Toad in the crokinole

On those rare occasions when GNN allows itself outside the confines of a single evening, it’s usually a cornucopia of different games. But this time, despite starting at eleven in the morning and ending after midnight, only six games were played in total.

I arrived at Sam’s in the morning, while he was strapping a bike to the roof of his car, sending his family off to a skate park while, inside, Coimbra was already set up on the kitchen table. This is a recent acquisition and seemed interesting enough that I asked to try it when Sam texted me at 10.10am to ask what I fancied playing.

Despite the board being the usual Euro smorgasbord of tracks, maps and icons, it’s pretty simple fare once you get into it. The storyline apparently concerns us being powerful families in the Portuguese town of Coimbra. Sam, determined to make the Pilgrim tactic work for once, sent his meeple off around various cities picking up bonuses while I dabbled in end-of-game scoring cards.

It was fun. The two-player version has spoiler dice placed in various sections, recreating the feeling of another player taking stuff you want, which makes for a tenser experience. I didn’t stand much of a chance but found it very enjoyable and suggested that it be put in Sam’s bag of games to take to Joe’s studio.

Clearly, this guy has just thought of a funny but entirely inappropriate joke

Sam 130
Andrew 101

Then, after poached eggs on toast, we had enough time for a game of NMBR9 before leaving the house. Sam shocked the gaming world by going up on only the third tile so I, foolishly, followed suit with the fourth.

He then had issues with keeping his tiles flat on the table. With all these distractions, it was a low scoring game.

3D NMBR9, anyone?

Sam 67
Andrew 32

Then we had a walk into town to Joe’s spacious studio, complete with shelf of daunting two-player strategy games at one end. One of the boxes wasn’t even a game – it was the rule book to a game you had to buy separately.

The three of us had a little time before Adam, the fourth and final gamer for today, arrived so we played a game of Ticket To Ride: Switzerland. This three-player version of the old familiar has a smaller map and much greater emphasis on getting tickets to score bonus points. In the end, I only had six tickets while Sam had fourteen tickets and managed to complete each one. But even this wasn’t enough to beat Joe.

Joe 145
Sam 131
Andrew 105

Then Adam arrived and here we all were: the core four, as we used to be. I couldn’t tell you how long it had been since the four of us crossed swords, but it seemed like a historical moment. So why not reflect that in our game choice: Time Of Crisis since now seemed like the only chance to introduce Adam to the joys of Roman upheaval.

Complete with dice terminus at the end of the table

I was the only one to not begin in Europe and from the start tried to defend myself with support rather than armies. This was mostly fine against the other players (apart from Egypt which Sam and I ruled on some kind of time-share basis) but the Nomads, Sassanids and even Goths didn’t seem impressed. In fact, it was a very barbarian-y game, with at least three of all types massed on our boards at one point.

Adam started well and was first Emperor after Joe couldn’t take advantage of the neutral emperor’s low support: he had five blue points, but no spare governor.

We paused for Sam, Adam and I to go out to get pizza and pop into Tesco (where I found someone at the back asking people if there was still a group of boys hanging around outside) to get more crisps. By the time we got back, Joe must have been studying the map since he soon pulled off an impressive move where he knocked Adam out of Thracia, beat Sam’s army in Italia and became Emperor despite forgetting that he had two basilicas.

Sam became emperor for the first time ever, when he unseated Joe using a Pretorian Guard, getting eight votes with nine dice. I pootled about in North Africa and the Middle East, far from any real action, constantly worried by the ever-increasing sassanid horde on my border. When the game ended there were five of them and a barbarian leader.

Joe was reinstated as emperor on the turn he passed sixty points and, at 8.00pm the game ended. I think it might have been a bit too long for Adam but I found that those four and a half hours flew past.

Joe 78
Sam 62
Adam 58
Andrew 45

Next up was Team Crokinole, Joe & Sam versus Adam & Andrew. J&S won the first round and A&A won the second, perhaps because Sam was distracted by trying to find evidence online of his belief that the hole in the centre was called the toad. He found it.

It looked like A&A were going to win the whole thing when we sped to 80 points in round three, but J&S are nothing if not persistent and they whittled our lead away. The score went from 95-55 at one point to 95-65, 95-85, 95-100. They’d stolen the win right at the end!

Joe and Sam 2 rounds
Adam and Andrew 1 round

At this point it was half past nine and Sam left for home, mindful of a drive to Devon tomorrow morning. The remaining three broke out Railways of the World: Mexico.

An early delivery bonus to Culican pushes up the opening player bid, and Joe finally got it for $9,000. He then built somewhere else, allowing Adam to take the delivery bonus and get an early lead. I went bond heavy which had the unintended effect of convincing Joe it was okay for him to take bonds too. I think my income only very briefly got into double figures.

But a railway executive and a delivery bounty to a city I was already connected to saved my bacon, and mid-game, I was the one to beat. Joe and Adam upgraded their engines in an unseemly display of funnel flaunting. My end of game strategy was to get the last route and complete my baron bonus, but Adam kept getting in my way. I spent a little more money than I’d anticipated but it turned out to be worth it.

Adam in my way part one

Adam in my way part two

Andrew 50
Adam 49
Joe 42

Although I think my best move was an early depot card, meaning I shared in the points from Joe’s network. That move must have got me ten points by itself.

And now it was almost midnight, it was time to pack up and go home. Thanks for a lovely day, and thanks to all for a lovely year!

Come on Pilgrim

Outside of a game of Keyforge on Christmas Day and a couple of passes at Just One, it's been a fairly game-free Christmas week at our house. That changed today when Stan and I played Coimbra (Coy-eem-bra) a dice-drafting game about something or other in Portugal. It's not totally clear what you're doing in the game - the box suggests you're supplying bouncers to monasteries around the countryside, but obviously someone needs to get them there: and that's the job of your Pilgrim, driving a 2CV through the windy mountain roads with a crucifix dangling from the rear-view mirror.

While they're off doing that, you're currying favour in Coimbra itself by supplying protection (or bribes) to the city's wealthy populace, and - here the enigmatic theme completely vanishes - you do this by drafting dice.

Each round dice are rolled and players take turns to draft one, and place in it the upper, middle, or lower part of the city, in order to buy cards there. Higher dice choose first, but the catch is the dice also defines the price you pay for whichever card you choose: either in guards, or cash.

Or you could go to the castle, where lower dice are better and guards (or money) are to be found, lounging around by (or in) the collection box.

Cards are then purchased and each card improves your standing on one of four tracks - cash, guards, pilgrim 2CV movement, and points. Then the card gives some kind of bonus, either one-off, ongoing, or end-game.

And then you ignore the pips on the dice and simply look at the colours instead: each colour die you have (and you'll have three) triggers the rewards on the aforementioned tracks: they higher up you are, the better the reward. Gain cash or guards or points; move your pilgrim. Move your pilgrim to a monastery: get more stuff! It almost seems designed to drive Martin into a frothing rage.

And then  - we're not finished yet - you can (if you can still follow what the hell is going on) invest in a voyage, which costs guards (or cash) but will get you points at the end of the game. Track placement will also get you points at the end of the game. So will sets of rosettes, that crop up on cards. So will some cards. Possibly some monasteries. And all this takes place within the roiling rainbow of a dozen colours - players (up to four) cards/dice (five, including the wild die) and monasteries (three).

The eventual winner (102-84) sizes things up

And yet... I found myself wanting to return to it.  The generic juggling of multiple parts has a more rewarding feeling than the generic can't do all you want to, although the latter sensation is hiding here as well. There are strategic and tactical choices with every turn... Focus your efforts on the tracks? Or get your pilgrim moving around the map for those generous monks' rewards? Keep cash and/or guard income high for a valuable revenue stream (= more choices on card purchase!) or sail close to the wind with thrifty expenditure? Visit the castle for round-by-round advantages, or eschew it entirely?

The initial bewilderment evaporates faster than I anticipated it would - Coimbra is certainly guilty of the standard Euro crimes of lots of moving parts, but Stan and I really liked it anyway. It looks really lovely, and although each turn has a substantial potential for AP - especially on a first play - you only take 12 actions in the entire game, so must choose wisely.