Tabletop games
Camel Up
Filosofia ÉditionsSteffen Bogen2014
- players
- 2–8
- minutes
- 30
- years
- 8+
In the box
Camel Up game
Box details
- Designer
- Steffen Bogen
- Artwork
- Dennis Lohausen
- Publisher
- Filosofia Éditions
- Mechanics
- Betting and BluffingRoll and MoveTrack MovementVariable Set-up
- Expansions
- Camel Up: Supercup · 2015
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
The aim is to finish the race richer than everyone else, by betting on camels that stack up and change order. On your turn, take a single action: release a die from the pyramid to move a camel (and earn 1 coin), take a leg bet, place your desert tile or bet on the race's winner or last camel. As soon as a camel crosses the finish line, settle the current leg then the race bets, and the richest player wins.
The rules, step by step
Setup
2 to 8 players, 5 camels, 5 dice in the pyramid
- Two to eight players. Five coloured camels placed at the start according to a first roll of the dice.
- Each player receives their race betting cards and a desert tile.
- The five matching dice go into the pyramid.
How to play
1 action out of 4, Die released = 1 coin, Leg ends after 5 dice
- On your turn, just one action out of four: release a die from the pyramid, take a leg bet, place your desert tile, or place a race betting card.
- Releasing a die moves the camel of that colour 1 to 3 spaces, and earns 1 coin.
- A camel that lands on an occupied space goes on top of the stack. A camel that moves carries along every camel on its back; those beneath it stay where they are.
- The desert tile adds or removes one space for the camel that stops on it, and earns 1 coin for its owner.
- The leg ends when all five dice have come out; bets are paid, then all the dice go back in the pyramid.
Scoring
Leg bet 5, 3, 2, Race bet 8 to 1, Wrong bet −1
- Leg bet: if the chosen camel finishes the leg in the lead, the first player to take the bet wins 5 coins, the second 3, the next ones 2. If it finishes second, 1 coin. Otherwise, you lose 1 coin.
- Race bets, revealed at the end of the game: 8 coins for the first player to have named the right winner, then 5, 3, 2, and 1 for the next ones. A wrong bet costs 1 coin.
- Bets on the last camel in the race follow exactly the same scale (8, 5, 3, 2, 1, and −1 for a wrong bet): only what you bet on changes.
End of the game
Camel crosses the line, Race bets settled, Richest wins
- The race ends as soon as a camel crosses the finish line.
- You settle the current leg, then the race bets. The richest player wins.
House rules and pitfalls
A camel carrying others takes them along: the one on top benefits from everything…
- A camel carrying others takes them along: the one on top benefits from everything, and the order can be reversed with a single die.
- A leg bet has to be taken early to be worth 5 coins, so before you know enough: that is the whole dilemma of the game.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · Rules on video · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
What exactly do you bet on?
On two time frames. The winner of a leg (the current stage), with the betting tiles you take during play; and the overall winner or overall loser of the whole race, with cards staked in secret.
How do the camels move?
Each camel has a die in the pyramid. On your turn, you can shake the pyramid to release a random die: the matching camel moves 1 to 3 spaces. When all five dice are out, the leg ends.
Why do the camels stack up?
A camel that lands on an occupied space goes on top, and carries the whole stack above it when it moves. Sitting on top and getting a ride can send a camel a long way, even when its own die has not come out.
How do you earn money with leg bets?
Each tile taken on a camel pays well if that camel finishes the leg in the lead (5, 3, 2, then 1), but costs 1 if it is neither first nor second. Taking the right favourite early pays the most.
What are the desert tiles for?
You place one on a free space: it gives +1 or -1 to any camel that stops on it, and earns its owner 1 coin each time it is triggered. They spice up the race.
How does the game end?
A camel crosses the finish line. The bets on the overall winner and the overall loser are then revealed: correct predictions, in the order they were staked, pay the most.
Rules on video
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.