Mombasa - Playthrough & Review (Pfister series)

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Welcome to game #4 in our Alexander Pfister series! This is "Mombasa," a board game designed by Alexander Pfister in 2015 and published by Pegasus Spiele. This video includes a rules overview.
JUMP:
1:20 - Rules Teach
25:32 - Playthrough Start - Round 1
39:52 - Round 2
49:47 - Round 3
58:05 - Round 4
1:08:14 - Round 5
1:19:52 - Round 6
1:28:56 - Round 7
1:40:19 - Final Scoring
1:43:28 - Review
BGG Link: boardgamegeek....
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[@BeforeYouPlay]

Have you played this one? What are your thoughts?

[@Stolovky]

Love all his games. This one got played the least and really rarely (when we did we enjoyed it) so I eventually passed it on to someone who will play it more. Love the tracks around the board, the max spots worker placement, the stocks and the map. Hate the accounting part and the artwork. Also cant get my head around the card management :) but thats prob just me being a sub par player. Will be curious what u come up with next

[@franciscocarranza9941]

I've only played an unofficial solo variant and it's my favorite Pfister (I've played multiplayer GWT and soloed Maracaibo and Blackout HK). It gets better the more you play it and discover the subtleties of its mechanisms. I love the card play and interaction. I can imagine how tense and fun a 4 player game of this would be.

[@dsweet5273]

Love this game! Will probably stay in my collection for a long time,

[@BeforeYouPlay]

@@dsweet5273 Same for us!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

@@franciscocarranza9941 Haven't heard of the solo variant, we don't really play solo but I know that's a big thing for some gamers, glad there is something out there! We think the mechanisms are very solid and it leads to a very enjoyable experience, especially at 3+ players.

[@youzwinx]

After playing "Skymines" I bought a used copy of Mombasa. Mombasa is much better (production wise) than Skymines which - according to me - has a much harder theme to understand. "Coffee", "Banana" and "Cotton" is easier to understand and remember rather than three strange minerals with almost the same color. The Mombasa board is more beautiful and easier to understand. The "diamond" and "book keeping" tracks are much more self explaining than the corresponding ones in Skymines.

[@jurds216]

I just got Skymines and I’ve been trying to learn the game. Watching this playthrough really confirms that it’s just a LITERAL reskin of this game. Not a bad thing, it was needed, but I’m pleasantly surprised that all rules are the same. Putting in a plug for a play through of Skymines!

[@fabiom.3261]

Mombasa is soooo good. I've played it only five times so far... I really need to play it more often. Thank you for this Pfister series, I'm loving it. He is one of my favorite designers with two games in my top 5 games of all times (GWT and Mombasa)

[@dqbrewer]

I have this game, and have played numerous times. Absolutely love it. Alexander Pfister is among the greatest designers out there. These videos are very valuable, even if the game is unavailable, for reviewing the game after having not played for a while. So, once again, thank you for doing this.

[@nirszi]

Now that Skymines was announced (Mombasa retheme), I watched this. I want both game now.

[@gpiershale]

So glad that this has gotten reimplemented (via Skymines) with a different theme. The mechanics here look absolutely stellar, but I was always put off from even checking it out because of the theme. Pfister has been really great in recent years when speaking about no longer wanting to integrate colonial themes. Very happy to see amazing designers like him and Feld (with his City series) revisiting classic designs with more inclusive theming. Thanks so much for the playthrough! Been enjoying this series a great deal!

[@MarioEnriqueAg]

Indeed. With that criterion, they should change the theme of all war games. You have to do the politically correct thing, the woke thing.

[@petergross7235]

Thank you so much for showcasing this game. It has been on my radar for a long time. It was really fun watching your play through. I keep hoping for a deluxe reprint. Maybe someday.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Thanks for watching Peter! We think this game certainly merits a reprint!

[@Farbulous007]

Yet again you two knock it out of the park. Never having looked at the rules or seen anything about this game before, at the beginning of the video I started to feel weighed down by what seemed to be complicated mechanics. Though they might be slightly complicated your explanation really helps to understand in a straightforward way. I always know I can count on n you to knock it out of the park!

[@morecoffee998]

I love that you're taking on the Pfister series, his games can be quite the handful, but usually such a fun challenge

[@BeforeYouPlay]

So far we are really enjoying this series!

[@Stolovky]

Admire your work and love that you are doing Pfister series - my favourite designer. Cant wait for your thoughts for it comparing to GWT and Maracaibo. Keep it up. Big fan!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Thank you, glad you are enjoying the series so far! We are really excited to play the rest of the games!

[@stanhilinski7280]

I saw one mistake. When you take the +1 good bonus tile, you don’t place it until your turn. If you aren’t first player, then you you can’t count it (yet) for any “most of” bonus space.

[@rcdguizi1]

Great Video !!! This is the only Pfister heavy euro I didn't have the chance to play. Gwt, blackout Hong Kong and Maracaibo are one of my top games. I can see now where some mechanics of blackout and Maracaibo came from. I'm looking forward to see your thoughts about the next games.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Hope you get to try this one out someday! So far with all the games we have featured are wildly different from each other, it's interesting to hear that his later titles pull from his earlier ones.

[@mahendrata87]

your video really helped me in learning mombasa. thanks a lot!

[@raymyers700]

I love love love Mombasa!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

It's a solid game with a decent amount of interaction for a Euro!

[@raymyers700]

@@BeforeYouPlay and if you look at the variety of mechanics : this should be a hot mess! But it's smooth. I skipped the teach but you had mentioned playing with the expansion...I'm assuming that is the cooked books?

[@fmargueirat]

I just got this game today from a math trade. Good timing.

[@rickdey1]

I really love the way you folks review games. I especially love the designer series. I do have a small suggestion. Would you consider giving games a final numerical rating? Thanks for all you do for the hobby!

[@marcosousa4029]

You guys are GOOD! Ty for the video!

[@legolasegb]

I looooooooove Mombasa!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

It's such a great experience!

[@WithinGrace]

I really like this game. I've only played it a handful of times (most of my plays have been with 2 players)... I've played once with three and agree that it is much better at higher player counts. Hoping to play this with 4! Looking forward to your video on GWT (even if Monique isn't the biggest fan)!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

We really think the game shines at 3+, that way everyone has more influence more stake on manipulating the 4 companies.

[@kovray]

Great video as always!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Thank you very much :)

[@shinjial]

We got this one recently, looking forward to playing it. We enjoy his games a lot (we've played Oh my goods!, Isle of Skye, Great Western Trail and Maracaibo), and since Maracaibo uses a lot of ideas from his previous games, we thought to give this one a try (Maracaibo has a similar mechanic with the tracks/multipliers used here). The only one that didn't work for us was Isle of Skye, because we mostly play in two players, and that game only really works with more players. This one has a curious use of worker placement (kinda), deck building (kinda) and action selection. The big thing for me is the expansion of the companies tied to the multiplier. It's cool that players aren't representing one company specifically, but rather trying to make the most of what is available and reacting to the other player's choices. It's a bunch of interesting mechanics put together.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Isle of Skye is definitely best at 4 Players for us, 3 is decent but it really shines when there are a lot of tiles out there. We also like the idea that we are investors and can pick and choose which companies to manipulate and are not tied to a specific company. Glad you enjoyed the play!

[@aba824]

Thanks for the video :) I think I'm more a fan of mr. Lacerda mechanics than A.Pfister, but that one looks really solid and fun :)

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Lacerda is our favorite designer!

[@stevegeorge7773]

Interesting game. Surprisingly quite a bit to think about. It’s such a great idea to do these designer series and see earlier games. And! Das music is 👌

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Glad you enjoyed it! We are really liking the Designer series as well :)

[@stevegeorge7773]

@@BeforeYouPlay I'd hope so.... You are playing them 😁

[@PestiferousJoe]

Skymines is the reprint FYI coming this September account to BGG.

[@PhilHenDrums]

I really enjoy the mechanisms of this one, and very much agree that it is a better experience with more players. I like historic themes. In my mind, this game reimagines the economic development of this period in history while NOT using bad, exploitative labor methods. I fully understand how that does not work for everyone, and respect those who choose to avoid this theme. Any theme can be off-putting for someone; for example I have no desire to ever play a zombie game. Mechanically, Mombasa is a winner. Perhaps one day it will be reimplemented with a different theme.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Yeah we definitely love the game for the mechanisms, we are curious to see if somewhere down the road it will be re-themed.

[@zocktol]

You are in for a good time - it is being rereleased with a moon mining theme

[@KSweeney36]

I so want this game, gutted its not going to be reprinted. I do not want the rethemed skymines.

[@Norrygan]

Gameplay start 27:52

[@shinjial]

1:17:15 on this expansion action he shouldn't be able to take from the middle collumn then the right most collumn. You must choose one and use up all your action points there.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Hi Andre, I think you may be mistaken. The rule is that all expansion points must be used by only 1 company, but they can come from any column.

[@shinjial]

@@BeforeYouPlay aaah I got it wrong, I apologize. I checked back on the rulebook and realized why I made this mistake, and saw why it you’re right, it is as you played it. I misinterpreted the steps taken - choose one column, pick the one closest to the board and place it, then repeat the process until the player spends all his expansion points; in my head we’re supposed to do the same thing over, but actually we need to choose a column again. Good thing I saw it in action before playing. Thank you for the correction.

[@NemoMangelk]

Been looking forward to this for a long time. How long has it been since the last Pfister? Your home is covered in cobwebs. Really enjoyed the playthrough as always SPOILER I'm surprised it took until his last explore action to start pushing out Cairo

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Yeah we have to clean after Halloween and evict the spider! I didn't think Monique was capable of getting to the end of her track.

[@draganvelickovic8830]

I have never played any Alexander Pfister game before and I have been thinking of getting either Mombasa or Great Western trail but I would only ever play 2 player so it was good to hear your opinions on player count. It will be interesting to hear your thoughts on GWT in the near future.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

The game is still good at 2P but we find it most enjoyable at 3+. We are excited to replay GWT!

[@compramoscasasutah5859]

It's about time people! 😜

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Haha we did it!!

[@jessicaside]

Monique I love your glasses! Do you mind if I ask what brand/style those are?

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Thank you! They are Ray-Bans, I got them a few years ago while travelling overseas though

[@jessicaside]

@@BeforeYouPlay I need some new ones with enough room for bifocals. Ha! Getting older.

[@jessicaside]

@@BeforeYouPlay also, love the designer series. I am looking forward to seeing how you rank these games at the end of this journey. I have Isle of Skye which I love 3+ players and great Western Trail which is also great. I am tempted to get all his big games, this series will help me decide.

[@Izathel1]

My favorite Pfister. But I really want to see a retheme. It is kind of WeirdChamp to play in this day and age. If the rights holders would go with a retheme with improved components (the company boards get dinged easily and the coins are utter garbage) I think it would sell very well.

[@jefflaflam7685]

I have a lot of Pfister's games and I hear this is his best design but the theme is not great for me either. He is one of my favorite designers. I can't wait to see how you rate the collection.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Fair enough! The mechanisms are definitely solid, but the theme is certainly polarizing.

[@arowelor1007]

The Mombasa theme is part of History and its important to remember these tragic moments instead of eluding it. We can play wargame like Memoir 44 and play the nazi side, or Monopoly which is the apology of capitalism, or play a dark game such as This War of Mine, or playing Mr Jack, a guy who murdered several wemen but not a colonial game ? If you are sensitive or woke play Point Salad or Wingspan. I will keep Mombasa and boycott skymines.

[@humanzyx]

hey, will you make a Skymines video as well, now that the game is available again, so to speak, in the form of a retheme/spiritual successor?

[@nigelgraves174]

I'm glad you mentioned the setting of the game as I don't believe it's something that should be dismissed without consideration. Although it is said of this and a lot of other euros that the setting doesn't matter and it's all about the mechanisms -- nevertheless someone somewhere decided to set this game in colonial times and it's just as valid to say that such a decision is distasteful as it is to say 'it's just a game and it doesn't matter'. If anyone enjoys playing this or any other game in a colonial setting then that's fine and I don't believe we should retroactively erase such games: however I have been put off this and similar games which is a shame as they could very easily have been set pretty much anywhere at any time and it wouldn't have changed how the game played. Thanks for sharing!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Totally! The mechanisms are solid in this game, but the idea of colonization and exploitation of the African continent is definitely unsettling for many.

[@Jonaelize]

This could have been any theme. Real-Estate in Los Angeles, Arch Ships exploring an unchartered piece of galaxy etc. But no, it had to be colonialism in africa..

[@compramoscasasutah5859]

"Blood diamonds the game"

[@BeforeYouPlay]

I know... :(

[@Jonaelize]

The reason we sold it.

[@compramoscasasutah5859]

Probably why it's discontinued, hmm just found out Austria had colonies in west Africa

[@fabior7580]

So we'll have to sell all the games with the americas theme, where lots of natives were killed and people were made slaves.

[@joeferreti9442]

Pfister is an expert in problematic themes: - Mombasa: exploiting Africa - Great Western Trail: bringing cows to the grinder - Maracaibo: fighting for colonial nations in the Caribbean - Monster Expedition: hunting fantasy animals just to add them to your collection

[@MrSpatel12]

I recommend 4 Players, Mombasa isnt that good with 2 Players

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Agreed, we think it's also much better at 3.

[@bobbyjustbobby1]

I'm sure this is not a novel comment, but to demo a game that is either out of print or extremely expensive to purchase due to being an older, rare game, is not very harmonious.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Hi I understand your concern, but this game is part of a greater series where we deep dove into the chronicles of a specific designer. Hence the "Pfister Series" in the title. We made this video out of respect for the work Mr. Alexander Pfister has contributed to the hobby.

[@Jonaelize]

I liked the gameplay of it, but my husband hated the game because of the theme and ultimately I decided that even good gameplay wasn't worth this horrible theme and we sold the game. Not regretting it.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Totally fair reason! Really hoping the industry has left this type of theme (and those similar to it) for good.

[@charliedc4728]

And your point is?