- BGG rating
- 6.4
L.A.M.A.: Drama
- 2–6 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 2019
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,988
- BGG rating
- 6.5
L.L.A.M.A.
2019
Rules assistance for L.L.A.M.A.
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–6 players
- 20 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.1/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for L.L.A.M.A.
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
L.L.A.M.A. is a board game released in 2019 for 2–6 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Reiner Knizia and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Push Your Luck, and Matching.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 7.1
L.A.M.A.: No Drama Sonderkarte
- 2–6 players
- 20 min
- 2019
Similar games
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,466
- BGG rating
- 7.0
L.A.M.A. Party Edition
- 2–6 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 2020
- BGG rank
- BGG #2,528
- BGG rating
- 6.8
Custom Heroes
- 2–6 players
- 45 min
- Complexity 1.6/5
- 2017
- BGG rank
- BGG #349
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Lost Cities
- 2 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 1999
- BGG rank
- BGG #4,084
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Five Three Five
- 2–6 players
- 15–30 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2020
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,962
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Yummy Yummy Monster Tummy
- 2–4 players
- 15–30 min
- Complexity 1.1/5
- 2021
- BGG rank
- BGG #31,289
- BGG rating
- 5.5
UNO
- 2–10 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.1/5
- 1971
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,158
- BGG rating
- 6.7
Keltis: Das Kartenspiel
- 2–4 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2009
- BGG rank
- BGG #4,227
- BGG rating
- 6.5
Keltis: Der Weg der Steine Mitbringspiel
- 2–4 players
- 15 min
- Complexity 1.2/5
- 2009
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,619
- BGG rating
- 6.4
Beowulf: The Legend
- 2–5 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 2005
- BGG rank
- BGG #4,223
- BGG rating
- 7.2
EGO
- 2–5 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 2.4/5
- 2025
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,460
- BGG rating
- 6.7
Velonimo
- 2–5 players
- 30–40 min
- Complexity 1.2/5
- 2020
- BGG rank
- BGG #674
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Take 5
- 2–10 players
- 45 min
- Complexity 1.2/5
- 1994
About the game
In LLAMA, you want to dump cards from your hand as quickly as you can, but you might not be able to play what you want, so do you quit and freeze your hand or draw and hope to keep playing? Each player starts a round with six cards in hand; the deck consists of llama cards and cards numbered 1-6, with eight copies of each. 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 the discard pile, 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 in the round. 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 tokens based on the cards in their hand. Each different number card in hand gets you white tokens (each worth 1 point) equal to the value of the card while one or more llamas gets you a black token (worth 10 points). (You can exchange ten white tokens for one black token at any time.) If you played all your cards, you can return one token (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. 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! The original title of this game is a German acronym and stands for Lege alle Minuspunkte ab, that is, "discard all minus points", with "Lama" also being the German spelling of "llama". The Polish game Lato z Komarami features gameplay nearly identical to LLAMA except that the game has one less "llama" card, and the penalty for llama cards in hand is 10 points per card, instead of being 10 points for one or more llama cards.
Designers
Publishers
- Kaissa Chess & Games
- Broadway Toys LTD
- Hasbro
- Korea Boardgames
- Piatnik
- AMIGO
- 64 Ounce Games
- Swan Panasia Co., Ltd.
- Giochi Uniti
- 999 Games
- MINDOK
- Fractal Juegos
- Gigamic
- Egmont Polska
- Lautapelit.fi
- PaperGames (III)
- Möbius Games
- Brain Games
- Kikigagne?
- Mercurio
- VR Distribution
- Nerdwiz
Questions and answers
L.L.A.M.A. supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for L.L.A.M.A. is 20 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists L.L.A.M.A. for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
L.L.A.M.A. has a complexity rating of 1.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
L.L.A.M.A. belongs to these categories: Card Game and Number. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Push Your Luck, and Matching. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of L.L.A.M.A. are: Reiner Knizia. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists L.L.A.M.A. as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.