Eye Candy: Caramba

Groovy '60s pop art? No, it's the board for the 1973 German game Caramba.

My blog has been looking a little gray so I thought I'd share this game from my collection. I don't usually buy games as collector's items but I couldn't resist this one, which I recently found new (!) marked down from $40 to $5 at a game store. Called Caramba, it's something of a two-player variant of the 1960 German race game Malefiz (a.k.a. Barricade), with a little bluffing thrown in. Players secretly designate of their sombrero-wearing pieces a "favorite" and try to get that piece to a goal. The other pieces are used to bluff. Moves are made by rolling dice.

It's not a terribly interesting-sounding game, but who cares? Look at that board and those cards! When we discuss games as art, we usually aren't talking about the graphic design, but there's no denying that the way a game looks can make a huge difference in how enjoyable it is.

I admit I've never played this game. I just take it out of the box once in a while to look at it.


Totally cool cards and plastic men with sombreros.