The Race is On: A Review of Camel Up

The race is on in Camel Up, an easy, fast paced game for all.  The goal is to win the most money by making wagers on which camel you think will win or lose. It is not as straight forward as you think--you never know what will happen next in this exciting game. If you are trying to decide whether to buy this game, here are the pros and cons.  For the record, there really aren't any cons but I do list a few that some might notice.

Pros:

• The game is unpredictable and it makes it more exciting to play.
• Up to 8 people can play this game so it is great for parties and family gatherings.
• This game fits a broad age group.  The box says it is for 8 and up but my 5 year old plays it (and can even win)!  Once, we played this game with a 5 year old, 8 year old, 10 year old, two 30-somethings and a grandma.  Everyone had fun.  
• A single game only takes 30 minutes...it's a great way to end the day or fill up extra time.
• It is visually appealing.
• The pyramid dice rolling mechanism is really neat and unusual.
• This game is very easy to learn to play. For those who are not avid board gamers, it is not intimidating.
• The game pieces and board are sturdy.

Cons:

• This game costs between $40 and $50.  Board game enthusiasts know this is not unusual.  If you are new to world of hobby board games, this may seem like too much.  Just so you know, this game is not a gamble--it is worth every penny.
• Luck is a major factor in this game.  For those who love strategy and controlling the game, this may be frustrating.  While I enjoy strategy games, I really love the minimal strategy use in this game.  
• This is not a game I would let my children play alone.  I'd be nervous they would break the pyramid or damage the pieces.  Actually, I really don't let my kids play any of our games alone. This isn't a bad thing--it means I can skip the dishes to play games when the kids ask.  I just can't fault any game that gives me a reason to play more games.

To sum up, BUY THIS GAME! Hopefully by now you are convinced and you want to learn to play.
Here's how to get started!

 First, let's set up the game and learn about the game board and pieces.

The game board looks like this before all the different elements are added.

Place the pyramid tiles.

Organize the Leg Betting tiles by color.

Stack them on the coordinating camel color. The 2 should go first, followed by 3, and then 5.  The 5 should be on top.

Place the camels onto to their color coordinating tents by the Leg Betting Tiles.

Sort the Egyptian pounds and cards by value and place them as a supply next to the game board as the bank. Give each player 3 Egyptian pounds.

Each player chooses a betting character. Each character has a 5 race betting cards, one for each color of camel.

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Each player receives  a desert tile that go with the character of their choice.

The youngest player rolls all 5 dice at the same time. They each have six sides: 2 sides each for the numbers 1,2, or 3.

If this player rolls the green die and gets a one, the green camel is placed on space 1.  If this player rolls a orange die and gets a two, the orange camel is placed on the two.  If more than one die rolls the same number, then the camels stack on top of each other on that space.  So if I rolled a three for both blue and white, they would be stacked together on the third space. At this point, the order of stacking doesn't matter so stack them however you'd like.

Place the 5 dice into the assembled Pyramid and put that on its space on the game board.

Now let's play. The younger player goes first and holds the Leg Starting Marker.

The game is broken up into legs.  You can win coins by wagering on who will win each leg of the race.  On your turn, you can perform one of the following actions:

1. Take a Pyramid Tile
Choose one pyramid tile.  Then shake the pyramid, turn it upside down, push the slide mechanism, and reveal the die.  Using the pyramid is so fun! It's definitely the kids' favorite part.  One die should come out.  If it is green, move the green camel as many spaces as are on the die.

Here's some info on camel movement. The camels move clockwise unless a desert tile sends them backwards. When a colored die is rolled, the coordinating camel must move as many spaces are rolled.

 If a camel lands on a space with other camels, it stacks on top of it.

If a colored die is rolled for a camel that has other camels stacked on top of it, the colored camel and the ones on top of it move as well.  Camels below the rolled color remain on their space.  Because of this, some camels will move even when their colored die isn't rolled.

Once a colored die is rolled, place it to on the side of the board until the end of the leg. When all the pyramid tiles are taken and all camels have moved, the end of the leg is triggered.  We'll learn more about the end of legs a little later.

If you take a Pyramid Tile, you get one coin for it when you turn it in at the end of a leg.

2. Take a Leg Betting Tile
Take the top leg betting tile from one stack.  If you think the blue camel is going to win, you can take a blue Leg Betting Tile for that color.  The sooner you take a winner's Leg Betting Tile, the more you win.  The first backer of the winning color wins 5, the second wins three and the third wins two.  Beware--if you back a camel that doesn't win, you lose a coin! You may take as many Leg Betting tiles as you like but just know you will lose Egyptian pounds if you don't win.  Let's say you thought blue was winning and you took a Blue Leg Betting tile but then it began to look like orange would win.  You can take an orange Leg Betting tile too.  You will gain coins for the one that wins and lose a coin for the one that loses.

3. Use your Desert Tile
You may place your desert tile as an action. The rules for placing your desert tile are:
 It must be placed on an empty space (no camels or desert tiles).
 It cannot be placed next to another desert tile.
You can place a desert tile with the oasis side up.  If a camel lands on this, it will move forward one space. When it moves forward and lands on a space with a camel or camel stack, it goes on top.

If you place it with the mirage side up, a camel that lands on it moves backwards one space.  When it moves backwards and lands on a space with a camel or camel stack, it goes on bottom.

These desert tiles can be game changers.  You can use them to attempt to manipulate the race but of course, sometimes things don't go like you planned.  This is one of the coolest aspects of the game! You never know what will happen next.

4.  You can bet on the overall loser or winner.  
Secretly choose one of your Race Betting cards in the color of the camel you think will win or lose and place it on the space on the board.

Once your card is placed, it can't be moved or taken back.  You can lay down as many as you like but you will lose one coin at the end of the game for any wagers that were incorrect. This is tricky.  If you are first to choose the winner or loser, you get a larger reward.  By playing first, you usually take the greatest risk. The earlier you choose a winner or loser, the longer there is for the game to change.  Because of the camel stacking, things can change in an instant.

So those are the all the actions you can do on your turn.

 Let's talk about what to do at the end of a leg.  When the last pyramid tile is played and the last die is rolled, the end of a leg is triggered. Now is time for the leg scoring round.  First, the person who triggered the end of the leg gives the Leg Starting Marker to the person on the left of him or her. Then, figure out who the leading camel is.  It will be the camel on the space closest to the finish line.  If there is a stack of camels in the lead,  the one on top is the winner of the leg. Now, each person loses or wins Egyptian pounds according to which betting tiles they have taken.  Each tile will explain the amount you win or lose. Any player with Betting Tiles for camels not in the lead lose one Egyptian pound.  Players who chose the leading camel are awarded with 5, 3 or 2 Egyptian pounds, depending on the Betting Tile they collected.   Also, each player gains 1 Egyptian Pound for  each of the pyramid tiles they collected.  Then, each player also removes their Desert Tile from the board to be placed in the next leg if he or she wishes. They also return their pyramid tiles to the board. Finally, return all the dice to the pyramid  and begin another leg. The Person with the Leg Starting Marker starts the next leg.

The number of legs per game varies.  The game ends when one camel or camel stack crosses the finish line.

If it is a stack, the camel on top is the overall winner.  In the above picture, the overall winner is yellow and the overall loser is blue. Now you must determine who won the bet.  I like to start with the overall loser.  The overall loser is the camel that is furthest from the finish line and the lowest in the stack.  Take the face down stack and flip the whole stack over so the card that was played first is on top.   If the first card, correctly predicted the winner that card's owner is paid 8 Egyptian pounds. The next correctly card get's paid 5, the third gets 3 and the fourth gets 2.  Any other correct predictions receive 1.   Any incorrect bets lose a coin. Repeat this process for the overall winner.
The person with the most Egyptian pounds wins!

If you aren't sure this game is for you, visit your local game store and give it a try.  Many game stores have store copies for you to try out.  There aren't many games that work for such a wide audience as Camel Up. It is well designed and thought out.  In fact, I think I might go bet on some camel races right now!!!

Fun AND Educational...Where Do I Sign Up?

If you haven't noticed, my family and I love games. We also love to learn so it seems natural to combine learning and games.  Here is the thing though:  kids KNOW the difference between an educational game and a just for fun game.  I can buy a game made to teach something like multiplication facts or sight words.  Guess what--my kids might not want to play it because it is school work not fun.  I knew there had to be a better way so I started to use the games my kids love to practice academic skills.  And it works!  They love playing them and I love that they are learning! I'm not sure why some kids don't like educational games...but I'm glad I have figured out the trick!

Here is what you do to turn a fun game into an educational game:

1. Decide what skill you want to practice with your child.  It could be multiplication facts, sight words, vocabulary words, history facts, state capitals, geography, elements of the periodic table, etc.  It can be anything your child needs to practice.
2. Create flash cards of the information your child needs to learn.  You could also purchase flash cards from a store if available.  I've used multiplication cards and alphabet cards.  I've also just made my own.  For example, if your child is learning states and their capitals, make flashcards that have a  state on one side and the capital city on the other. 
3. Choose a game (or games) your child loves.
4. Play the game with your child with this twist.  Before each turn, have your child answer a question on the flashcard.  If your child misses a question, tell him  the right answer.  Keep using that question until he answers it correctly and then move on to another.  If you want to be tough, your child loses a turn if the question can't be answered.  I would only do this once your child is pretty comfortable with the information.  Continue to play the game as usual, answering a question before each turn.  If you really want to impress your kids, make sure you answer questions too! (And yes, you lose a turn when you get it wrong.)

As you can see, it is so easy to turn any fun game into an educational experience.

In the past, I've reviewed the game Bugs in the Kitchen.  Click her to learn more about that game. It is a fun fast paced game all three of my kids enjoy.  I've used their love of this game to my advantage as their teacher.  One way I've used this is to review sight words.  I made flash cards of sight words.  My child had to read the sight word before she  can take her turn.  I love this game with the educational component because speed is important.  Many  kids love the added challenge of being fast.

You can also use games like Candyland, Connect 4, Memory, Go Fish, Uno, Skipbo, Slapjack and War.  Really you can use any game that is simple and short.  I wouldn't use a game like Mononopoly because it would just take too long with the added component. The best part of this is that you don't have to go out and buy a game for every skill your child needs to practice.  (Hooray for another budget friendly way to help your kids learn!)You can use any game to practice what your child needs.

Give this a try at home and feel free to share how you turned your child's favorite game into an educational game!

Rush Hour Review

   Rush Hour is a fun one player game.

   The game is rather simple. It comes with some different sized cars and a grid.

   There is a book with eighty different challenges ranging from beginning to expert. It has the solutions to the puzzles in the back of the book as well.

   To play, choose a challenge out of the book and set up the cars. This one is the first challenge.

   Slide the cars along the grid. You can not pick them up or turn them. They go forward and backwards. That's it. You are trying to clear the exit for the red car to get through. The exit is the space on the right side.

   There is no set number of moves. You can move as many cars as much as you'd like until you can clear out the path.

   Once you get the red car to the exit, you have passed that level.

    I was pretty excited when I saw this game. I used to have a game similar to it on my phone that I would play to help pass the time. My hubby and kids love to play this game. It has been out almost constantly since we got it. This is a great game to give your brain a little exercise or if you need a break. I see this game getting a lot of play!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Forbidden Desert Review

   Forbidden Desert is a co-op game by Gamewright Games for two to five players

   Inside, there is a nice compartment that holds everything and keeps it from getting mixed up.

   There are six different adventurers:

   Yellow is the Navigator. They can take another person with them up to three spaces. When they take another adventurer, they can use that players special ability as well.
   Red is the Archeologist. They can remove two sand markers from any tile for only one action.
   Black is the Climber. The Climber can go on blocked tiles. They can also take another adventurer with them.
   Green is the Explorer. They can do their actions diagonally.
   White is the Meteorologist.  They can use one action to draw one less storm card at the end of their turn. They may also use one action to look at the number of storm cards equal to the storm level and place one on the bottom of the pile.
   Blue is the Water Carrier. They can take two waters from an already excavated well for one action. They can also share water with people that are on adjacent tiles for free.

   To set up, randomly pass out one Adventurer card to each player. Place a water marker on the top water spot on each card.

   Place the storm tracker in it's base. Place a water marker on the side that has the same number as the number of players. One side has two and three player, the other side has four and five. This is also where you can choose your difficulty level. This game is on the easiest level for two players.

   Mix the tiles and then lay them face down. The compass should be in the same spot on each tile so they are facing the same direction. There should be an empty space in the center.

   Place one sand tile in a diamond formation. The crash site is where your Adventurers will begin.

   Place everything within reach and you are ready to start!

   Each turn consists of taking up to four actions. Actions are: moving your Adventurer, removing sand, excavating (flipping over a tile) and picking up a part.

   After your movement phase is over, draw storm cards equal to the sand storm level. If it is at a two, draw two cards and do what they say. 

   If the card is a Storm Picks Up card, raise the storm meter up one. If the Sun Beats Down, everyone moves their water marker down one. If you are in a tunnel, you do not lose a water.

   There are also storm cards that look like these. They will be either pointing up, down, left or right. The number of squares is the number of tiles that are moved during the storm.

   In this example, it's move one right. You will take the one card on the left side of the open space and move it to the right. Then place a sand tile on each piece that was moved. If there aren't tiles to be moved, you do not have to move any tiles for that card. If you draw a move three tiles and there are only one or two tiles that can be moved, move those tiles and place a sand marker on them.

   You can only excavate tiles that are clear of all sand tiles. When you excavate both tiles for a piece of the flying machine, place the part on the tile where the row and column intersect.

    If the tile you have excavated has gears on the lower right corner, draw a card from the equipment deck. You can use equipment cards at any time. They do not count as an action. You may give your equipment cards to other players that are on the same tile as you.

   As the game progresses, the sand tiles will pile up. Once there is more that one sand tile on a tile, you will flip the sand tile over to the darker side with an X is on top. This means that tile is blocked and you can not pass on it until it is down to one sand tile (unless you are the Climber). If there is a part to the flying machine on a tile with more than one sand tile, you must remove the sand and excavate the tile before picking up the part.

   There are three tiles marked as water. They have the little water drop in the bottom right (first tile). Two of the tiles are wells (second tile) but one is a mirage (third tile).

   When you excavate a well tile, each player on that tile receives two additional water. You will want to make sure anyone that needs water is on this tile when it is excavated.

   The game ends in a few ways. 

   If you get all of the parts to the flying machine and all of the adventurers make it to the launch pad, you win!

   If anyone runs out of water, the storm meter reaches the top or if you get buried (run out of sand tiles), you have lost to the Forbidden Desert.

   This game is pretty fun. If you like co-op games, I think this is a good one to have. It can be stressful at times, especially at the end. It's pretty easy to play and learn. It has a lot of both strategy and luck. You can have a plan ready and then the storm cards can mess it all up. Since it is a co-op game, it's one you can play with your kids. You never know, they just might have the way to win all planned out!

NanoBot Battle Arena Review

   NanoBot Battle Arena is a fun tile laying game for two to eight players by Derpy Games.

    Inside, there is a deck of ninety six reaction cards

   and tiles. There are fifteen tiles in each of eight colors.

   The cards are in the same colors as the tiles and numbered one through three. The number is how many nanobots the card can effect. Each color has it's own special powers.

   Orange is Burn. You can take the number of bots on the card (in this picture, it would be one) from the beginning or end of any chain of bots.

   White is Petrify. When you petrify a bot, you turn the tile over. This bot is now immune to other attacks. You can use a petrify card to turn over a petrified tile so they are no longer immune.

   Green is grow. You can add extra nanobots equal to the number on the card.

   Blue is freeze. You randomly take cards from an opponent and place them face down. They don't get their cards back until their draw phase.

   Purple is Pivot. You can rotate your nanobots so they face a different direction.

   Red is infect. You can scrap nanobots adjacent to your tiles and replace them with your tiles, facing the same direction.

   Pink is surge. You can remove tiles that are in your tiles line of sight. You can not go over empty spaces.

   Yellow is blink. You can move tiles to a new legal location. They must still face the same direction.

   To set up, each player chooses a color of NanoBots. Shuffle the deck of cards and deal out six, face down, to each player.

   On your turn, you are going to place one of your NanoBots and then play a reaction card. When playing a reaction card, if you play a card that is your color of nanobot, you add one to the number the card can effect. If you play a color of an opponent, you take one away from the number the card effects. At the end of your turn, draw back up to six cards. If you had cards frozen, this is when you put them back in your hand.

   Sometimes, the tiles get all mixed up since you can move your opponents tiles. You may even have tiles that are no longer connected.

   Once a player is out of tiles, the game is over. You do not get to play your reaction card once you are out of tiles. Count the chains and see who has the longest chain. For a chain to count, the arrows on your tile must be pointing at your tile next to it. In this picture, purple has a chain of five. Yellow has a chain of three and orange has a chain of four. Purple has won!

   This game is a lot of fun! It takes a lot of strategy and a lot of hoping that your opponents can't mess up your plans. The game box is rather small so it doesn't take up a lot of space on your game shelf. The tiles are also small enough that you don't need a big playing area. If you want a bigger game, you can put more than one game together so you have a higher number of tiles to play. This game works pretty well as a two player game. When playing with two, some combinations don't work well. We did an Infect and Grow line up. It didn't mesh well since growing just gave the infect player more tiles to take. I would recommend this game. It isn't very long, about thirty minutes or so. It's a great filler game or if you want to get in a quick game. It's easy to learn and the cards are self explanatory. I can't wait to play a game with all eight!