go the wrong way and change your fortunes by making the other camels go backwards. I take this game with me to game nights in other towns and everyone always like it. Very easy to learn. The rule book is a laminated three page fold out. I passed this game up over and over and finally bought it, I am glad I did. It is inexpensive. I just have to make sure I don't play it too much and make others sick of it.

What's it about?I’ve described it before as combining “two of my favorite things: gambling and Mario Party chaos.” The premise sounds simple — you’re betting on a camel race — but it has a unique twist.How do you play?The camels move according to dice rolls. Only 5 dice can be rolled per leg of the race, and when one camel moves to share a space with another, they stack. Camels closer to the top of the stack are judged to be further along in the race — so for a stack of Blue-Purple-Red-Yellow-Green, Blue would be in first place, Purple in second, and so on down the stack. Players take turns making bets, trying to influence the camels with their spectator tiles, or moving the race along by rolling the dice.Pros & cons:The game is extremely accessible, I’ve found — no group I’ve played it with has ever seemed to dislike it, and I credit that to the simple rules and relatively low amount of strategy involved. That can be a double-edged sword, of course; if you’re HOPING for something with a greater focus on strategy, Camel Up may not be for you. But in a relatively casual setting, the game shines — the only penalty for any bad bet is the loss of a single coin and you can’t go into debt, so players can easily engage without stressing about risk. Needless to say, if you’re averse to gambling you’ll want to skip this one… but after recent plays, a family friend who’s a high school senior AND my dad, a literal, 72-year-old senior, both took an immediate shine to it. (We ended up buying a copy for our friend on her birthday.)Anyway, as far as the game, I do have one slight pet peeve among all this praise: while the art in the newest versions of the game is markedly better than the relatively utilitarian art from previous printings, the pop-up palm tree — while certainly impressive — can also get in the way at a crowded table. I wish there was a way to remove it without damaging the game.

This was a real surprise of game for my family. We are big board game players and we often overlook the "casual" games. Anything easier than Catan isn't really on our radar. But I picked this up on black friday based on a friend's recommendation and it really stuck the landing with my family. My younger son (10 yo) loves the silliness and randomness of the camels. I like the "gambling" side of things that can go sideways as soon as the "crazy camels" mess with the racing camels. My older son (13) doesn't love it as much as the rest of us, but he'll play after a round of listening to us laugh and boo. Definitely a win.

One of my favorite games for a larger group of people (6-8 players.) It's easy to learn. The main objective, make the most cash by having the most consistently successful bets throughout the game.It's silly, yet can be cutthroat too. Everyone's engaged. Just a great overall game that stays pretty lively for the entire gameplay! I do wish the pyramid die drop worked more consistently. Have yet to find the magic touch that ensures only one die drops from it each time. But that's a small complaint for a very enjoyable game.