Camel Up (confusingly also known as Camel Cup) has just been announced as the winner of the German Game of the Year, or Spiel des Jahres.  This is a game of betting on camel racing, trying to suss out one which will place first and second in a quick race around a pyramid. The earlier you place your bet, the more you can win — should you guess correctly, of course…!

At the same time the Kennerspiel des Jahres, was awarded.  This honours more challenging games and was introduced in 2011 to replace the jury’s habit of intermittent special awards for games too complex for the Spiel des Jahres, but were still deserving of recognition.  This award went to Istanbul, in which players have navigate a merchant and his assistants through the bazaar collecting jewels.  The challenge is planning ahead to avoid being left with no assistants and thus unable to do anything.

We’ve not played either game in the group yet, but I’m sure we’ll give them a try as soon as we get the chance.