Straw – enjoy breaking the camel’s back

It doesn’t take much to break the camel’s back when you’re throwing loads of brick on it. Of course, placing a magic carpet on the camel could help lighten its load. But do you really want to lighten its load? If you’ve got the straw you may just want to break his back with it. Choices, choices, choices.

But that’s what makes Straw a fun family card game – it’s a quick game to play that mixes luck with simple choices. See how easy it is to play in this card game video review by Caleb.

Can the whole family enjoy Straw?

Everyone in the family who can add and subtract can enjoy Straw. But just because you’re adding and subtracting amounts that you pile on the camel’s back doesn’t mean that it’s only for kids learning their math. The unique scoring elements of Straw add enough strategy to keep it fun for others as well.

Straw cards — A sampling of the items you can throw on the camel.

By holding higher value cards in your hand at the end of a round (when someone else breaks the camel’s back), the more points you’ll score. But if you’re holding only high value cards near the end, then it’s also very likely that you’ll be the one to break the camel’s back – which means you won’t score any points that round.

So it’s the mix of luck and simple strategy that makes it a fun family game. The luck of card draws makes it so kids can beat their parents and older siblings. While the element of strategy can draw in an older crowd and teach younger kids about thinking ahead in deciding which card to play.

How many players should you have to play Straw?
While we’ve enjoyed a number of head-to-head 2 player battles, there’s a lot more anticipation when you play with 3 or 4 people. Not knowing what the camel will be loaded with when it comes around to your turn again can really keep you guessing on what your best options are. And that can add up to a lot more fun when playing Straw.

Straw box and cards — Nice artwork adds to the fun.

How does Straw score on the “Let’s Play Again” meter?
Because a game of Straw plays so quickly, and because of the mix of luck and simple strategy it scores very high on the “Let’s Play Again” meter. Every time we play Straw we find ourselves playing multiple games of it. When the kids play it together, they’ll go on and on for a very long time. But we’ve also found it to be a nice bedtime game – one to play just before bed – because you can rattle through a bunch of games without it taking too long. And the kids love to spend that time together with mom and dad anyway.

Thanks Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) for a fun family card game!