The Game of the Month series highlights one of the many games in our libraries at Ravenwood Castle and The Malted Meeple. We will briefly describe the game, how to play it, and why we like it. This month’s Game of the Month is written by The Malted Meeple’s Head Game Master – and former Ravenwood Innkeeper – Karington Hess.

Game: Camel Up!

November’s Game of the Month is a Ravenwood Castle favorite and the winner of the coveted Spiel Des Jahres award. You can bet we are talking about Camel Up!

In this game two to eight players take on the role of Egyptian nobility who are betting on a high stakes camel race. Whoever places their bet on the right camels at the right time will be crowned the champion!

Camel Up is divided into a series of legs. Each turn, players choose to take one of several actions.  Players can place their bets on which camel they think will end up in first place by the end of the leg, which camel they think will be the overall winner, or which camel will be the overall loser. Players can also roll the dice to move the camels. Finally, players can move or place their oasis/mirage tokens which affect camel movement. If a camel ends its movement on an oasis tile they may move an additional space. However, if they end their movement on a mirage tile, they move back one space instead.

In order to move a camel, the player picks up the big cardboard pyramid, gives it a shake, and dispenses one die.  The die color denotes which camel moves, while the number on the die denotes how far the camel moves this leg. When a camel moves onto a space already occupied by another camel, it jumps on top, forming a stack. When a camel moves he takes all of the camels on top of him along for the ride. This means that while a camel can only move once per leg by rolling the die, each camel can potentially move multiple times per leg by being carried by other camel.

Camel Up is a fantastic game for all ages as it is quick to set up, easy to explain, and supports a large number of players. The game plays quickly with very little down time between turns. The game features fabulous art work, top notch components, and a super cool cardboard pyramid!

The next time you’re at Ravenwood Castle, break out Camel Up and place your bets!

Jim Reed

Jim Reed is a lifelong gamer who started with the original red box Dungeons & Dragons. After spending 20 years in the corporate world, he decided it was high time that work be fun and struck out on his own. Jim now owns and operates Ravenwood Castle, and spends his days ensuring his guests have as much fun as he does.