LAMA Review – with Tom Vasel

We added up a ascendent and descendent option , a maximum of 20 minus points and when a tie , no chips are returned rule and it became faster and more strategic . Has anybody added any other rule that might help to spicy it up a little bit ?

Uno killer and as such there should be a worldwide exchange program organised by the UN.

Another game > PUSH is so much more fun to play than this.

You are indeed missing something – it is strategic.

What a piece of s… game. Same goes for Just one…

All of you hating on this game- Have you played it with only your gamer friends/family? I would suggest you try it with non-gamers/casual gamers before you state how rotten it is. The SDJ isn't intended for us. And that's ok, we don't really need an award to tell us a game is good. But casual gamers or people just getting into the hobby might find the award helpful.

You are SO right – this is definitely the worst nominee EVEEERRRRR for the Spiel des Jahres! Thanks for not holding back!

I completly agree with you. I got this game as gift, gave it away without playing. People judged me for not even giving the game a try, so I tried it at a cafe and it was even worse than I thought. It is total garbage imo.

People who are talking as if the "lose a chip" rule fixes the game. So what you are saying is, when you have less than 10 points use one strategy, and at 10 or more points, switch to the other one? WOW. the….stra…te….gy…is….so…..mind….blow….ing….what…..a….maze….ing…..choices….I…. can't….wai….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I'll stick to Fuji Flush.

So, this is really interesting to me. Anyone inclined to think a little more about this game should go watch W. Eric Martin's thoughts on the game. Even if you don't want to think about this game anymore, you should go watch him give his thoughts on the game. Tom has always seemed credible to me and so does Martin, which is why hearing both perspectives is so interesting (to me anyway). Looking forward to giving this game some plays.

The card game, No Thanks! wasn't much better than this, and you liked it Tom.

Curious to hear if Tom has played correctly I assumed he did just didn't explain it.

The "Spiel des Jahres" standard gets lower and lower, i thinks it's because of all the smartphone zombies today, who can't play a normal boardgame and go crazy when they have to read 5 pages with rules!

You can get rid of a chip (regardless of color!) if you win a round and you can exchange 10 white chips for one black chip. This is similar to the game Hearts, where you can win by either taking the fewest of the bad color or take ALL of them. In LAMA you can try to get multiples of ten in "points." It's still not a great game, but this is a key strategic element of it, imo.

I am glad to see this review. I tried the game with some friends and we all felt the same as you. How this game got a nomination…I can imagine it’s only because of Knizia’s name on the box. From our view, the game is terrible. Some people believe there are subtle strategies to it. Ok, fine…if this is the kind of “strategy” some people enjoy, good on them. To each their own. If people enjoy it, play it. But had you reviewed it well Tom, knowing you from all your other videos, I’d have lost trust in you. So I guess my point is…I just wanted to say nice review?

I'm so glad Tom hated this. I was starting to think the board game community had gone mad. Such an ugly, boring game.

Give me Phase 10 any day over this travesty

If you are going to give a negative review, I think it is important to make sure you understand the rules first. If you feel that a game is simple, it may be a good idea to read some reviews by people who have figured out the subtleties of the game. I personally do not think that LAMA is a fantastic game, but this video made me lose a lot of respect for Tom. I especially dislike the attitude that games must be instant gratification, and that you shouldn't have to spend time figuring out how a game really works.

Tom: Don't be a snob!
Also Tom:

The thing I would say is that even if there is luck it’s also odd how many facets will favour the experienced player (eg when to jump out, keeping a poker face etc). While the odd game can run into random chance territory I think in a long range of games it is possible to see who a better player is – and for that to be true there is no way it can have a low amount of depth imo.

There are definitely subtleties to the play that many people (including Tom it would seem) miss. On the surface it is similar to UNO but the gradually increasing cards is a key difference. There’s a push your luck element where you have to choose whether to play a six on a six to get rid of it and try and lose all your cards or jump straight to the LAMA in case the opportunity is missed by the time the turn comes back round to you and some jerk has played a 1? Or if you have a load of LAMAs do you accept that you’re not going to get rid of them all and play 1s to mess up other players who also have them? Or if you have a near perfect run, do you pick up cards hoping that other players will fold and you can get rid of them all? There’s loads more too, including playing for more points with the hope of getting rid of a black chip next round.

I still haven't played this game (because of distribution), but I don't think it's going to unseat my favorite game in the light card game category: No Thanks. So… no thanks?

The catch-up rule Tom forgot, is the one making this game “good”. Also is the timing to quit “important”. Don’t get me wrong, it is still an very light game.

This game is an UNO game. And my kids love L.A.M.A. as they love UNO. My gamer friends said at most ok, but some got really upset. Like Tom.

Thank you so much! I had the feeling I was the only one who was some kind of “confused” about the nomination. And boring is the best way to describe it

Hey Tom, I am a big fan of your videos and that said, I am not a big fan of LAMA. Still I played it about 50 times and still will, if somebody is asking for it. BUT I really have to say that, as far as this video is concerned, your rulesexplanation is missing three important things: 1. as others mentioned, you can get rid of chips. 2. once all cards have been drawn and/or played, the discardpile is not shuffled and put back in the game. 3. You play for 40 minus points.
These three rules/game elements are very important for the game, as they create the tension in this game. You might want to give it another try…
Greetings from Germany, Kai

Uno without the take that and with the Knizia negative score twist.. No thanks!

The BBG rating (6.5) to me is enough to state that the nomination is weird.
Dont know if the jury had a retro year by choosing a game so luck-based and unstrategic like most games in the 80s. 🙂