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C.O.A.L.: Combat-Oriented Armored League involves battles between giant robots called Steambots in a steampunk setting in which people can get great energy from coal – but nothing else. As Stefano described the game to me, picture something set in Europe at the start of the twentieth century, with Steambot battles being so common that it was possible to give birth to C.O.A.L., an official league to manage the fights. Here's a short description of the game:
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In a world where computers have never been invented and coal is the most precious resource, a group of brave pilots board their armored Steambots, take their place in the pilot seats of these 30-feet-tall, steam-powered fighting machines, and drive them into fierce arena battles.
This is C.O.A.L.: Combat-Oriented Armored League, a two- to four-player card game with a steampunk setting. C.O.A.L. uses an original game mechanism that combines resource management, bluffing, and memory to simulate the heat of a real battle. The game includes four Steambot models – each with its own features, attacks, and defensive maneuvers – and eight different pilots, which have special piloting abilities of their own.
C.O.A.L.: Combat-Oriented Armored League includes customized rules for two-player games, for battles with three or four players, and for two-vs-two partnership games. Deck-building rules are included for advanced players who want to combine parts to build different Steambot models. Duels are quick, typically ending in about ten minutes.
The four models of Steambot are comprised of two British (the Lancelot and Merlin) and two German (the Gunther and Siegfried). The game includes rules in Italian and English, while also being language independent. (The ability of the pilots are noted by symbols on the cards and explained in the rules.) Rules and cards in other languages are currently being negotiated.This is C.O.A.L.: Combat-Oriented Armored League, a two- to four-player card game with a steampunk setting. C.O.A.L. uses an original game mechanism that combines resource management, bluffing, and memory to simulate the heat of a real battle. The game includes four Steambot models – each with its own features, attacks, and defensive maneuvers – and eight different pilots, which have special piloting abilities of their own.
C.O.A.L.: Combat-Oriented Armored League includes customized rules for two-player games, for battles with three or four players, and for two-vs-two partnership games. Deck-building rules are included for advanced players who want to combine parts to build different Steambot models. Duels are quick, typically ending in about ten minutes.
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Two of the eight pilots
To win C.O.A.L., you have to inflict ten points of damage to the opponent's Steambot, and the deck of cards includes both offensive moves (such as punches and special attacks of various kinds) and defensive ones (blocking, dodging, countering, etc.).
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Unlike other card games in which you play cards and they go into effect right away, in C.O.A.L. you first play the cards, then you use your pilot's actions and skills to move energy onto the cards and activate them.
To simulate the tension of a battle, Stefano has implemented a game system that requires you to play the moves face-down, thus triggering a kind of meta-game that requires both bluffing and memory. Each game lasts about ten minutes with two players and fifteen minutes with 3-4 players, making C.O.A.L. a filler that can be played up to any number of rounds that players wish.
The game cover and card illustrations are the work of Alan D'Amico, who has worked for Games Workshop previously. (You see his wide range of artistic styles on his website.) Additional images from the game have been posted on Facebook.
C.O.A.L. is the first international production from Dast@Work, which hopes that it can gain a presence with the game outside of Italy.
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The huge Spiel 2012 issue of ILSA Magazine (#19) is now online on Amazon and Lulu. The free PDF version can be downloaded from the ILSA Magazine website.
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As mentioned before, PLAY: The Games Festival takes place April 6-7, 2013 in Modena, and the event will cover more than 18,000 square meters with more than 800 tables of board games, with all the Italian game publishers in attendance and presenting their novelties. If you've ever wanted to travel to Italy, you'll want to be sure to stop in Modena along the way to play a few games with the locals!
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