Coimbra introduces an innovative new dice mechanism in which the dice players draft each round are used in multiple different ways and have an impact on many aspects of their decision making. While there are many paths to victory, players should always seek to optimize their opportunities with every roll of the dice. Combined with ever-changing synergies of the citizens, expeditions, and monasteries, no two games of Coimbra will ever be the same!
AnotherHorrorFan
2022-05: I was close to really liking Coimbra. I think the presentation is excellent and I think the card market puzzle is excellent. The game lost me on the pilgrimage part of it though, as there were so many things that interacted with it and none of the bonuses seemed to have that large of a game impact. Further the voyages (I think that's what they were called) need to be enabled, which while that isn't bad, really puts it in your face which you are scoring and which you aren't really attending to. Sort of feel flat for me in that regard. Otherwise it is an excellent euro, and I may actually prefer it slightly to Lorenzo.
Alcuinus
Solid Eurogame, in the same league as Lorenzo, il Magnifico: lots of strategy. Check solo option on files.
andymanpants
Coimbra is basically like six or seven different minigames mashed together in a carefully-interwoven euro - sort of the board game equivalent of a big quilt. Each of these minigames is quite enjoyable, though the whole feels a bit overdesigned and fiddly. Pros: - Lots of replayability, thanks to a very modular board. - Lots to do. It's part engine-builder, part dice-drafter, part popularity contest, part roll-and-move... - A range of strategies, depending on what you want to focus on. - Clever, interwoven mechanics. Once you start to see how certain cards, visitable locations, and objectives can interlock with eachother, there's a lot of cool combinations that will make you feel like you're cheating. Cons: - Abstract and complex. These two qualities can be great on their own, but together they actually detract from the fun of the game by making it unintuitive and arbitrary. - Bloated. Like I said earlier, the game is composed of six or seven different "core" mechanics which could've been absolutely fascinating on their own, but together feel completely overwhelming. - Nigh impossible to plan ahead, since each minor decision you (or your opponents) make has a vast impact on your further options. Maybe some players can make sense of it, but the decision tree is so enormous that it's almost impossible for me to sequence anything carefully. - Points galore. The problem isn't that you get TOO many points (though it does seem to be a bit excessive), but that TOO many things give you points, which clouds the decision space. To make decisions, I had to start thinking about which path would get me a mere point or two above the other to maximise my turn, which is not really the experience I come to the table looking for.