Mombasa - Playthrough & Review (Pfister series) 

Have you played this one? What are your thoughts?

After playing "Skymines" I bought a used copy of Mombasa. Mombasa is much better (production wise) than Skymines which - according to me - has a much harder theme to understand. "Coffee", "Banana" and "Cotton" is easier to understand and remember rather than three strange minerals with almost the same color. The Mombasa board is more beautiful and easier to understand. The "diamond" and "book keeping" tracks are much more self explaining than the corresponding ones in Skymines.

I just got Skymines and I’ve been trying to learn the game. Watching this playthrough really confirms that it’s just a LITERAL reskin of this game. Not a bad thing, it was needed, but I’m pleasantly surprised that all rules are the same. Putting in a plug for a play through of Skymines!

I have this game, and have played numerous times. Absolutely love it. Alexander Pfister is among the greatest designers out there. These videos are very valuable, even if the game is unavailable, for reviewing the game after having not played for a while. So, once again, thank you for doing this.

Mombasa is soooo good. I've played it only five times so far... I really need to play it more often. Thank you for this Pfister series, I'm loving it. He is one of my favorite designers with two games in my top 5 games of all times (GWT and Mombasa)

Now that Skymines was announced (Mombasa retheme), I watched this. I want both game now.

Thank you so much for showcasing this game. It has been on my radar for a long time. It was really fun watching your play through. I keep hoping for a deluxe reprint. Maybe someday.

So glad that this has gotten reimplemented (via Skymines) with a different theme. The mechanics here look absolutely stellar, but I was always put off from even checking it out because of the theme. Pfister has been really great in recent years when speaking about no longer wanting to integrate colonial themes. Very happy to see amazing designers like him and Feld (with his City series) revisiting classic designs with more inclusive theming. Thanks so much for the playthrough! Been enjoying this series a great deal!

Yet again you two knock it out of the park. Never having looked at the rules or seen anything about this game before, at the beginning of the video I started to feel weighed down by what seemed to be complicated mechanics. Though they might be slightly complicated your explanation really helps to understand in a straightforward way. I always know I can count on n you to knock it out of the park!

I love that you're taking on the Pfister series, his games can be quite the handful, but usually such a fun challenge

Admire your work and love that you are doing Pfister series - my favourite designer. Cant wait for your thoughts for it comparing to GWT and Maracaibo. Keep it up. Big fan!

I saw one mistake. When you take the +1 good bonus tile, you don’t place it until your turn. If you aren’t first player, then you you can’t count it (yet) for any “most of” bonus space.

Great Video !!! This is the only Pfister heavy euro I didn't have the chance to play. Gwt, blackout Hong Kong and Maracaibo are one of my top games. I can see now where some mechanics of blackout and Maracaibo came from. I'm looking forward to see your thoughts about the next games.

I love love love Mombasa!

I just got this game today from a math trade. Good timing.

I really love the way you folks review games. I especially love the designer series. I do have a small suggestion. Would you consider giving games a final numerical rating? Thanks for all you do for the hobby!

Great video as always!

your video really helped me in learning mombasa. thanks a lot!

I really like this game. I've only played it a handful of times (most of my plays have been with 2 players)... I've played once with three and agree that it is much better at higher player counts. Hoping to play this with 4! Looking forward to your video on GWT (even if Monique isn't the biggest fan)!

I looooooooove Mombasa!

You guys are GOOD! Ty for the video!

We got this one recently, looking forward to playing it. We enjoy his games a lot (we've played Oh my goods!, Isle of Skye, Great Western Trail and Maracaibo), and since Maracaibo uses a lot of ideas from his previous games, we thought to give this one a try (Maracaibo has a similar mechanic with the tracks/multipliers used here). The only one that didn't work for us was Isle of Skye, because we mostly play in two players, and that game only really works with more players. This one has a curious use of worker placement (kinda), deck building (kinda) and action selection. The big thing for me is the expansion of the companies tied to the multiplier. It's cool that players aren't representing one company specifically, but rather trying to make the most of what is available and reacting to the other player's choices. It's a bunch of interesting mechanics put together.

I really enjoy the mechanisms of this one, and very much agree that it is a better experience with more players. I like historic themes. In my mind, this game reimagines the economic development of this period in history while NOT using bad, exploitative labor methods. I fully understand how that does not work for everyone, and respect those who choose to avoid this theme. Any theme can be off-putting for someone; for example I have no desire to ever play a zombie game. Mechanically, Mombasa is a winner. Perhaps one day it will be reimplemented with a different theme.

I so want this game, gutted its not going to be reprinted. I do not want the rethemed skymines.

Thanks for the video :) I think I'm more a fan of mr. Lacerda mechanics than A.Pfister, but that one looks really solid and fun :)

Interesting game. Surprisingly quite a bit to think about. It’s such a great idea to do these designer series and see earlier games. And! Das music is 👌

Skymines is the reprint FYI coming this September account to BGG.

Gameplay start 27:52

1:17:15 on this expansion action he shouldn't be able to take from the middle collumn then the right most collumn. You must choose one and use up all your action points there.

Been looking forward to this for a long time. How long has it been since the last Pfister? Your home is covered in cobwebs. Really enjoyed the playthrough as always SPOILER I'm surprised it took until his last explore action to start pushing out Cairo

I have never played any Alexander Pfister game before and I have been thinking of getting either Mombasa or Great Western trail but I would only ever play 2 player so it was good to hear your opinions on player count. It will be interesting to hear your thoughts on GWT in the near future.

It's about time people! 😜

Monique I love your glasses! Do you mind if I ask what brand/style those are?

I have a lot of Pfister's games and I hear this is his best design but the theme is not great for me either. He is one of my favorite designers. I can't wait to see how you rate the collection.

My favorite Pfister. But I really want to see a retheme. It is kind of WeirdChamp to play in this day and age. If the rights holders would go with a retheme with improved components (the company boards get dinged easily and the coins are utter garbage) I think it would sell very well.

I'm glad you mentioned the setting of the game as I don't believe it's something that should be dismissed without consideration. Although it is said of this and a lot of other euros that the setting doesn't matter and it's all about the mechanisms -- nevertheless someone somewhere decided to set this game in colonial times and it's just as valid to say that such a decision is distasteful as it is to say 'it's just a game and it doesn't matter'. If anyone enjoys playing this or any other game in a colonial setting then that's fine and I don't believe we should retroactively erase such games: however I have been put off this and similar games which is a shame as they could very easily have been set pretty much anywhere at any time and it wouldn't have changed how the game played. Thanks for sharing!

hey, will you make a Skymines video as well, now that the game is available again, so to speak, in the form of a retheme/spiritual successor?

"Blood diamonds the game"

Pfister is an expert in problematic themes: - Mombasa: exploiting Africa - Great Western Trail: bringing cows to the grinder - Maracaibo: fighting for colonial nations in the Caribbean - Monster Expedition: hunting fantasy animals just to add them to your collection

I recommend 4 Players, Mombasa isnt that good with 2 Players

I liked the gameplay of it, but my husband hated the game because of the theme and ultimately I decided that even good gameplay wasn't worth this horrible theme and we sold the game. Not regretting it.

I'm sure this is not a novel comment, but to demo a game that is either out of print or extremely expensive to purchase due to being an older, rare game, is not very harmonious.