Coal Baron is a new game for the workplace of Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kisling, two famous designers who have collaborated before in many games such as Tikal, Torres, Artus, Maharaj, Vikings and many others. This time the game they faced puts players in the shoes of coal mine owners, trying to start the most successful mining business, using the resources available in the game, sometimes workers and money. And, of course, their brains.
The game is set in the city of Essen at the turn of the 20th century and lasts 3 rounds called "Shifts". Coal is abundant in the region, so you decide to invest in it. You created a mine, hire workers and execute some contracts at the beginning of the game. But how things will turn out after this upcoming start is completely in your hands. You should always make important decisions about how to do everything possible from your employees, assigning them in many different places on board to mine, transport coal from the mine to the surface, deliver goods, make money and purchase new contracts. Players receive victory points during the game and during three scored phrases, called "Shifts."
In most games for jobs that ever get the opportunity to assign a worker to a space first, this is the only one who can use this space. However, this does not apply to the coal baron. In this game, many players can use the same space on the board, and even the same player can do it if he has enough workers to assign, because every time a player wants to use the space on the board, he must place one more workers than the number of workers currently employed. If the space is empty, good news. He can use it by placing one employee. But what if there are already 2 employees assigned? Hard call! He must place 3 of his own to use it and remove the workers already there. However, careful planning and perception of when to make the right move at the right moment is required. This is the heart of the game. When all employees of all players have been assigned, this is the time for the first phase of the assessment or “Shift”. Two more rounds occur with players appointing workers, and the counting phase at the end of each one, and finally there can be a winner in the game, one that has the most victory points. Players also receive victory points during the game by executing their orders.
So let me have a little deer in the game. At the beginning of the game, each player receives a specified number of workers and some money, depending on the number of players. Each player also receives a pit, which he or she will expand during the game by mining. The pit consists of four tunnel levels (yellow, brown, gray, and black) plus the surface level. The level closest to the surface (yellow) is easier and cheaper to dig, and as we go deeper, the cost of mining increases, but so are the advantages. On each level there is an illuminated and unlit side that can be expanded. However, it is reasonable, in accordance with the game, to expand in a balanced way, which is evenly digging in the illuminated and unlit areas. The most sophisticated and fun element of the mine is a pit box that serves as an elevator for transporting coal to the surface and preparing orders for the supply or storage of coal in a private storage facility for later use. These are enterprises of square tiles that slide up and down along a game shield depicting a pit. Players can also select 3 starting contracts, choosing one by one from a series of randomly identified contracts.
The board consists of five types of spaces where players can appoint their employees:
- On the left side of the board (top and bottom), players can buy maycards to get coal at a certain level and side of the tunnel. The tunnel tiles are shuffled at the beginning of the game and form a front heap, from which eight are detected, and fill the gaps of the side reserved for the tunnels. Each tunnel tile displays 1 or 2 minimum levels of a certain level (color), lightness or unit and purchase price. By assigning a worker to one of these spaces, you pay the required amount of money, get the tile and put it on the pit, on the appropriate place (on the level and side of the board) and, most importantly, the cube of coal for each mini-car on the tiles and place them on her This is the only way for players to get coal. After buying a tile, another one opens to fill the empty space. If none of the open tunnel tiles satisfies the player’s needs, he can appoint an employee in a special space where he can look at the top 5 tunnel plates of the stack, choose one of them and return the rest to the bottom or top of the stack.
- in the upper right board there are 4 available places where players can receive money, from 3 to 6 points (game currency). There is also a special space, "Bank", where you can assign one employee to get 1 mark.
- In the lower right corner of the board there are 4 places where players can purchase a new order. Each order card shows several coal cubes of one or more levels of the tunnel, as well as the way the order should be sent, and the number of victory points received at its completion. After the tile is taken, another one will open and put on the empty space. Order cards are shuffled at the beginning of the game to form a stack face down. Then a certain number of orders opens, and players take orders one by one, until everyone has 3 orders. The spaces “Order” on the board are filled with orders from the stack. If none of the open orders matches the player’s plans, he has the opportunity to appoint an employee in a special space where he can look at the top five orders of the order stack, select one of them and return the rest to the bottom or top of the stack.
- on top of the board "Mountain space". When a player puts a worker there, he gets the opportunity to mine his coal mine. The number indicated on the workspace reflects the maximum number of steps that a player can perform. Examples of work steps move the frame up or down, moving the coal cubes from Maykart to the cage, if they are at the appropriate level, move the coal cube from the cage to the order card or to private storage if the cage is at the surface level.
- at the bottom of the board you can find jobs "Delivery". Each space represents a specific mode of transportation. Remember that each order must be delivered with a specific type of vehicle that is displayed on the map. When appointing one or more workers in the “Delivery” space, the player can complete all full orders that require this vehicle. In doing so, he immediately receives victory points issued for all the orders placed, and removes these cards from the zone of outstanding orders, next to his pit.
This was largely a matter of what a player can do with his employees. Once all workers are assigned to jobs, the first Shift is considered complete and the first phase of the counting begins. At the bottom of the board there is a special place to help players with the score. This is a Shift watch and combines a total of 12 items. After the first Shift ends, only the first four elements are clogged, then, after the second, the first eight and after the third (end of the game) all 12 elements are clogged. All elements reward only the top 2 players by most (first and second place). The first 4 elements reward players with the highest total number of orders of the order of a certain level on their delivered orders. Spots of a deeper level of coal (black) are the most useful, as they are also the most expensive to perform. The following 4 elements take care of the order transportation order, thereby scoring points for the players with the highest number of orders delivered through a specific vehicle. Coal transport with the engine is the most profitable. The final 4 elements award players in accordance with the number of empty mini-cards of each level in the players. Pete. Yellow mini-cards give the smallest points, while black again gives more.
After the third phase of the evaluation, players get a few more points for unused money and coal cubes and may lose some points if their pit is unbalanced (the number of tiles on the left “light” side differs from the number on the right “dark”. These are the rules of the game.
Components:
The game board, as well as the tunnel tiles and pits are made of durable cardboard with a nice graphic design and with shades like brown, yellow and black. The pit beautifully depicts the different levels of tunnels and additional information about the final game so that players cannot search for a guide for this. Workers and coal are made of wood. The workers have the cylindrical color of each player, and the coal comes in the form of cubes in the colors of tunnel levels. It would be nice if he looked more like coal, maybe a certain form instead of the boring cubes that we face so many euros. Order cards have thick paper and probably should be hiding due to shuffling. The money in the game reminds me of classic board games that I played in my childhood, especially in monopoly, but nothing wrong with that. A short trip down the memory lane is more than welcome. A switching hand, which is used to design items to be evaluated at each stage of scoring, can be attached to the board instead of simply floating on top of it. In general, the components of the "coal baron" satisfy. 7/10
Game process:
I am a fan of euro games, but at times it seems that they seem to repeat. There are so many euros there that it becomes more and more difficult for developers to create something original and provocative. Coal Baron seems to have that little twist that players need to embrace it and give it a special place in their hearts. Originality comes from the image of the pit and the method of transporting coal to the surface. The idea of an elevator that transports coal is quite clever and beautifully executed. The way the work mechanic works is also a plus for the gameplay, since it is slightly different from most games, in which players usually participate in every place on board, but only one gets the opportunity to use each space. In Coal Baron, you can place workers in which other players have already nominated them, but you must nominate more workers than those who already exist. This mechanic benefits the strategic element of the game. Players must constantly think about how to make the most of their employees, assigning as few of them as possible to each space. Careful observation of what other players are doing can help to prioritize actions, for example, if you see that players do not have open orders with an engine like a transport, but you don’t work there and prefer a space that you think will interest many players, such as a large money space. The heart of the game really makes the best placement decisions for your employees, keeping in mind the scoring process and what can award the most points to victory. There is no interaction between the players, which seems realistic for such a business. However, just for fun, I always appreciate even a glimpse of interaction, and I’m sure that if you think correctly, designers can find a way to integrate it with the theme. 8/10
Learning curve:
This game is a traditional euro with simple rules. Everyday players may need extra time to fully understand the tiny details and understand the strategy element, while more regular gamers can jump into the game faster. Thumbs up to the creators of the 8-page tutorial, which is very rich in photos and examples, so that everything is clearly explained and there are no questions about the rules. After playing once, everyone will understand what is happening and probably will not have to go through them again. 7/10
subject:
A serious attempt was made to integrate the theme of the game into its presentation and mechanisms. First of all, the board resembles a view of the city, with several places to visit. We can see a bank where you can get money, in the canteen, where workers go to rest after fulfilling their duties, a kind of market construction, where you can get new orders and an area where all vehicles are waiting for delivery services. This is pretty well implemented on the board. But then there is also a minecarts factory and a mining area that are a bit confusing. In fact, there is no mini-machine factory. There will only be a mine where the mining takes place, and then the coal is transferred to the surface. Because of the mechanisms of the game, it is clear that the process of extraction and transportation must be divided, but it is a bit confusing to see it on board in different places. In addition, you will not buy maikarts for coal mining, but simply dig. This is a small failure to adapt to the topic, for which we receive compensation from the brilliant idea of an elevator in the pit. This adds so many topics that it is easy to forget about any other problems with mini themes. 8/10
multiplayer:
Did I want to play Coal Baron again after the first game? And I want to play it often after a while? I definitely wanted to play again as soon as the first game was over. The game seems to have enough strategy to make you try different approaches to your game style and see how it works. As for if he stands the test of time, I think he has originality to push off from the crowd a little among the huge number of euro games that have been published over the last couple of years. The duration of the game is about 60-90 minutes, which classifies it into games of average weight, which can often take place in the table of gamers. 7/10
Fun:
Let it admit. Euro games are usually not very fun. Their main goal is to make you think about the best strategy for winning, distracting from the element of entertainment. The coal baron is no exception to this, and can be placed in the middle of fun compared to other euros. Competition between players is not as high as in other games for employment due to the fact that many players can occupy a single space one at a time, and the lack of interaction between players is always distracting. 6/10
Pros:
- Original theme
- What else? Pit Lift! Just loved it.
- Durable, balanced gameplay
Minuses:
- no user interaction
- minor glitches
Recommended for: Strategic gamers
According to our scoring system, scoring categories have different weights. Components have a weight of 15%, Gameplay 35%, Learning curve 5%, Theme 5%, Reproducibility 25%, Fun 15%. According to this system and the above result in each category, the total weight gain in the game:
Overall: 7.25
