Cóatl: Review
Information:
Mechanics: Hand Management, Set Collection, Pattern Building
Player Age: 10+ Player Count: 1 - 4 PlayersTime to Play: 30 - 60 Minutes
Game Designer: Etienne Dubois-Roy, Pascale Brassard
Player Age: 10+
Game Designer: Etienne Dubois-Roy, Pascale Brassard
Objective:
Throughout the game players will be building cóatls that correspond to prophecy cards. The game will end once a player has built three cóatls or there are no body pieces left.Game Anatomy:
Player Boards:
These are where the players will hold the pieces they have drafted until they choose to build a cóatl. Each player board can only hold eight pieces without swapping any out so aim to use effectively.Supply and Score Board:
This board will be where the cóatl parts are displayed for players to draft. The outer ring will contain two body parts in each section. The inside ring will contain two heads and two tails. Whenever one of these rings are emptied the whole supply board will be refreshed from the designated draw bags.
Once the game is finished the supply board will flip over to reveal the score board where players will total the results.
Cóatl Pieces:
These are the pieces that will combine to create a cóatl. A cóatl consist of one head, one tail and any amount of body pieces. In the game there are a total of 15 heads, 15 tails and 120 body pieces in a mix of colours (blue, red, yellow, black and green).
Supply Bags:
There is one bag to hold each type of cóatl piece: the body, head and tail. The bags are designated by the illustration on the front.Sacrifice Tokens:
Each player will gain three sacrifice tokens at the start of the game that can be used as the player’s one action. The sacrifice tokens are named perfect pick, see the future, and priest commitment.Perfect Pick - This will allow the player to draw either one head, one tail or two body segments of their choosing from the bag and place it on their player board. They must then refill the supply board.
See The Future - The player will discard all face up prophecy cards and any number of cards from their hand, refill the face up prophecy cards and choose up to five of these to refill their hand.
Priest Commitment - Take a common temple card and add it to your hand. This can be used to preemptively claim the temple card you have been building towards so that opponents aren't able to complete it first.
Prophecy Cards:
The prophecy cards are the main way you will gain points. Each card will have a sequence displayed on the bottom of the card and what points it is worth in the top left. Some sequences can be scored multiple times, while some need the sequence to be present numerous times before it can be scored (shown in point section of card).Some things to keep in mind about these cards include:
- The display is shown in body pieces but this can also include the head and tail.
- When completing a cóatl only four of these prophecy cards can be scored.
- The same pieces of the cóatl can be used to score multiple prophecy cards.
- exact duplicate cards cannot attach to the one cóatl.
Temple Cards:
Each temple card displays two goals at the bottom of the card that will score points when completing a cóatl. Like the prophecy cards, the points can be found in the top left corner. These points correspond to completing one out of two (1/2) goals and two out of two (2/2). Only one of these scores can be completed, you do not get both for completing both. When finishing a cóatl, one public temple card or your private temple card can be attached now.
Setup:
- Place the supply board in the middle of the table. Fill this board by drawing randomly from the draw bags that match each spot. For example the outer ring will have two body pieces in each spot.- Each player will take the player board and sacrifice tokens of their chosen colour.
- Chose a start player and give them the first player marker.
- Deal each player a temple card face down then place the rest of the cards split between two face up piles in the centre of the table.
- Shuffle the prophecy deck then draw and reveal six of these cards within reach of all players.
- Deal the first player three prophecy cards. Keep doing this to every other player but deal each subsequent player one more card than the last player. So for example the third player would have five prophecy cards.
How to Play:
On each turn players choose to perform one of three options; take cóatl pieces, choose prophecy cards or assemble your cóatl.Take Cóatl Pieces:
Take one head, one tail or two body pieces (on the same section) from the supply board and place the piece on your player board. Keep in mind that the body pieces will take up two spots on your player board and cannot be discarded.Choose Prophecy Cards:
Draw into your hand any number of face up prophecy cards or draw from the top of the prophecy deck. This can be done multiple times on a turn but there is only a five card hand limit. Once you have finished your turn, replenish the face up prophecy cards to equal six.Assemble Your Cóatl:
This is when you will begin, build and finalise your cóatl. You may do any of the below actions any amount of times during this assembly. There can only be two cóatls in development at one time.You can begin a new cóatl by placing a body, head or tail piece. Attach a piece from your player board onto one of your existing cóatls(Each cóatl can have one head, one tail and any amount of body pieces). You can also play a prophecy card from your hand onto one of your cóatla if you have met the pattern requirements.
A couple things to remember is that you don't need your player board to be full in order to do this action. Duplicate prophecy cards cannot be used on the same cóatl, and two cóatls cannot join together.
Complete Cóatl:
When you complete a cóatl you will fulfill as many prophecy cards attached. If no prophecy cards are attached, one must now be attached in this step. Following this, choose a private or communal temple card to attach to the cóatl. Finally, you must announce the point value for this cóatl that you will gain at the end of the game. This announcement can work to deter your opponents from even trying to reach your epic score, or to goad them into spending more time to better their score. If this is a players third cóatl, the game will enter the end phase, otherwise it moves onto the next player's turn.
End Game:
The game will end if one of the two conditions are met: a third completed cóatl; no body pieces on the supply board or in the body bag.In the case of the third cóatl being completed, each other player would have one final turn to pump out a third as well and then scoring would begin. If the game ends via no more body pieces on the supply board or body bag then everyone would have one more turn until an equal amount has been reached with the first player.
The supply board will now flip onto the scoring side and each players completed cóatls will score. Each player will use a cóatl piece that matches their colour to track their score. The player with the highest score has won and is the new Aztec high priest.
Final Thoughts:
Pros:- Push your luck dynamic to build the cóatl and complete the most prophecy cards before other player's end the game.
- The cóatl pieces, box insert and bags are really high quality.
- Easy to learn but has lots of depth in how to build and draft.
- Mitigates the luck that can be present in drafting games like this.
Neutral:
- Depending on what is avaliable to draft there can be multiple turns where you don't want to do any action. However, the sacrifice tokens alleviate this issue.
Con:
- The cards and player board are low quality card stock and would need to be sleeved to keep them from damaging.
'Cóatl' is a great entry level game. It includes easy rules, amazing table presence and interesting decisions. The decisions focus around trying to optimise your cóatl pieces and prophecy cards to gain the most points per cóatl. However, aiming for high points runs a risk as a cóatl can be completed extremely quick and you never know how far your opponent is from completion. In this game you do have to watch what the other players are building because if they start the end game then you only have one chance left to build something useful. There is no point here building a massive cóatl that will score large points if you can't complete it. In any game like this there are multiple layers of luck with randomised pieces and cards. This game mitigates that by having the specified bags for the different pieces, as well as dedicated spots on the board for heads and tails. The other factor that helps with the luck is the sacrifice tokens. If you are stuck with a crummy hand of prophecy cards or just can't get the colours required then their one time effects will help you to solve that. To summarise, this is a great game with amazing table presence that is easy to teach but includes many layers of enjoyment and decision making. Cóatl will be earning a Go To Golden Game Seal and will be my go to drafting game for a while.
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