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Coimbra
Pretty dice, real decisions, and a theme you'll forget by the second round.
Designed by Flaminia Brasini and Virginio Gigli · 2018
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A tight, satisfying dice-drafting Euro where every die placement is a real choice. If you want clever over thematic, it earns its table time.
Best for: Euro fans who love agonizing little drafting puzzles
What it is
Coimbra is a dice-drafting Euro from Flaminia Brasini and Virginio Gigli, the duo behind Grand Austria Hotel and Lorenzo il Magnifico. Each round you grab colored dice with values from 1 to 6, and here's the hook that players keep raving about: a high number lets you pick cards first, but it also costs you more coins or shields to actually claim them. The color, meanwhile, feeds a reward track. That single choice is the whole engine, and it's a good one.
The catch
Now the honest part. Reviewers are blunt that the theme is pasted on. You're supposedly courting scholars and bishops in medieval Portugal, but you'll forget that by your second turn. The bigger issue is analysis paralysis. When a fresh row of cards flips up, the table can grind to a halt while everyone recalculates. It's also a touch harder to teach than it looks, and the card pool is fixed, so the replay variety has a ceiling some players bump into.
Who it's for
But if you came for a meaty drafting puzzle, this delivers. Players consistently praise the multiple routes to victory, the smooth flow, and the way no action ever feels wasted. The components are genuinely lovely and the 60 to 90 minute runtime is short for how much thinking it packs. It's for the Euro crowd who'll happily trade a strong theme for a tight, agonizing decision every single turn. Slow tablemates need not apply.
What other players say
This write-up is grounded in real reviews and player discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:
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