Hear-ye, hear-ye! Whether you’re a fan of King Arthur, Morgan Le Fay, Merlin, or other various characters and lore from Camelot, you’ll find something within these cards to make you smile. Crazier Eights: Camelot brings features of the Arthurian world to a deck of 52 cards, and adds a little bit of strategy to good old, Crazy Eights. Let’s take a closer look!

What Is It?

This is a simple card game for 2-4 players which re-implements Crazy Eights. Players start off with 7 cards and are trying to get rid of them all first. They can play asset cards in front of them, which will grant them special abilities, event cards to shake up the game a bit with a one time effect, and each turn they can discard one card (or more if abilities allow) if it matches the number or color of the top card of the discard. Eights are always wild!

Who Is It For?

This is a really simple game to learn and play, so I would recommend it to families/gamers 8 and up. There are maybe 1 or 2 cards that have a little risque artwork, but its really not a big deal in my opinion. Fans of Crazy Eights who want a little more choice than just “do I have a matching card” are bound to enjoy a quick game of this.

Quality + Components

The game is just cards, a cardbox, and rules. The cardbox is okay quality, mine was a little tight and hard to open at first. The art and the color scheme on the cards is all nice and aesthetically appealing. I’m really not a fan of the finish on the cards. It’s rough and makes them stick together a lot so they’re hard to shuffle and pick up. Finally, the rules are well written and easy to follow and learn from. There’s also a handy reference card with quick rules you can refer to once you already know how to play.

PROS

  • Small and portable
  • Cool abilities from assets and events to add to the game and make a few more meaningful decisions than the original
  • Easy and quick to learn, teach and play since mechanics are very similar to Crazy Eights
  • Can play with just about anyone

CONS

  • Still comes down to a lot of luck of the draw; if you can’t discard because you have no matches or you have assets that don’t trigger because of the conditions, you’ll just feel like you’re not able to do anything special
  • The finish on the cards is just something I’m not a fan of at all

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a neat twist on an old classic. While the original is just play a matching card and hope for the best, this lets you try out some abilities that might help you force an opponent to draw more, or help you get rid of more cards quicker, so it lends itself to more variability. If you’re into light card games this one might be for you! There are a couple of different versions, so check out the one with the theme you’re most interested in!

My Final Ratings:
Overall Game – 6/10
Aesthetics – 6/10
Difficulty – 2/10
Replayability – 7/10

Additional Information:
Designer – James Wallace Gray
Artists – Various Artists
Publisher – Recoculous
BGG
BGA

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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Check out my review of Crazier Eights: One Thousand & One Nights and Crazier Eights: Shahrzad too!

If you like what I do, consider Supporting Me.