Intro/First Impressions

Thoughts

When you first set up the game, you’ll realize that things are fairly simplistic but work well, and that’s a common theme of this game.

As one or two people organize all the cards into their proper spots, one person will build the super cool pyramid dice shaker/roller. You only have to build this the first time you play the game, as it fits nicely into the box afterwards.

This dice roller holds all the different coloured dice (one for each camel) and releases them one at a time when you are ready to use it. This is a great idea implemented by the designer of the game.

The game starts with the camels in random positions (based on the initial dice roll). This is where the gambling and fun begin.

If you're unfamiliar with the rules, there are camels racing around the board. They can move one, two or three spots in each leg of the race, ultimately getting them closer to the finish line in the overall race. Along the way, you are betting on which camel will win that leg  and/or who will win the overall race. The winner of the game is the person with the most coins at the end of the game/race!

Camel Up - Betting part of the board

Things get complicated as there are limited bets, options for trying to advance or restrict camels--and did I mention that the camels stack? This is important because if the bottom camel has camels on top of him, those camels get to go along for the ride. (The top camel is always in first place).

It’s an interesting mechanic of the game, and it works perfectly. It makes you wonder if you should bet on the top camel or the last place one because they can leap frog when their roll comes…

But that’s not always the case; it all depends on which dice comes out of the pyramid first! I really enjoy this aspect of the game. It makes it a gambling game in the truest sense of the word, since you have no idea who will move first and end up at the bottom of the pile.

For me, this is what keeps the game light without too much thinking. You can either pick a colour and gamble on it, or you can do some probability and try to figure out how you can earn the most coins… OR maybe you just take the safety of rolling the dice and getting a guaranteed coin.

The odds and payouts of the gambles are evenly distributed and are very simple to understand. Really, anyone with basic math skills can figure out what the "best" payout or best probability outcome will be.

There are also options to bet on who you think will be the overall winner and overall loser of the race  These are thought-provoking options. They are worth the most coins at the end of the game for the person who is the first to get it right. The amount of coins paid out decreases significantly the longer you take to figure out who the winner will be. This can make or break the game. You don’t want to bet too early because you really have no clue who is going to win and have a 1/5 chance of guessing right…but you don’t want to wait too long or you might be the last to realize orange is going to win and get little to no coins out of it!

There are a bunch of ways to get money in the game, so there is some strategy to what you do, but it isn’t a huge thinker of a game. I enjoyed this change of pace, but I really do prefer games that you can strategize to win the game.

What about all the yelling at the camels, like at the horse races?? Totally happens! At least with our group, anyway. You moreso end up yelling for your colour to be rolled: “Blue! Blue! Come on Blue for three!!! I need a new pair of sandals!!” It’s not nearly as intense and exciting as I had hoped when I heard about camel racing… but it’s still fun.

Games are also fairly quick, so you know you aren’t investing a tonne of time into it. It allows you to take the game for what it is, and that’s a lighthearted. fun game.

Conclusion