L.A.M.A. Kadabra

• Designer: Reiner Knizia
• Publisher: Amigo
• Players: 2-6
• Age: 8+
• Time: 15 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4eZnrE7 
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

The card game L.A.M.A. Kadabra plays similarly to the 2019 game L.L.A.M.A., but with a few additions that complicate gameplay and your choices of what to do.

Let’s start with the basics of L.L.A.M.A.: Each player starts a round with six cards in hand; the deck consists of llama cards and cards numbered 1-6. On a turn, the active player can play a card, draw a card, or quit. To play a card, you must play the same number as the top card of the discard pile or one number higher. If a 6 is on top, you can play a 6 or a llama, and if a llama is on top, you can play another llama or a 1. If you quit, you place your remaining cards face down and take no further actions. If all players have quit but one, that player can continue to play, but cannot draw more cards.

The round ends when one player empties their hand or all players have quit. In either case, players collect chips based on the cards in their hand. Each different number card in hand gets you white chips (each worth 1 point) equal to the value of the card while one or more llamas gets you a black chip (worth 10 points). (You can exchange ten white chips for one black chip at any time.) If you played all your cards, you can return one chip (white or black) that you previously collected to the supply. You then shuffle all the cards and begin a new round, in which the first player to play will be the one who emptied their hand or was the last one to quit in the previous round.

L.A.M.A. Kadabra adds four new elements to the gameplay described above:

• Double cards: Some cards show two numbers: 2/3 and 4/5. You can play a 2/3 on a 1, a 2, or a 3, so they give you more flexibility, but if you end the round with one in hand, it counts as both numbers when you’re collecting chips.

• Action cards: When you play a 1, give one of your lowest chips — yes, including a black chip if that’s all you have — to any player who hasn’t yet quit. When you play a card with a rectangle on it, the next player to take a turn must draw a card, then take their turn as normal.

• The magic chip: When you play a card with a star, claim the lone blue magic chip from whoever currently holds it. On a future turn, you can discard the chip to skip your turn. If you hold this chip (and no white ones) when you play a 1, give this to another player. If you hold the magic chip at the end of the round, it’s worth 10 points.

• The magic show: Whenever you play a llama, place one of your lowest chips on the magic stage. When the magic stage has at least five chips on it, the magic show begins. During a magic show, if you play a llama, place one of your lowest chips on the magic stage; if you can’t or don’t want to play a llama, take all of the chips on stage to end the magic show, then take your turn as normal.

The game ends at the end of the round where at least one player has forty or more total points. Whoever has the fewest points wins.

My thoughts on the game

L.L.A.M.A was a game that I did not care for much when it came out in 2019, though I feel like I was in the minority.  Given that the game got a nomination for the 2019 Spiel des Jahres, it clearly had/has its fans.

When this new version was produced in 2024, I was convinced to try it again as the new cards were said to give a bit more depth to the game.  After a few games this fall, I’d have to say that this version is definitely more to my liking than the original!

The extra cards give you a few more things to think about on your turn and a few more strategic options.  The cards with multiple values definitely give you more options to have a legal play, but the penalty is steep if you get caught with them in your hand at the end of a round.  The reward for clearing your hand is possibly great – if you have 10+ points, you can place a black chip back into the supply!  Likewise, the blue chip can be of high strategic value, but the ten point penalty for being stuck with it is brutal!

The magic show part is weird at first; and once you see the penalty from it, it will definitely keep you holding on to a llama or two to try to prevent taking ten or more chips!  It is especially painful if someone is able to place a black chip onto the board.

The original L.L.A.M.A was too simple for me.  This version, L.A.M.A. Kadabra is definitely more my speed, though admittedly, maybe one thing too many was added – as there is now a bit of fiddliness in the game (whereas the original is stupid easy).  Perhaps some middle ground is really the version of LLAMA that I want to play?  That being said, I’m admittedly not a fan of  L.L.A.M.A., so the fact that this is an improvement should say something.  The gamers I know who like L.L.A.M.A. have asked to play this again and again, so I think they also like it better.

Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4eZnrE7

Until your next appointment,

The Gaming Doctor