# Coimbra

## General Info
- **Year Published**: 2018
- **BGG Rating**: 7.6
- **BGG Rank**: #265
- **Players**: 2-4 (Best with: 3)
- **Duration**: 60-90 min
- **Weight**: 3.24 / 5
- **Designers**: Flaminia Brasini, Virginio Gigli
- **Artists**: Chris Quilliams
- **Publishers**: eggertspiele, Broadway Toys LTD, Galápagos Jogos, Ghenos Games, Hobby Japan, Pegasus Spiele
- **Categories**: Dice, Renaissance
- **Mechanics**: Action Drafting, Auction / Bidding, Dice Rolling, End Game Bonuses, Income, Open Drafting

## Verdict
If you enjoy euros with a touch of innovation and plenty of strategic decisions, Coimbra is a fantastic choice. The way the dice mechanism works here is simply brilliant!Innovative dice mechanismMany strategic decisionsHigh replayabilityElegant indirect interactionWell-integrated themeCan have some 'analysis paralysis'Initial learning curveDice luck can influenceHIGHLY RECOMMENDED

## Description
Step into the 15th and 16th centuries, a golden era for Portugal with the Age of Discovery in full swing! Coimbra, a vibrant cultural hub in the heart of the country, is the stage for your journey. As the head of one of the city's oldest houses, your goal is to accumulate prestige by strengthening ties with influential monasteries or funding daring expeditions that explore the world. To achieve this, you'll need to win over the city's most powerful citizens, which might require a good handful of coins or even a bit of extra protection.

Coimbra shines with a super innovative dice mechanism: each round, the dice you draft aren't used in just one way, but in multiple strategic ways, profoundly impacting every decision. There are many paths to victory, but the key is always to optimize your opportunities with every roll of the dice. The dynamic combination of citizens, expeditions, and monasteries ensures that every game of Coimbra is a unique and thrilling experience!

## How to Play
Game Objective
Welcome to Coimbra, the city that pulsates in the Age of Discoveries! As the head of one of the city's venerable houses, your objective is simple yet challenging: to earn the most **Victory Points** at the end of 4 rounds. To do this, you'll need cunning, strategy, and a good eye for synergies. Whether it's increasing your income, recruiting **guards**, promoting academic advancement, strengthening ties with monasteries, or investing in daring expeditions, every path can lead to glory. The player with the most **Victory Points** will be the grand winner!

Setup
Let's set up the table to begin our journey in Coimbra!


    Place the main **board** in the center of the table.
    Separate the **monasteries** by back (I, II, III), shuffle each pile, and place them face down next to the **board**.
        
            Draw 8 **monasteries** from pile I and place them face up on the blue (I) spaces of the **pilgrimage map**.
            Draw 4 **monasteries** from pile II and place them face up on the brown (II) spaces of the **pilgrimage map**.
            Draw 2 **monasteries** from pile III and place them face up on the red (III) spaces of the **pilgrimage map**.
            Return the remaining **monasteries** to the box.
        
    
    Shuffle the 4 **influence scoring tiles** and place them randomly, face up, on the scoring spaces above the 4 **influence tracks**. Check that the front of the tile matches the number of players (2/3 or 4).
    Take the 5 **die tokens**:
        
            In a 4-player game: Return all 5 **die tokens** to the box. They are not used.
            In a 3-player game: Place one **die token** in the **upper city**, one in the **central city**, and one in the **lower city**. Return the remaining **die tokens** to the box.
            In a 2-player game: Place two **die tokens** in the **upper city**, two in the **central city**, and one in the **lower city**.
        
    
    Shuffle the **expedition cards**, draw 6 randomly, and place them face up on the **expedition card** spaces at the bottom of the **board**. Return the rest to the box.
    Take the 13 **dice**:
        
            In a 4-player game: Place all 13 **dice** in the **dice area** next to the **board**.
            In a 3-player game: Remove 1 purple **die** and 1 green **die**. Place the remaining 11 **dice** in the **dice area**.
            In a 2-player game: Remove 1 gray **die**, 1 orange **die**, 2 purple **dice**, and 2 green **dice**. Place the remaining 7 **dice** in the **dice area**.
        
    
    Each player chooses a color and receives:
        
            Their **personal board**, placed in front of them.
            The 3 **die holders**, placed in the lower spaces of their **personal board**.
            The 2 **markers**, placed on space 7 of the **coin track** and space 7 of the **guard track** on their **personal board**.
            The **pilgrim**, initially next to their **personal board**.
            The 25 **discs**:
                
                    Four **discs** on space 0 of the 4 **influence tracks** on the **board**.
                    One **disc** on space 0 of the **scoring track** on the **board**.
                    The remaining 20 **discs** as a supply next to their **personal board**.
                
            
        
    
    Randomly determine the **player order**. The first player places their **lion** on flag 1, the second on flag 2, and so on.
    Separate the **character cards** by back (I, II, III). Shuffle each pile separately. Place pile II face down on top of pile III (also face down) to form the **character deck**, which goes above the **board**. Leave space for the discard pile. Keep pile I separate.
    Arrange the 4 **benefit tiles** in a row next to the top left corner of the **board** (next to the castle). Place the **extra die tile** on top of the **benefit tile** with 2 crowns.
    Arrange the 12 **character area cards**:
        
            Draw 4 **cards** from the **character deck** and place them randomly, face up, in the row to the left of the **upper city**.
            Draw 4 more **cards** from the **character deck** and place them randomly, face up, in the row to the left of the **central city**.
            Draw another 4 **cards** from the **character deck** and place them randomly, face up, in the row to the left of the **lower city**.
        
    
    Take the 4 **crown tokens** and distribute them among the **character cards** in the **character area**. Start from the fourth column, from top to bottom, then third, second, and first. Place the **crown tokens** on the first four **cards** of each category you find. If there is no **card** of a category, the corresponding **crown token** is not used.
    Finally, take pile I of **starting character cards**:
        
            In a 4-player game: Form 4 groups with 2 random **cards** in each, face up, next to the **board**.
            In a 3-player game: Form 3 groups with 2 random **cards** in each, face up, next to the **board**. Return the remaining 2 **cards** to the box.
            In a 2-player game: Form 2 groups with 2 random **cards** in each, face up, next to the **board**. Return the remaining 4 **cards** to the box.
        
    


Now, players, in reverse player order (starting with the player with the **lion** on the highest order flag), choose one of two actions:

    a) Take the two **character cards** from one of the starting groups and place them face up in front of them.
    b) Place their **pilgrim** on an available starting space in the center of the **pilgrimage map**.

After everyone has taken one action, everyone must take the other action in normal player order. At the end, each player will have 2 **starting character cards** and their **pilgrim** on a starting space.
For each of your 2 **starting character cards**, do the following:

    On the **influence track** corresponding to the **card's** category, advance your **disc** the number of spaces indicated by the **card's** influence value.
    If the **card** has an **immediate bonus** (teal banner), receive it immediately and place the **card** in the **immediate bonus zone** of your **personal board**. If it has a **Phase C bonus** (banner with a teal base), place it in the **Phase C bonus zone** of your **personal board**; this bonus can be activated in **Phase C** of each round.


Game Turn
A game of Coimbra lasts 4 rounds, and each round is divided into phases:

Phase A: Dice Roll
The first player (the one with the **lion** on flag 1) takes all the **dice** from the **dice area**, rolls them, and creates a new **dice area** for the round.

Phase B: Dice Preparation and Placement
In player order, each player takes turns choosing a **die** from the **dice area**, fitting it into one of their **die holders**, and placing it in one of the 4 **city locations**:


    In the Castle: The **dice** must form a row of *increasing* values (from 1 to 6) from left to right. Your **die** must go to the right of any **die** with a value less than or equal to yours, and to the left of any **die** with a greater value. The further left your **die** is, the higher your chances of getting the desired **benefit tile** in **Phase C**.
    In the Upper, Central, or Lower City: The **dice** must form a row of *decreasing* values (from 6 to 1) from left to right. Your **die** must go to the right of any **die** with a value greater than or equal to yours, and to the left of any **die** with a smaller value. The further left your **die** is, the more expensive the **character card** you can take in **Phase C**, but you will have more options.

Important: In games with fewer than 4 players, **die tokens** count as neutral **dice**.
Players continue placing **dice**, one by one, until everyone has placed 3 **dice** (and therefore no **die holders** are left). The colors of the 3 **dice** you choose will determine your "influence gains" in **Phase E**.
There is no limit to the number of **dice** in a location, and a player can place several of their **dice** in the same location.

Phase C: Dice Retrieval
This phase does not follow the normal player order, but rather the order of the **dice** in the **city locations**, evaluated from top to bottom:

    First, the **Castle**.
    Then, the **Upper City**.
    Next, the **Central City**.
    Finally, the **Lower City**.

When a location is evaluated, each **die** on it, from left to right, is activated once. The player whose **die** is furthest to the left plays first, performs an action, and retrieves their **die**. The process repeats until there are no more **dice** in that location. Then, it moves to the next location.

Actions in Phase C:

    In the Castle: Take one of the available benefit tiles.
        Choose an available **benefit tile** on the left side of the **castle** and place it in front of you. Execute the **immediate bonus(es)** of the **tile**. Each **benefit tile** obtained this round also increases your total number of **crowns**, which is crucial for **Phase D**.
        Note: **Benefit tiles** are free.
    
    In the Upper, Central, and Lower City: Buy a character card.
        Choose one of the available **character cards** in the row next to the location. The **card's** cost is determined by the icon in the upper left corner (guards or coins) and the value of your activated **die**. Pay the cost by moving the corresponding **marker** on your **personal board** backward.
        After paying, take the **card** and immediately gain its influence value on the **influence track** of the **card's** category (advance your **disc**).
        Proceed according to the **card's** bonus:
        
            If it has an **end-game bonus** (scroll icon), place it in the **end-game bonus zone** of your **personal board**.
            If it has a **Phase E bonus** (banner with a teal base), place it in the **Phase E bonus zone** of your **personal board**.
            If it has an **immediate bonus** (teal banner), receive it once and place it in the **immediate bonus zone** of your **personal board**.
        
        Then, check if the acquired **card** activated the **Phase C bonus** of any of your **starting character cards**. If so, receive that bonus once. If there is a **crown token** on the acquired **card**, remove it and place it in front of you.
    

After performing your action, retrieve the activated **die** (keeping it in the **holder**) and place it in one of the empty lower spaces of your **personal board**.
Alternative Action: If you cannot or do not want to perform a location's action, you can instead gain up to 2 **coins** AND up to 2 **guards** (advancing the **markers** on the corresponding tracks of your **personal board**).
Important (games with fewer than 4 players): If a **die token** is activated (being the leftmost **die**), remove and discard the **character card** with the highest influence value from the row next to the city. If there's a tie, remove the leftmost one. Flip the activated **die token** face down and leave it where it is. Continue activating the next leftmost **die**.
After all **dice** in a location have been activated, remove any remaining **character cards** next to that location and place them in the discard pile. Flip any **die tokens** that were flipped face down back up.

Phase D: New Player Order
The new player order is determined by the sum of the **crowns** each player possesses. This includes:

    **Crowns** on the **crown tokens** received in the current round.
    **Crowns** on the **benefit tiles** received in the current round.
    **Crowns** next to the **player order flag** where your **lion** is.

The player with the most **crowns** moves their **lion** to flag 1, the second to flag 2, and so on. In case of a tie, the order between tied players is reversed.

Phase E: Influence Gains
In the new player order, each player receives influence gains. Look at the colors of the 3 **dice** in the lower spaces of your **personal board**. In any order you wish, activate each **die** once to receive the reward from the **influence track** of the same color as the **die**:

    **Gray die:** Reward = **guards** (advance your **marker** on the **guard track**).
    **Orange die:** Reward = **coins** (advance your **marker** on the **coin track**).
    **Purple die:** Reward = your **pilgrim** moves on the **board**.
    **Green die:** Reward = **victory points** (advance your **disc** on the **scoring track**).
    **White die:** Receive the reward from an **influence track** of your choice.

Important: Pay attention to the **bonuses** that the **character cards** in your **Phase E bonus zone** may provide.
After receiving the rewards, remove the **dice** from the **holders**, place them in the **dice area** (for

## FAQ
### Who is Coimbra for?
It's perfect for those who love medium-to-heavy euro games with lots of strategy, planning, and a touch of controlled luck through dice. If you enjoy optimizing your actions and seeing your decisions unfold, you'll love it!

### How long does a game of Coimbra typically last?
A game usually takes between 60 and 90 minutes, depending on the number of players and the group's familiarity with the rules. It's an ideal length for a game with this strategic depth.

### How many players can play Coimbra?
Coimbra can be played by 2 to 4 players. The experience is great at any player count, but many consider it to shine particularly with 3 players, where the competition for dice and actions becomes more intense.

### What is Coimbra's complexity level?
With a weight of 3.244/5 on BGG, Coimbra is considered a medium-high complexity game. It's not for absolute beginners, but players with some euro game experience will adapt well and appreciate its depth.

### Does Coimbra rely heavily on luck?
While there is dice rolling, the drafting mechanism and how you use them significantly minimize the luck factor. You'll always have interesting options, and the strategy lies in optimizing what you have, not waiting for the perfect roll.

### Does Coimbra have any expansions or additional content?
As of now, Coimbra does not have any official expansions released. The base game already offers a complete experience with high replayability due to its variables and combinations.

### Is the game language dependent?
Not much! There's little text on the game components, and what exists is easily memorizable. The rules are the main thing to understand, but once you get the hang of it, the language barrier is minimal.

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