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KUPFERKESSEL CO.

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Author: Günter Burkhardt

Publisher: Goldsieber 2001

Awards: none

EVALUATION

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G@mebox author Ralf Togler writes about the game:

While the biggest attractions on the game convention in Essen were games based (more or less) on the ingenious story of Tolkienīs Lord of the rings (of course coming along with a lot of merchandising stuff for the film), there were also some other interesting new boardgames to find. Kupferkessel Compagnie (the only new game on the convention that came from Goldsieber) is one of these games which caught your eyes, mainly because of the beautiful painted cards and cover (by my experience only the better games are equipped with good paintings). So as you can imagine I was very anxious to read the rules and start my first game.

Kupferkessel is a small two player card game which can be easily played in about half an hour. The aim of each player is to fill his or her cauldron with a well selected mixture of ingredients, for only the best mixture will give a potion of great power. First of all you have to decide whether to play the game with or without a receipt. If you are playing without a receipt, you should try to get a lot of the same ingredients. With a receipt you can get a more powerful potion (and thus win the game) by choosing the ingredients of the receipt (I prefer this variant). But because you can only see the last ingredient you have thrown in your cauldron (itīs the same when you are cooking soups, you always wonder what is already inside the pot), you should always remember what is still missing.

But let me explain the game rules (and so how to get the ingredients in the cauldron). At the beginning all cards are arranged in a 6x6 square which represents the shelves of the Kupferkessel Compagnie, the shop for the hard to please sorcerers and witches. The players clockwise move around the shelves and collect the ingredients for their potion. In his turn, a player must move and choose one indegredient-card from the shelf in front of which his playing piece is stopping the movement. This card then is placed on top of his stockpile. So during the game the players can only see the last card they have taken. After that a new ingredient-card is placed where the player removed the card and the other player starts his turn. The card on top of the stockpile also determines the number of moves that the player has to make the following turn. So the players can plan their moves in advance. The game ends, when a player stops at an empty shelf.

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At the end each player arranges his cards and counts his points. For all four cards of the same ingredients he gets the full points of the number on the cards (there exist always cards with 1,2,3 and 4 points for one ingredient, so for all four cards the player gets 10 points) plus a bonus of 5 points. If the player has only three cards, he does not get the bonus. For two cards he gets nothing and one card gives a minus of the number on the card. So as you can see you have to remember how many cards of the same ingredient you have already collected during the game. With a receipt there are more possibilities to get a bonus. So for example you get a bonus of ten points if you collect three ingredients of two special ingredients.

In my opinion the game is really great fun. It is easy to learn and quite short. But there is enough strategy to make each new game interesting again. If you cannot remember all the cards you have already collected, the end of the game can result in some funny surprises. The game is more than an alternative to bigger and more complex games, especially if you do not have a lot of time (for example during the week). I am convinced that this game will give me a lot of pleasure in the future.

Kulkmann's opinion

Goldsieber only came with one new release to Essen, the game Kupferkessel Co. (= Copperpot Store) which comes in their small sized box. The Kupferkessel Compagnie is a shop for sorcerers demanding indegredients of highest quality for their magic potions which they brew in huge copper pots. These indegredients will give their potions greatest power. In turn the players move along the shelves in the store and collect indegredients for their potion. In his turn, a player may take one indegredient-card from the shelf in front of which his playing piece is standing, and this card then is placed onto his stockpile (his copperpot), covering all cards which he already collected. Furthermore, the card also determines the number of moves which he may make the following turn.

The delicate scoring-system demands of the players to plan their moves in advance. The players always only see the uppermost card in their copperpots and thus they must memorize which indegredients they already collected. Otherwise, there might be some quite unwanted surprises at the end of the game if they composed an unstable potion...

Kupferkessel Co. once again is an example that good games need not be big. The game is a very good strategy game, demanding a good memory and the ability to plan in advance alike. The game really is really worthwhile and quite attractive due to its short playing duration (20 to 30 minutes).


Looking for this game? Visit Funagain Games!


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Copyright © 2006 Frank Schulte-Kulkmann, Essen, Germany