It's a gambling game, you aren't suppose to have control. When you go to a horse race, you don't have control, you just watch and hope... That's what gambling is!
played this 4 times and bought it. its a gambling game. its supposed to be random. if you do not random games then this will not be a game for you. whats great about it is that your never really out of it. its what i call a "cross ages" game because anyone can play. again, not for everyone but still fun.
Well I think it's a great game. I won it through BGG's Pegasus Spiele contest, so it was a nice gift. But this is a wonderful game to play with non gamers (or a nice filler with gamers). Yes there's ALOT of randomness, but like poker, it's optimizing your win percentage. Rolling the dice is giving information. Timing is key. The less players, the more control you have. And calculating the probability isn't abc-probability either. It's harder than calculating your pot odds. I don't see a problem with the randomness. You still have alot of meaningful decisions in a game. (note that I have only played with a group of max 6 people, most of the times less) This game won SDJ rightfully, imo. Good review! High Quality like we're used to! Might I say: one of the best additions to the dice tower.
If a camel in the middle of a stack has to move forward or backwards all the other camels stay in the same stack right, or do the other camels move with the camel in the middle that had to move?
As an adult this game is ok. However the simplicity of it makes it great for kids. Both of mine loved it, and the randomness actually makes it pretty good. Thought it would be better considering the awards but still. If you have young kids I would say pick it up.
thanks to you I probably avoided a wrong purchase. I was very actracted by the game, because the components are really nice, and it seems -anyway- a good game. I just realized I'm not looking for a random party game. I still have friends to bring in...I'll probably choose "ticket to ride" or another entry-level I miss, any suggests? Thank you
Friend of mine picked this one up and I must say I have the same feeling. It isn't bad, but winning SDJ is a bit of a stretch imo. I do believe like others pointed out that this is a great game for kids. Good review.
dan's enthusiasm is so deceiving lol... was expecting him to say he loved it but i can see the obvious gripes with this game. but! i would say that the randomness is thematic. it's not like we really have any control when betting, unless we're in the mafia or something...
The outro of this video sounds horrible! The voice over and the underlying "music" really don't mesh well together. Other than that, thanks for the review :)
Great review, but what the heck is with that music at the end over the "thanks SO much" part.... made me think one of my browser windows was going crazy or that a phone was ringing.... might want to change that insanity...
What game should have won in your opinion? I know Tom lauds over Splendor, but it does nothing new, and I think it doesn't quite have the replayablity. Concept is a little complex I think, for the Spiel, it would have fit better on the Kennerspiel, at least for me it feels above family-level. The only thing I thought had the legs would be Battle Sheep, which was on the recommended list.
Splendor may not be amazingly innovative, but it is a solid game... it does things right... and gets lots of play in my group. It should have been the Spiel des Jahres winner this year.
I played all 3 of the final nominees and I think Splendor should have won hands down. But I can see why it didn't since it might not really be a "family" style game for the voters.
Splendor should have won, hands down. But family value wise Camel Up goes beyond and above due to the fact that it completely targets on how to get the kids' attention. (Randomness, dice throwing, everything you need to keep them engaged to the board). tbh I don't see Splendor as a family game unless you throw out all the strategies out of the window. Sure, rules are easy to learn. But the hidden mechanic and complexity underneath the game can put everyone on edge with the ever changing game board. I personally consider Splendor more as (abstract) strategy game more than anything.
This game is all about fun, no thinking, very little tactics, just pure fun. The more players, the better. Kids love it, the pyramid in particular. Don't play it with less than 4, it will be boring. It's almost a party game. But family friendly. That's why it won SdJ.
i am actually on GBG side splendor should win.camel up is boring very random and i personally dont care for concept.but i totally agree with istanbul as kennerspiel.even concordia is better.
I found that the more players in the game, the worse the experience. I played with 3 and 4 players and loved the game! Anymore than that and you cannot react to changes quick enough. I think Splendor is better, but this game is more exciting because of the randomness.
It's a gambling game, you aren't suppose to have control. When you go to a horse race, you don't have control, you just watch and hope... That's what gambling is!
It's a great game and I'm glad the orange camel came back to win
played this 4 times and bought it. its a gambling game. its supposed to be random. if you do not random games then this will not be a game for you. whats great about it is that your never really out of it. its what i call a "cross ages" game because anyone can play. again, not for everyone but still fun.
Well I think it's a great game. I won it through BGG's Pegasus Spiele contest, so it was a nice gift. But this is a wonderful game to play with non gamers (or a nice filler with gamers). Yes there's ALOT of randomness, but like poker, it's optimizing your win percentage. Rolling the dice is giving information. Timing is key. The less players, the more control you have. And calculating the probability isn't abc-probability either. It's harder than calculating your pot odds. I don't see a problem with the randomness. You still have alot of meaningful decisions in a game. (note that I have only played with a group of max 6 people, most of the times less) This game won SDJ rightfully, imo. Good review! High Quality like we're used to! Might I say: one of the best additions to the dice tower.
If a camel in the middle of a stack has to move forward or backwards all the other camels stay in the same stack right, or do the other camels move with the camel in the middle that had to move?
Other camels (that are above) move with him
thanks for the clarification
As an adult this game is ok. However the simplicity of it makes it great for kids. Both of mine loved it, and the randomness actually makes it pretty good. Thought it would be better considering the awards but still. If you have young kids I would say pick it up.
thanks to you I probably avoided a wrong purchase. I was very actracted by the game, because the components are really nice, and it seems -anyway- a good game. I just realized I'm not looking for a random party game. I still have friends to bring in...I'll probably choose "ticket to ride" or another entry-level I miss, any suggests?
Thank you
Friend of mine picked this one up and I must say I have the same feeling. It isn't bad, but winning SDJ is a bit of a stretch imo. I do believe like others pointed out that this is a great game for kids. Good review.
It is a FANTASTIC game.... i absolutely love it. With 3 or 4 players there is more strategy than you might think.
dan's enthusiasm is so deceiving lol... was expecting him to say he loved it but i can see the obvious gripes with this game. but! i would say that the randomness is thematic. it's not like we really have any control when betting, unless we're in the mafia or something...
The outro of this video sounds horrible! The voice over and the underlying "music" really don't mesh well together.
Other than that, thanks for the review :)
Great review, but what the heck is with that music at the end over the "thanks SO much" part.... made me think one of my browser windows was going crazy or that a phone was ringing.... might want to change that insanity...
What game should have won in your opinion? I know Tom lauds over Splendor, but it does nothing new, and I think it doesn't quite have the replayablity. Concept is a little complex I think, for the Spiel, it would have fit better on the Kennerspiel, at least for me it feels above family-level. The only thing I thought had the legs would be Battle Sheep, which was on the recommended list.
Splendor may not be amazingly innovative, but it is a solid game... it does things right... and gets lots of play in my group. It should have been the Spiel des Jahres winner this year.
I played all 3 of the final nominees and I think Splendor should have won hands down. But I can see why it didn't since it might not really be a "family" style game for the voters.
TheGameBoyGeek - Hi Quality Hi Energy Board Game Reviews That makes the most sense... the most "family" style game of the three is Camel Up.
TheGameBoyGeek - Hi Quality Hi Energy Board Game Reviews
Love Splendor, I think it should have won too.
Splendor should have won, hands down. But family value wise Camel Up goes beyond and above due to the fact that it completely targets on how to get the kids' attention. (Randomness, dice throwing, everything you need to keep them engaged to the board).
tbh I don't see Splendor as a family game unless you throw out all the strategies out of the window. Sure, rules are easy to learn. But the hidden mechanic and complexity underneath the game can put everyone on edge with the ever changing game board. I personally consider Splendor more as (abstract) strategy game more than anything.
This game is all about fun, no thinking, very little tactics, just pure fun. The more players, the better. Kids love it, the pyramid in particular. Don't play it with less than 4, it will be boring. It's almost a party game. But family friendly. That's why it won SdJ.
What do you expect. It is a gambling game.
i am actually on GBG side splendor should win.camel up is boring very random and i personally dont care for concept.but i totally agree with istanbul as kennerspiel.even concordia is better.
I found that the more players in the game, the worse the experience. I played with 3 and 4 players and loved the game! Anymore than that and you cannot react to changes quick enough. I think Splendor is better, but this game is more exciting because of the randomness.
I played a game with 8, and basically you're avoiding rolling the die, because every else gets to make bets of your action.
Fun filler to start the evening with. But must play with 6 or more players!
i like this game. its quite fun.
with expectation comes disappointments.
the pyramid may be cool, but is gimmicky
Pretty lame game to win Speil des jahres...Could have been just a speil recommendation at best