The best games with camels 2025

In the bustling city of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, you find yourself in a fierce competition as one of the two most powerful traders. However, being a prominent trader isn't enough; the ultimate goal is to earn two coveted "seals of excellence" to secure an invitation to the Maharaja's prestigious court. To outshine your direct competitor, you'll need to demonstrate superior trading skills by buying, exchanging, and selling goods at advantageous prices, all while carefully managing your valuable camel herds.

Camel Up is an exciting and unpredictable racing and betting game where players wager on camels competing in a zany race around a pyramid. With its unique mechanics and charming theme, it's a game that promises fun and laughter for up to eight players.

Five Tribes: The Djinns of Naqala is a strategy board game set in the mystical land of Naqala. Designed by Bruno Cathala, it puts a unique spin on the traditional German-style worker placement games.

Through the Desert is a strategic board game where players guide caravans through the desert to claim oases and territory. Often compared to the classic game Go, it combines strategic planning with a visually appealing setup featuring colorful plastic camels.

In the fast-paced card game, players must think quickly! The active player places a card from their hand on one of three discard piles and calls out the most frequently occurring attribute in the center: animal type, color, zero, or Dodelido. It sounds easier than it is, especially with the slow turtle and the fast crocodile adding challenges. Play flawlessly to win, as any mistake can cost you!

Zooloretto is a charming and strategic board game where players become zoo managers, tasked with building and managing their own zoos. The goal is to attract the most visitors by creating a diverse and well-organized collection of animals.

Bring your camels to the oasis. Movement is determined by cards, and players must strategically choose which card to play for an optimal move. Sandstorms can disrupt everyone’s plans, causing all cards to be shuffled. The first six camels to reach the oasis earn points, and the player with the most points wins.

The Voyages of Marco Polo is a captivating board game that allows players to relive the epic journey of Marco Polo. Set in 1271, players follow Marco Polo’s path from Venice to Kublai Khan’s court in China, navigating through ancient cities and traversing the famed Silk Road.

Corinth transports players to the bustling market of ancient Corinth, where they compete as traders vying to claim the title of the savviest merchant under the Mediterranean sun. This roll-and-write game draws inspiration from Yspahan, focusing on dice-driven actions to collect and trade goods like Persian carpets and Egyptian spices.

Stroh is a light-hearted family card game set in the world of "One Thousand and One Nights." Players attempt to load as many items onto a camel as possible without breaking its back. If a player fails, they lose the round, but others must be careful not to overload the camel, as breaking it with the Stroh card means winning instead of losing.

Animals on Board is an accessible and clever game featuring a two-tier cardboard tray that holds each player's animal tiles. Players draw three animal tiles at the start, choose one to place face down on their ark, and form a collective of remaining tiles in the center.

Yspahan is a strategic board game set in 1598, during the period when Yspahan became the capital of the Persian empire. Players take on the roles of merchants in this flourishing city, aiming to maximize their gains through shrewd trading and development. The game stands out for its unique combination of dice-driven actions and multiple paths to victory.

Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan is an exciting standalone sequel to The Voyages of Marco Polo. This time, the adventure takes a new turn as players retrace Marco Polo's steps back to the West, acting in the service of the Khan. The game tasks players with exploring the farthest reaches of the Khan’s expansive empire, seeking both wealth and fame.

Players bet on camels racing along a track, similar to Camel Up. Each player has some insight into which camels might move and how far, but they cannot be certain when each one will actually move. They must guess which camels will finish ahead of the others in hopes of winning some money.

Players control a worm made up of several connected discs in this fun and silly game. Each round, players secretly choose how far to move their worm on their dice. If two or more players pick the same number, they lose their movement for that turn, while others move their worms by rearranging discs, sometimes curving them to block other players' movements.

Tuareg takes players on a journey between Timbuktu and Gao, where they load camels with water, gold, salt, and millet for a trek to the next oasis. Throughout the game, players aim to collect the most valuable resources while dealing with rival nomads who might steal or hide their goods. The game involves strategic use of special cards and resource management to earn points, with two phases of play and opportunities to earn bonuses along the way.

In 1300 AD, West Africa, the demand for goods like ivory in Europe drives the development of trade routes, with caravans of camels delivering goods through the desert landscape. Players use their camels to transport goods to desired locations while managing actions like placing or moving camels, picking up goods, or stealing from opponents. The game ends once the last goods are drawn, with players scoring points based on the rarity and demand for the goods they have collected.

Players take on the role of merchant families in Samarkand, marrying into wealthy trading families and expanding their trade routes. Each round, they can either marry into a trade family or expand an existing family's trade route by paying the necessary costs. The game ends when all families have established at least one trade relationship, and players tally their victory points from trade goods and relationships to determine the winner.

Players manage their own caravan of four camels that can transport different types of goods, including carpets, vases, dates, and fruits. They bid to select goods from various markets, utilizing market powers and strategically placing the goods onto their camels, adhering to specific transport limits. Players can sell goods for points, with different items offering varying rewards, and the game concludes when the supply of goods runs out, determining the winner by who has the most money.

Players take on the role of the leader of a Mongolian family striving to become the most powerful in the land. Utilize resources wisely to gain control of fertile steppe land, breed horses, build sacred temples, develop caravans, and manage beautiful oases. The player with the most points at the end is anointed as the Noble of the Oasis.

Players participate in a camel race for 3-5 players. The goal is to bid limited water chips each round to move their camel to specific oasis spots. At the end of three stages of the desert race, the player with the most goods (silk) wins.

The goal of the expedition is to collect as much gold as possible along a fixed route. Players start with 3 gold and a hand of cards representing various valuable goods and caravan leaders. Gold is collected at specific points in the game, with players receiving varying amounts when reaching important locations. Players draw cards to meet requirements and can move their caravan forward by spending gold if they have a poor hand. The player with the most gold at the end of the game wins.

Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road immerses players in the competitive economic landscape of the most prosperous city along the Silk Road. As the city thrives, players engage in a strategic blend of resource management, trade, and influence to accumulate wealth and power. The game encapsulates the tension between personal gain and the collective defense against the looming threat of Mongol invasions. Strategic decisions influence both the city's fate and the players' standing, making every choice critical in the pursuit of victory.

Players navigate moving camels through the desert. Each player has a number of camels and aims to bring them to the opposite corner of the board, while ensuring that no camel stands alone. The game board features a desert with a starting area, a destination, two oasis regions, and a canyon that splits the desert.

Conquer and occupy valuable desert territories while protecting your home village. By strategically moving groups of camels and utilizing their special abilities, players can dominate the desert. The game features a board made of large square tiles representing different types of desert terrain, each with varying economic and strategic values.

Players take on the role of caravan leaders, with the number of camels in each caravan determined by the number of players. The goal is to transport goods from the starting point to Timbuktu while managing to protect them from thieves who attack at night. As players receive various clues about the thefts along the journey, they must deduce the situation and relocate camels to ensure that valuable goods are safely delivered to their final destination.

Players control warring kingdoms in a fantasy world filled with various creatures. The hexagonal tiles of the game board create unique layouts each time. An intriguing twist involves hidden game pieces, as players strive to outdo each other in the types of creatures they can muster in their armies.

Players try to find matching cards to form a caravan with a specific number of dromedaries. The required number of dromedaries changes each round, determined by a drawn wooden token. Players cannot have two dromedaries of the same color in their caravan. After seven rounds, players total the values of their tokens, and the player with the highest sum wins.