Armed only with your trusty die and a dream, you must grow Machi Koro into the largest city in the region. You will need to collect income from developments, build public works, and steal from your neighbors’ coffers. Just make sure they aren’t doing the same to you!

I love trying new games, so when my friends suggested playing Machi Koro: Bright Lights, Big City at a recent game night, I was all in. The game did not disappoint. I had a fun time learning it (and winning gloriously).

Machi Koro is a city-building card and dice game for 2-4 players and it was a Spiel des Jares Nominee in 2015.

Note, since we’ve only played the base game so far, all my opinions that follow relate to the base game only.

Here are three reasons you might want to give Machi Koro: Bright Lights, Big City a closer look:
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“Witness the craziest camel race of all time, as things really go topsy-turvy when camels stack up and entire pyramids turn upside down.” – the Camel Up game instruction manual

Camel Up appeals to a wide audience and plays 2-8 players, making it one of the most versatile games in my collection. As the prestigious 2014 Spiel des Jahres winner, Camel Up is part of an elite class of family-style board games. Board Game Geek gives it a complexity rating of 1.49/5, which seems to be a sweet spot that appeals to pretty much any one at game night.

A few years ago, my friend introduced it to me, and I was immediately sold. As soon as I got home, I set up an Amazon price drop alert via CamelCamelCamel (what is with all these Camels!).

I’ve played it in larger parties as well as intimate gatherings, and time and time again Camel Up is a crowd favorite. I’ve been giving it some thought, and these are the top three reasons I love Camel Up:

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For the holidays, we had the pleasure of playing Settlers of Catan with dedicated game-playing friends. Our friend Paul 3D printed and hand painted a set of Settlers of Catan, and it was nothing short of amazing!

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