Coimbra - A Gaming Rules! review

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In this video, I'm going to be telling you what I think about Coimbra from Eggertspiel and Plan B Games
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Thanks to Plan B Games for providing me with a review copy of this game.
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[@CityofGamesHQ]

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this one, I originally picked it up as Coimbra is the city Sara comes from so it didn't really matter about the gameplay. But it turns out, I enjoyed it a fair amount and surprisingly I found it worked just as well with people who wouldn't typically play these more complex games.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

So, with Sara being from there, was my comment about the theme fair? I mean, sure, powerful houses in 16th Century probably did influence powerful people with gold and guards, visit monasteries, and fund expeditions. Or did it feel like "Just another euro" - and I don't mean that in a bad way.

[@CityofGamesHQ]

@@GamingRulesVideos It feels like once we got past the box cover (which is a nice representation of the city), the theme did fall away a fair bit. There were the odd things (I can't remember what) which did have "oh that's neat" type responses, but for the most part it was just another euro.

[@chayashida]

Managed to find this game used. Was interested what you thought of the game. I love how clear your video is, and how you break down the game so well. I've only played two times (2p and 4p) and I like it. I still don't have an idea of what's a good strategy, but I am looking forward to playing more. Thanks for a great review!

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Thanks. Glad it was useful.

[@robertaustin6302]

So many great points you touched on Paul. Coimbra was one of my favorites of 2018 as well. I particularly love the dice drafting in this game and the tension it creates in a 4P game. There’s something that gets me about the duality of the dice. Pip values for placement, colors for track rewards. I agree there can be some AP moments but it hasn’t dulled our enjoyment of the game. Loved the presentation overall. Coimbra really pops on the table with all of the bright and beautiful colors. My only minor quibble was the set collection aspect. To me, it felt tacked on. But hey, you can’t win them all. Thanks for another great review!

[@TabletopGamesBlog]

Thank you for the review video. Another great video... as always. I do like the look of Coimbra. It'll be on my wishlist for sure. :)

[@jacccmf2807]

This video is inspiring me to try this one again! I played it once when it first came out and was meh. However, your review makes me want to try it a second time. :)

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Play games with me, it always makes them better :)

[@MeepleUniversity]

Nice! Been waiting for this one 😀. Will watch later after game night 😀

[@terryoneill377]

I love the structure of this video, excellent! Nevermind the detail of the rules, tell us the key features ! Great stuff!

[@BGMechanics]

This is one of our favorite games of all time. It is beautiful and very smooth playing. Great Euro game.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

agreed.

[@MicJames1]

Nice review Paul of a game that I'd getting a lot of press at the moment...it obviously helps that it's a game you like ..think you explained the complexity level spot on ... Iconography is always an issue in games...I've got guilds of London which has been criticized for its iconography,but is a great game... No one is expected to learn everything before you play or even on the first game and the rulebook looks like it explains them very well. Great review Paul... Looking forward to playing it 😁

[@helwrj28]

How do you feel this compares to the other games by the same design group (such as Lorenzo il Magnifico, Grand Austria Hotel, Voyages of Marco Polo, Tzolkin, Teotihuacan), how would you rank the ones you've played?

[@TheEricBooth]

You mirror my sentiments exactly with this game. I LOVE it.

[@monikavontagen]

Great review! Would appreciate it if you could enable automatic captioning to make your videos accessible to a wider audience.

[@spiozke]

Really sad there are no more videos like that

[@d-man8294]

I wonder if it is possible to win the game without even buy any card. If you are lucky and and get the "4 points each time you enter the bonus marker spot"-Travel-Bonus fast, then you are able to reach 18 points each turn just doing that. 3 dice x 4 WP + 1x 4 WP Bonus + 1x 2 WP Bonus. 4 Rounds x 18WP = 72 WP. It can be enough. You can also add some points by picking just green dice. (I just played it once, but I think the game has huge ballancing problems.) (Hope you can understand what I mean, english is not my mothers tongue...)

[@hadgoth1]

Very nice review, thanks for that!

[@unkindled_dreg]

Nice Review Paul. Was super excited for Coimbra (had the art as my phone's wallpaper for a while) - however from last year's hotness Gugong and Coimbra, both were a disappointment for me :( Perhaps I was expecting something and they turned out to be something else.

[@pedromartins582]

Greetings from Coimbra

[@Spelpojken]

Spot on.

[@bushibayushi]

The graphic design isn't all perfect - the cards should either have names or be numbered because it would make finding the explanation of the iconography in the rulebook so much easier. Lewis & Clark did that perfectly - the cards are numbered and are sorted by number in the rulebook so finding the explanation is super easy. Also, the diplomas are too small and some of them look really similar. Often I found myself thinking "wait, do I already have this one or not? Let me double-check". Also, negative interaction coming from certain grey cards seems really out of place here.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Good point on the diplomats. Sorry, I missed that, the colours are a bit too similar, but at least there are the icons - although they are a bit too small. I never had a problem looking for the cards, but you are right, numbers would have made it a bit quicker.

[@osirisgolad]

I really don't like needless complexity and 10-point interlocking mechanisms, but Coimbra doesn't bother me in that regard. I think the systems are simple enough and separate enough(they don't all interconnect, there are just multiple systems which each connect separately) to not become a sequential maths puzzle. What does bother me however is the amount of glazed over card staring as players figure out what they've got to choose from. Then on top of that, the board is so wide with the cards next to it that you can't see anything when you're on the poor man's side of the table or the cards are turned sideways/upside down for all but one person. "What does that second one from the left on the third row do again, can you just hand it to me for a second?" and "My neck is starting to hurt" are the two phrases I associate with this game, which bizarrely lessens my enjoyment enough to pick a different game when we're deciding on what to play.

[@J-Wheeler-G]

I love this game

[@johnholmes9730]

How do you feel about the "take that" card in the game? I don't have any problem with that kind of card in general but it seemed a little out of place, especially on a first playthrough where we didn't know the cards. It definitely is something I will mention when teaching people in the future. I also didn't understand the timing of the change player order phase. You can't block people from taking voyages and it doesn't matter for income. I just think it would have been more straightforward to have it as the final phase. Thatsaid, I haven't played too often, so maybe the timing can matter in some situations. Definitely a game I enjoy and look forward to playing more.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

I was going to mention this in the review, and forgot. I have no problem with the "take that" cards, because they affect all other players, but they are weaker in a 2p game. And yeah, come to think of it, the timing is a bit odd in where the player order changes.

[@jumaal-joujou7366]

@@GamingRulesVideos The take that cards are NOT weaker in a 2 player game. Imagine, if your opponent in a 2 player game loses 2 VP that is the same as if you gain 2 VP. If all opponents in a 4 player game lose 2 VP that is the same as if you gain 2 VP. Alas, the card is equally strong irrespective of the number of players.

[@jumaal-joujou7366]

If the take that cards would affected 1 opponent only, they would become weaker with increasing number of players because then a 2 VP loss for one opponent in a 4 player game is much weaker than you gaining 2 VP.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

@@jumaal-joujou7366 That's a good point when it comes to VP, but you can pay with $$ too, so in some cases it is "Gain 3 guards or Gain 9 guards"

[@GamingRulesVideos]

I'm not suggesting in any way that they should only affect one opponent, only that the non-VP effect of them can be bigger in a game with multiple players. This has led to them being taken a bit less in a 2-player game, but it's not a big issue.

[@chrisstanton9739]

Is the pasta there just to balance out the rulebook? (I believe the word Pasta is feminine in Italian...although it looks like Penne, so maybe not). The game sounds like it would feel like Royal Palace. That's one that had you planning your entire turn & what was needed from where before you placed your first piece

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Hmmm, I don't know what I was thinking. For some reason in a split second, I got Portugal mixed up with Italy. Weird.

[@SteveLaw]

Is that a jar of pasta on the shelf behind you?

[@GamingRulesVideos]

I'm glad someone is paying attention :)

[@GamingRulesVideos]

except, I just realised... Pasta = Italy. Game = Portugal. What the heck was I doing?

[@SteveLaw]

Gaming Rules! I’ll expect more from you in future ;)

[@jenniferschlickbernd6280]

Please keep calling publishers out on not using gender neutral pronouns. I can’t think of a document type that is more in need of gender neutral pronouns than boardgames

[@GamingRulesVideos]

I will. I have also personally spoken with Plan B Games about it. Not sure they took any notice because I'm just a small fry, but I will do my bit wherever I can. I just wish others would get on board and then hopefully we can make a change.

[@guysegal6579]

@@GamingRulesVideos You've just gained a subscriber for pointing out the manual isn't gender neutral!

[@GamingRulesVideos]

@@guysegal6579 I always go on about this. It's a thing for me.

[@jaspermcgrudens6763]

@@GamingRulesVideos You've just gained another subscriber for pointing out the manual isn't gender neutral! That way, when people ask me "What's something utterly inconsequential that people get hung up on and turn into a championing point for leftists", I'll have quick access to showing them an answer. Quite convenient.

[@Shendie]

The gender neutral thing is important to me too! I'm so sick of rulebooks for he and him!