Camel Up review

Z-Man Games | Racing | £24.99 | 2-8 players | 30 minutes | www.zmangames.com 

"The desert sands sweep in as the riders grip the reins on their camels. The gathered crowd cheers and hurriedly places their bets. Then the air rings with a pistol shot as the starter fires into the air and the camels charge out!"

Z-Man Games’ Camel Up is an award winning camel racing game. The race is broken down into a series of rounds in which each player does an action of their choice. The player who gains the most money at the end of the race is the winner. One of the central game components is a pyramid in which dice are rolled and then it releases one die, its colour denoting which camel races ahead and the die number indicating how far.

Other options available on a player’s turn include placing bets for the current round winner, bets for the overall winner or loser or perhaps even placing a desert or oasis tile on the track. These tiles can increase or decrease movement of a camel who lands on the square. When all the dice have been revealed, a round of the game ends, bets are tallied and then the dice are returned and the game continues until one camel crosses the finish line.  

One humorous touch is that camels can stack when they land in a square already occupied. If a camel at the bottom of a stack receives movement it moves but takes all the camels stacked on top of it along with it. The camel on the top of the stack is considered to be the one that is ahead in terms of placing.

With sturdy components, colourful card and board artwork, this game is a light affair that can easily serve as a family favourite and ideal introduction to the world of board gaming. It has a short playtime of about 30 minutes and ability to fit eight players. (Wayne O Connor)

Buy your copy here.

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