Gaming with the Family: Camel Up review

Over the course of Memorial Day weekend, quite a few board games were played with my family.  We're on a series of posts that takes a look at a few games played from the perspective of what worked / didn't work for enticing my family into the hobby. 

     Camel Up

         2-8 players
         30 min to play
         ages 8+




How to Play

In Camel Cup, players bet on five racing camels (which apparently is a real thing) around a short track. Bets are made on which camels will come in first or second for shorter segments (called legs) and first or last for the overall race. Coins represent victory points in the game and there are various ways to earn or possibly even lose these.

You'll find that due to the randomness built into the game, your bets will frequently change and what may have seemed like a good bet at first will leave you yelling at a trailing camel. Fortunately, you do have some direct influence on how the camels move.

On your turn, you can do one of four things:

1. take a betting tile
2. take a pyramid tile and roll a die
3. play your desert tile
4. make a bet on the overall winner and loser of the race

During each leg, which completes after all camels move, you have an option to place a bet on who will be in the lead after the leg completes. Grabbing the correct betting tile first will earn you more points, but if you happen to grab a tile for a camel that isn't in 1st or 2nd after the completion of the leg, you'll lose a coin. 

Rolling the die determines which and how far a camel moves. This is how the game progresses through the legs. Each camel will be guaranteed a movement, but you don't know which one will come out or what the movement number will be. Camels will landing on the same space as other camels will either be placed on top of the stack or at the bottom depending on if they moved forward or backwards. If a camel has other camels on top of it when moving, those camels will move as a stack.

Desert tiles can be placed on the board in front of the camels to influence their movement. Depending on whether you play it as an Oasis or a Mirage, it can bump the camel ahead one space or move it back one. Either way you get a coin if a camel should land on it.

Betting on the overall winner (or loser) of the race is a great way to score points. Just like the betting tiles, it's important to be among to bet first to get the most possible points. However, betting early can be tough as the race leaders and losers can and will change over the course of the race.

The game ends as soon as a camel crosses the finish line. At that point, the leg is considered finished and scoring takes place both for the leg and the overall race.

Thoughts

gameplay - B-
components - B+

Gameplay is simple enough to grasp and players will quickly understand how camels move and betting works. Legs move fast enough to keep you engaged, although I've found that with more than 6 players the downtime is a bit too much. I'd recommend keeping player count in the 3-6 range if possible. The game is all about betting and it works well both for the legs as well as the overall race. Sure you can slightly influence the race, but it really comes down to timing. When and which camel to bet on is key to winning.

There isn't a ton of strategy, but that's not necessarily a bad thing for a game that's designed to be accessible and enjoyable for a wide range. Besides the betting, strategy is limited to deciding when to roll or where to place your desert tile. The luck of the dice plays heavily into the results, but that's what makes the betting fun. Adding more strategy would put this game into a weird limbo in that it wouldn't be as accessible and likely wouldn't be enough to compete with other more strategically designed games.

One of the strengths of the game are the components. Artwork is colorful and appropriately cartoony, invoking the theme well. Wooden camels stack nicely and the betting tiles are made of a thick cardboard. The centerpiece of the game is the pyramid dice tower. Sure it may be gimmicky, but it's a fun gimmick and one that I find cleverly adds to the game. Not only does it draw interest, but it also works well to reveal the dice in a way that invokes groans or cheers from players.

While components don't make a game, they are incredibly important for luring new players to the table. Camel Up does this well and keeps them there with an entertaining game.


Yay:

• betting - betting without losing real money is usually fun (for most people)
• look and feel - game is attractive with the wooden camels and a unique pyramid tower
• simplicity - easily grasped rules with limited turn options
• plays quickly - with 3-6 players, games play fast enough to often warrant another playthrough

Meh:

• player limit - find that playing with more than 5 or 6 players tends to drag the game along
• randomness - some control, although this is limited and you're generally at the mercy of the dice



The first time my family played, they wanted to immediately play again. While it may not be the best game out there, there aren't many games out there that you can bring out and be enjoyed by almost anyone.

-NA

Family Meeples: 4/5





My Meeples: 4/5



Gaming with the Family: Haggis review

Over the course of Memorial Day weekend, quite a few board games were played with my family.  We're on a series of posts that takes a look at a few games played from the perspective of what worked / didn't work for enticing my family into the hobby. 

     

      Haggis

         2-3 players
         45 min to play
         ages 13+





How to Play

Haggis is a 2-3 player trick taking game that plays out in rounds (called tricks) until a certain score is reached (250 or 350 depending on preferred game length).  The deck consists of xxx cards made up of five suites, with cards ranging from 2 to 10. A Jack, Queen, and King are placed face up in front of each player and then fourteen cards are dealt to each players. The remaining are set aside as the Haggis. Prior to cards being played, players bet 0, 15, 30 points on whether or not they will be the first one to play all their cards during a round.

In addition to the betting, points are earned by winning tricks. Each odd numbered card has a value of 1 point and the Jack, Queen, and King have values of 2, 3, and 5 respectively . If you're the first to go out (or second in a three player game), you also get 5 points for every card remaining in players hands.

Each trick starts with a player playing a card combination (note: the Jack, Queen, and King may be used as wilds) of either a:

• set - a single or group of cards of the same number
• sequence - a set of three or more singles (or two or more larger sets) in numerical order and of the same suit
• bomb - a  combination of cards that can be played to beat any combination except for a higher bomb

Subsequent plays must follow the same type of the first play, but of a higher combination. For example, if a pair of threes is played (making a set), another pair of two cards can be played as long as the number on the card is four or higher. The exception is a bomb. Bombs can be played on top of any set or sequence and can then only be beaten by a higher bomb. However, when you play a winning bomb, you then must select an opponent to receive all the cards played in the trick.

Play will continue until all other players pass and the player with the highest combinations wins the trick and takes the cards played (unless they won with a bomb). This player will then lead for the next round.

Thoughts

gameplay - B
components - B-

While I found this game to be enjoyable, it didn't seem to catch on with my dad as expected. He enjoys card games (especially those of the trick taking variety), but after a couple rounds this didn't interest him. He found the playing of combinations to be dull and gameplay to be boring.

For me, the game was an interesting combination of bidding and collecting tricks through card combinations. The wild cards add a fun and unique element to the game that changes your approach through each trick, especially when your opponent is playing combinations that leave you unable to play. You never feel like you're completely out of the game as each new round, the player with the lowest point total gets to lead first. This along with the betting, helps keep players in the game.

I also enjoyed the strategy of considering what cards to play or hold on to. Do you play that matching set now or hold on to them in hope that you'll get to play them as part of a sequence? Do you play a bomb to keep the lead, knowing it will give the trick to your opponent? You definitely want to get rid of your cards as quickly as possible, but sometimes you'll find it makes sense to hold back in order to setup playing multiples of a specific combination. Find it to be a good balance of risk and reward in a game that is mostly strategic in nature, but has a fun element of luck to it.



The quality of the cards are ok, but not great. Would like a thicker card stock, but they're also not the worst quality either. A Celtic theme is loosely applied through images which adds a nice feel to the game, but I do wish there was a greater difference in the colors as they tend to blur together.

Yay:

• designed for 2 or 3 - sometimes it can be tough to find a good game with low player count
• strategic decisions - choosing what cards to play when creates an enjoyable tension
• well balanced - never feel like your too far behind

Meh:

• suit colors - card colors are difficult to distinguish when first learning the game
• cardstock - would have preferred a higher quality, although this isn't a huge issue

For me, the game was interesting enough to want to play more, but will likely have difficulty getting it to the table with the family. Will try to see if other similar games such as Clubs and/or Tichu go over better.

-NA


Family Meeples: 2/5







My Meeples: 4/5

Gaming with the Family: Splendor review

Over the course of Memorial Day weekend, quite a few board games were played with my family.  We're on a series of posts that takes a look at a few games played from the perspective of what worked / didn't work for enticing my family into the hobby. 

     Splendor

         2-4 players
         30 min to play
         ages 8+




How to Play

Splendor is a game where players are merchants attempting to gather prestige points through mines, transportation methods, shops, and alluring the favor of nobles.

On your turn you really have two choices:

1. collect gems, the basic resource of the game
2. buy a card with gems you have collected and/or through the permanent gem bonus granted from previously purchased cards
• there is also an option to reserve a card that you want to buy but cannot at the time, thus saving the card for only you to be able to buy on a later turn

This continues until one player reaches 15 prestige points granted through purchased cards or from gathering enough cards to attract a noble. The final round is completed and the player with the most points is the winner.

Thoughts

gameplay - B+
components - A-

One reason Splendor makes a great gateway game is that along with it's attractiveness, it begins to introduce multiple concepts such as set collection, basic engine building, and light math. While a light game, there is some depth which will have you asking questions like:


• Do I pick up 2 chips of one color to help me get a certain card faster or 3 chips which will give me more?
• It looks like someone is going for the card I want, should I reserve it?
• There's nothing on the table that I want. Is it worth taking a chance to reserve a random card?



Goes great with coffee in the morning

Initially, playing to 15 points seems like a lot as point gathering starts out rather slow with players focusing on developing their resources. However, this quickly changes and turns into a frenetic grab for higher value point cards and nobles.

Splendor is a lot of fun at all player counts, and as you add more players it requires that you be more agile in your planning. While there isn't direct player conflict, you'll often find yourself competing for the same cards. This requires keeping tabs on what other players are doing and possibly attempting to prevent them from acquiring the gems or cards you think they may want. I like this aspect of the game as it gives you something to think about between player turns.

One aspect that really helps Splendor stand out are the components. The highlight are the chips representing the resource gems. These are made out of heavier poker chips which have a nice tactile feel when gathering and holding these basic resources. The art on the cards is enticing, but in a subtle manner that helps tie the rather loosely applied theme together. I do wish the box was a bit smaller as everything could easily fit into a box almost 1/2 of the size, but this is a minor gripe and can be remedied by a custom box. Overall, the components are very well done and do help draw people into the game.


Yay:

• quality components - really like the poker chips used for gems; appealing art on the cards
• scales well - gameplay is great for all player counts
• moves quickly - turns do not take long and there's enough for you to think about between them
• easily explained - limited playing options allow new players to quickly grasp concepts

Meh:

• box size - seems like this could have been a smaller box; also find it slightly annoying that the card dividers are not spaced appropriately for each stack of cards
• limited depth - not a lot going on and after a few plays you'll have discovered most of what the game has to offer



Splendor is one of my families favorite games at the moment. Play moves quickly and there is enough there to satisfy more experienced gamers, while newer players will not be overwhelmed with too many choices or find themselves unable to compete. One of the best gateway games available today and would never turn down an opportunity to play this game.

-NA



Family Meeples: 4/5






My Meeples: 4/5