Camel Up is racing back onto tables with a second edition later this year

Camel-racing and betting game Camel Up is back.

A second edition of the 2014 Spiel des Jahres winner has been announced by Eggertspiele, updating Steffen Bogen’s all-out sprint around a pyramid on the backs of the humped mounts with fancier artwork and improved components.

As well as getting a makeover, Camel Up’s gameplay has been tuned up and expanded with extra game modes; in one, you’ll now find rogue camels running in the opposite direction to everyone else, causing chaos and confusion among the racers and throwing off players’ bets as camels are carried backwards on the backs of the misguided dromedaries.

There’s also a new plastic pyramid in the centre of the board – replacing the original’s cardboard dice tower – which can be filled with the new engraved dice and shaken, before dispensing a die with the press of a button.

Maybe most importantly, the new box artwork finally resolves the debate over whether the game was originally meant to be called Camel Cup and ended up being rechristened as the result of unfortunate typography, by clearly moving the second word away from sharing the ‘C’.

The new Camel Up will be released at Essen this October, with Eggertspiele saying it’ll race into shops “shortly after”. In the US it’ll cost $40 (£30) – suggesting it’ll be just a little more costly than the first game’s £25 price tag here in the UK.