Coimbra

With Coimbra, either the gut or the head decides

In 2019 the game Coimbra was released by Eggert games at Pegasus Spiele Verlag and, like so many Eggerst games, belongs to a tactical game. In Portugal there is a university town called Coimbra where life is flourishing. The higher the prosperity, the more the resentment and envy of the citizens also increase. Now, as a player, it’s time to offer people protection. Everyone tries to gain a lot of influence with their guards.

This can happen through visits to many monasteries, expeditions or through financial wealth. The whole thing is a dice game and is also controlled by the dice. This game is intended for two to four people from the age of 14 and everyone plays against everyone.

Make wise decisions

Is not always here at Coimbra The strategy with logic is asked, sometimes you have to listen to your gut instinct to get further. The place you are in decides whether you get a favor token or a resident chooses you. It is often the case that when you have the higher die, you get your turn first.

But that can quickly turn into fatality here. Because the higher my cube, the more expensive the inhabitant is. So you decide to get to it quickly but pay dearly for it or prefer to wait and get away cheaply. If none of this happens, then there is always the emergency action. If you have enough financial leeway in the end, you are welcome to venture on an expedition.

Coimbra accessoriesCoimbra accessories

A castle is depicted on the edge of the game board, the upper town, the center and the lower town. There you lay out the resident cards later. In the middle of the board you can see the monasteries where the players will travel later and where the pilgrimage cards are also displayed. The four bars of influence consist of the council, the merchants, the scholars, and the church. Six expedition cards are laid out on the fields at the lower edge. The coin rail and the guard rail are located on the player’s own shelf. This is used to pay for the resident cards won in the game.

The resident cards

With the help of the resident cards, a player can improve on the influence track. If the player receives a card, he must give up either a coin or a shield. The number on it shows how far you can move and the symbol or color shows which influence you get. The effect shown at the bottom of the card must either be redeemed immediately or at the end of the game.

The expedition cards

This card always shows only one number for the costs and the rest is determined by the position on the playing field. What the expedition earns you victory points at the end of the game can be seen on the right-hand side. You can only support one expedition per round.

The monasteries

During the game everyone can make a pilgrimage from monastery to monastery, which are laid out in the middle of the game board. The distances from one monastery to another and to Coimbra are indicated by the Roman numerals on the monastery.

Practice creates masters

No master has fallen from the sky yet and with this game you will notice that the more often you play it, the easier it is to get an overview. Especially with four players, it is difficult to keep an eye on things at the beginning, so maybe you should practice with two people first. After four rounds the game ends when there are no more residents cards available. The player with the most victory points wins the game.

Conclusion

Because the players can take the dice away from each other in the game and the influence can change some things, the interaction between the players is very large. With more players, the luck factor is of course greater and the chance of surprising twists is high. Of course, it is important to be focused during the game, because without it you won’t even be able to do it. By and large, it is a very dynamic game and it will never be the same no matter how many times you play it.