Grab your cup of joe and settle in, because this is my review of the board game Coffee! If you ever wanted to run a bustling café right from your kitchen table (without spilling real beans everywhere), this game promises a steaming mug of fun. I’m talking clever card plays, sabotaging friends, and adorable art that’s almost good enough to hang in your actual coffee shop. But, as with any double shot espresso, there’s a little bitterness mixed in with the sweet. Let’s see if this blend is worth your time—or if it leaves a bad aftertaste!
How It Plays
Setting Up
Shuffle the coffee cards and give each player a café board. Place the bean tokens in reach. Don’t spill your coffee! (Trust me, personal experience.) Everyone starts with three random ingredients and a smile.
Gameplay
On your turn, you pick a card from the deck or trade with another player. Use cards to brew drinks or sabotage other cafés. Sometimes you get a perfect pour, sometimes Bob steals all your milk. Play continues clockwise, with players trying to complete recipe cards faster than their friends’ caffeine jitters.
Winning the Game
The first to complete five unique coffee orders yells “Barista!” and wins. If the deck runs out, count finished drinks. Whoever has the most wins. Beware: in my last round, my best cappuccino got ruined by a well-timed espresso spill.
Want to know more? Read our extensive strategy guide for Coffee.
Gameplay Mechanics and Player Interaction in ‘Coffee’: Brewing More Than Just Beans
Let me start by saying, if you think ‘Coffee’ is just about sipping hot drinks while shuffling some cards, you’re in for a big surprise. The gameplay mechanics here are tight, clever, and yes, they made me spill my actual coffee at least once from sheer excitement. (My table still smells like a café, so thanks for that.)
Each player runs their own bustling coffee shop. You’ll be managing resources like beans, milk, and that oh-so-elusive patience of cranky customers. You take turns drafting cards from a shared queue—imagine a menu board but with fewer calories and more risk. The catch is, every card you take not only boosts your shop, but it can also set up (or sabotage) your friend’s espresso empire. I’ve never seen so much passive aggression over a cardboard croissant. Beautiful.
This game rewards planning and keeps everyone guessing. You can block someone’s perfect cappuccino combo, but it’s not all mean spirits—sometimes collaborations pop up. In my test group, we started off polite, but by round three, it was sabotage season. The best part? There’s just enough interactivity to keep people engaged but not enough chaos that it feels unfair. Luck tries to creep in with the card draws, but there are ways to mitigate it—if you plan ahead. I’m not saying I’m bitter about losing to Tim’s cunning Americano strategy, but I’m changing my regular order out of spite.
If you like games where you can outsmart your friends without flipping the table, ‘Coffee’ has the right brew. Next up, let’s find out if the theme and artwork are as bold as the gameplay—or just a bland old decaf!
Theme and Art Style: Brewing Up a Delicious Atmosphere
I don’t know about you, but I can smell the beans roasting just from looking at the box. The theme of ‘Coffee’ is so on-point that I almost spilled my own cup onto the playmat out of excitement. Everything in this board game screams, well, coffee. From the player tokens shaped like tiny mugs to the resource cards decorated with cute little beans, every bit of art drips with that hip café vibe. I could almost hear indie music playing and someone rattling ice in a mason jar while I played.
The color palette doesn’t go overboard. Instead of that super-saturated, eye-burning approach you see in some games, ‘Coffee’ keeps it cozy and calm. Browns, creams, and warm golds fill the game board, making it look like a latte exploded in the best possible way. During my last game night, my friend Jess tried to lick one of the cards—she was convinced it smelled like caramel macchiato. (For safety, I’ll mention: the cards do not taste or smell like coffee—trust me, we checked.)
The game designers nailed the little details: even the font looks like fancy chalkboard handwriting you’d see on a menu. The meeples? They have tiny aprons. My group kept stopping turns to point out some new, adorable piece of art they hadn’t noticed before. It’s the only game I own that actually made me want to pause and make an espresso halfway through. If you love games that use their theme to pull you in and keep you smiling, ‘Coffee’ serves it up hot and strong.
But, before you settle in for another cup, let’s talk about whether the game length and replay value will leave you buzzing or coming down hard.
How Long ‘Coffee’ Keeps You Awake: Game Length and Replay Value
Let’s talk about how long you’ll actually be glued to the table with Coffee in front of you—besides chugging the real thing, of course. This game actually brews up a pretty decent session! For my group, the first run took about 45 minutes, which was just long enough for my cup of joe to go cold but not long enough to regret my life choices. Once you know the rules, rounds percolate at about 30 minutes. That’s a sweet spot for folks who have jobs, friends, or bladder limits.
Now, about replay value. Here’s where ‘Coffee’ really delivers more than a caffeine kick. The different barista powers, the random order deck, and the way players sabotage each other mean no two games really feel the same. My friend Emily keeps trying wild combos and different strategies—usually ending up with ridiculous coffee concoctions and, sometimes, the win. There’s a satisfying amount of variety here, and it almost dares you to play again right after you finish.
One thing that keeps me coming back is the changing player dynamics. Play with cutthroat folks and the game feels intense; play with mellow chillers and it’s more about the silly drinks you can craft. ‘Coffee’ handles different group moods very well, so it doesn’t get boring fast.
The only thing that drags on longer than the game is the post-game argument over who actually invented the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Next up, I’ll spill the beans about the balance between luck and strategy in ‘Coffee’.
Luck vs. Strategy: Is Coffee a Game of Skill or Just a Toss of the Beans?
Let’s get real. When I play a board game, I want to feel like my big brain moves matter. But with Coffee, the line between luck and skill can get a little blurry—like my eyesight before my own morning cup of joe. Sure, you get to plan which beans you roast and what upgrades to buy. But then the card draws hit, and suddenly your dreams of becoming the café king are foiled by a streak of dud coffee cards. Thanks, universe.
I tried every sneaky trick in the book—drafting, hoarding beans, even sabotaging my friend’s espresso shot. But sometimes, Coffee just laughs in your face and deals you the hand of doom. It’s especially brutal when someone coasts to victory because they got three perfect cards in a row. Meanwhile, I sit there with a mug of disappointment and a questionable hand.
That said, strategy players do still have plenty to chew on (or sip on, in this case). Smart planning, timing your moves, and reading your rivals will help you stay in the game. But be warned: even the best planner can be sunk by a cruel card flip.
So, do I recommend Coffee? If you’re allergic to luck, you might want to stick with chess. But if you like your board games with a side of chaos and a splash of sabotage, then brew a pot and give it a shot. It’s a good time—just don’t get too attached to your lead!
Conclusion
Alright, that’s a wrap on my review of Coffee! If you like coffee, cozy vibes, and games that smell (well, almost) like your favorite café, this one will tickle your taste buds. The art is adorable and the theme is warm as a fresh cuppa. Player interaction and sabotage make things lively, but just know luck plays a big part. If you’re a hardcore strategist, you might want cream with that sugar, because things can get wild fast. I had a blast playing it with my friends, and it’s a great pick for a casual game night. Not perfect, but definitely delivers fun—so consider brewing this one into your collection. Thanks for reading, and may your mugs (and hands) stay full!
