LAMA - Fun Family Card Game. MERCURIO A0053

LAMA Game Contents

LAMA (Don't Drop the Llama / Le Mambo du Llama) is a fast-paced, accessible card game designed by Reiner Knizia where the main objective is to shed all the cards in your hand and avoid accumulating penalty points. On every turn, you must decide whether to play a card, risk drawing a new one, or fold and leave the round at just the right moment.

The key to success lies in managing your hand and controlling your risk exposure. While shedding your entire hand is always the ultimate goal, keeping a close eye on the penalty tokens you might inherit is equally vital to securing victory.

How Do You Play?

Throughout a game of LAMA, players take turns playing cards from their hand onto the central discard pile following a simple numerical sequence (matching the top card or playing one number higher, with Lamas bridging 6 back to 1). When you cannot or choose not to play a card, you face a choice: draw a card from the deck hoping it will be playable later, or quit the round entirely.

If you choose to draw and push your luck, you might find the exact card you need to stay in the game, but you also risk getting stuck with a larger hand of penalty points. Deciding precisely when to walk away forms the core tactical choice of the game.

Whenever a player succeeds in discarding their entire hand, they earn the right to return one of their previously collected penalty tokens to the supply. Because tokens come in values of 1 or 10 points, discarding a single 10-point chip can dramatically shift the leaderboard in your favor.

The game continues over several rounds until a player reaches or exceeds 40 total penalty points. The game then ends, and the player with the fewest negative points wins.

Gameplay Experience

LAMA blends ultra-simple rules with constant risk management. Every turn forces you to weigh whether pushing for a clean hand is worth the danger of taking on heavily penalized cards.

Drawing from the deck injects unpredictable twists into every round. Smart hand management can clear your penalty board completely, but overstaying your welcome can result in a devastating collection of negative chips.

Its swift pace and effortless teach make it a fantastic fit for family game nights and casual gatherings with players of any experience level.

Game Components

The LAMA box contains:

• 56 Cards (numbered 1 through 6, plus LAMA cards)
• 70 Penalty tokens (white 1-point tokens and black 10-point tokens)
• 1 Rulebook

Why Choose LAMA?

If you are looking to buy LAMA, you will find an addictive filler card game that packs genuine tension and tough push-your-luck choices into ten-minute rounds.

Its primary appeal is pure risk calculation: knowing when to stay in and when to fold to minimize penalty points. The clever token-refund mechanic when shedding a full hand gives losing players an ever-present path to a dramatic comeback.

It is an ideal choice for anyone seeking a lightweight, portable, family card game that takes seconds to learn while keeping everyone engaged until the final card is played.

Conclusion

LAMA delivers a sleek, incredibly fun card competition where playing it safe often beats wild risk-taking. Play your numbered cards, decide when to draw, and know when to fold your hand to keep your negative scores to an absolute minimum.

Nominated for the prestigious 2019 Spiel des Jahres, LAMA stands out as a go-to family card game where every single point counts.

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