The Danish city of Copenhagen is traversed by canals and harbors, and part of it — "Nyhavn" (New Harbor) — is famous for the colorful gabled houses along the water.
In Copenhagen, players design new façades for these houses so that they fit seamlessly into this beautiful harbor setting. On a turn, a player may choose to take two adjacent cards from the display (they may never hold more than 7 cards), or use cards to buy facade tiles in various shapes and colors. Any tile may be purchased, but you get a discount if you place a tile touching another one of the same color. Building over certain spaces or completing designated rows grants the players new abilities to make their job easier. Finishing a row or column will award the player points (doubled if it is all windows), and the game is a race to 12 points.
Copenhagen comes in several versions. The current in print versions are a Base Game with cardboard tiles, and a Deluxe edition (2022 printing) with: an alternative cover, laser cut acrylic tiles with transparent windows, and the "Nyhavn" and "New Facades" Queenies (expansion modules). These queenies were previously released separately and may be purchased in cardboard as the Copenhagen Queenie Box.
Editions No Longer Available:
The original Kickstarter included a Deluxe edition (same cover as base game with a "Deluxe edition" stamp) with acrylic tiles but no Queenies, and a Collectors Edition that came with the base game and a Queenie set.
Copenhagen
- easy to teach and straightforward to play
- visually appealing components and design
- open draft with seven visible cards
- polyomino puzzle aspect
- tight, close scoring that often comes down to 1-2 points
- Array
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- drafting — draft two cards from a line of seven; adjacency matters unless a special ability is used.
- scoring from rows/columns — complete rows and columns to gain points; some rows score more if they meet specific conditions.
- special abilities — various abilities modify drafting or placement; can be refreshed by covering symbols.
- tile placement — place tiles to form and fill out rows and columns, with placement rules based on support or ground contact.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I realized I love this game and I need to own it
- it's very straightforward it's easy to teach
- open draft there's seven visible cards
- I like the polyomino puzzle aspect of it
- this game really does come down usually to one or two points
- it's just a fun looking game
- I would love to know if you have played this
References (from this video)
- Tetris-like tension with card-driven decisions
- compact and clever
- polyomino optimization can be fiddly for new players
- urban development through tile placement
- city-building with polyomino drafting
- abstracted city-building with spatial puzzles
- Ticket to Ride
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card drafting — Draft cards that influence tile placement and scoring.
- card drafting / placement — Draft cards that influence tile placement and scoring.
- Polyomino — Draft and place polyomino shapes to fill city windows.
- polyomino tiling — Draft and place polyomino shapes to fill city windows.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- If you like Carcassonne and you want to go cooperative nicer, you might try Beacon Patrol.
- Kinfire Council gave me a real Lords of Water Deep vibe when I play.
- Katon with nukes. Yes, katon with nukes. That's all you need to know.
- This is like Ticket to Ride but with polyomino drafting—it’s Sunrise Lane for Tickets to Ride.
- Coffee Rush snuck into that category—tower defense vibes without real-time play.
References (from this video)
- simple to learn
- solid engine for casual evenings
- iconography can be dense
- solitaire-like scoring feels slightly abstract
- city-building and tile drafting
- Historic urban setting inspired by Copenhagen
- card-driven drafting and placement
- Cascadia
- Calico
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card drafting — Draft cards to gain actions and scoring opportunities.
- tile placement — Place tiles to form buildings and windows for scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- “it's another episode of board games and brew where we don't have brew”
- “we launched our merch store”
- “Arc Nova is a tableau builder”
- “it's been chaos because everybody is trying to outsmart everybody”
- “159 games in a week or 10 days”
References (from this video)
- Tile placement with fronts and houses; curiosity about theme
- Notes that rule-reading may not convey the full story
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Kia ora Lotou and welcome to my shelf of Shame update for July 2019
- it's ballooned up to about 25 at the moment
- this is the mechanically most complex game in the set
- I really should give it at least one go over
- this ties into that whole getting a campaign together exactly we want it to play the whole damn thing
References (from this video)
- light, breezy and easy to learn
- tight puzzle-like decisions
- some may find component quality middling
- city-building / patchwork-like tiling
- urban puzzle in a Copenhagen-like grid
- ticket-to-patchwork vibe with route-building
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- puzzle tiling — place pieces to form patterns for windows and bonuses
- tile-drafting and set collection — draw cards and play them as sets to place tiles
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- The overall feeling of this game really is that you are growing trees and then removing them and placing leaves down.
- It's one of the few Roll & Write style games where you can negatively impact your opponents.
- You are spending money to make money, but machines can give you free actions later on.
- This is essentially a Ticket to Patchwork vibe with a modern, crunchy decision space.
- It's a lightweight game that somehow feels dense because of the interactions.
References (from this video)
- simple rules with elegant twists
- great gateway style game
- nice component quality
- not as heavy as some players may want
- expansion content may increase complexity
- building facades with Tetris-like tiles
- Na haven district in Copenhagen
- simple rules with subtle twists
- Ticket to Ride
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- color matching and card drafting — collect color cards to trade for pieces and plan layouts
- Compound Scoring — finishing rows/columns yields points with possible bonuses
- row/column scoring — finishing rows/columns yields points with possible bonuses
- tile placement — place Tetris-like pieces to complete patterns on your board
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a pro Chabal strategy game that feels very different to anything I've played
- the Berlin map on the other side is a great bonus
- it's a cooperative word building game where you can't see your own letters
- it's a murder deduction game
- it's very simple in terms of rules but it has twists
- I can't wait to play this one again properly when it comes out
References (from this video)
- Rolling Right version is only on shelf because it's skinny and thin
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Shelf 16 is kind of a an odd mix here
- This shelf has twice as many games as most shelves
- one of my favorite two-player games, but it's very difficult to learn and play
- Fantastic abstract strategy game
- Such a classic game and I like it a lot
- I don't know why I like it so much, but I do
- one of the most beautiful dexterity/party games there are
- There are so many games on the shelf
References (from this video)
- engaging puzzle with elegant decisions
- clear, tactile components
- pleasant, approachable aesthetic
- rules may be fiddly for new players
- urban development and market dynamics
- historical city-building in Copenhagen
- abstract strategy with pattern building
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Pattern Building — achieve specific arrangement patterns for scoring and efficiency
- polyomino tiling — place abstract tile shapes to form patterns that score points
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- subscribe to borgon Coffee on YouTube
- what is the craziest rule that you have on game nights in your house
- it's late here we've we've done six
- Copenhagen is a great game
- Clank deck-building adventure it's that good
- we're giving away Transformers
- the matrix
- have fun keep gaming be social