Coney and the Puzzle of the Cutest, Pickiest Rabbits

May 17, 2024 | Sessions | 0 comments

Arrange a group of adorable, colorful rabbits and utilize carrots, hay, and pellets for even more bunnies in Coney.

When I spotted Coney, I knew I had to have it! The same team created Hens, and this one sounded like it was a step up in complexity. And how could I turn down such cute rabbit artwork?! I was excited to bring this one to my solo table to compare the design and mechanics to its predecessor. Time to grab a ton of carrots and get to hopping. Ha ha!

Game Overview

Game Name: Coney
Publication Year:
2024
Designer:

Artist:
Mirko Properzi
Publisher:
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game

Rabbits are finicky beings, and each one has very specific placement rules. A 3×3 grid provides the basis for their home, and different scoring conditions come together. Resources are also necessary to bring in more rabbits and ensure that some of them are kept the happiest!

A Whole Bunch of Adorable Rabbits to Find in Coney
R

First Play

May 15, 2024

Complexity

3

Latest Play

May 16, 2024

Expansions

1

Setup Time

Almost None

Lifetime Plays

4

Play Time

10 Minutes

:

High Score

19

1

Game Area

20" x 18"

;

Low Score

12

Artwork vs. Icons

The artwork is absolutely beautiful and adorable! Not every card is unique, yet there are a ton of different little rabbits to fawn over. These illustrations are amazing!

Unfortunately, I was thrown off by the iconography. Colors are paramount to placement restrictions, and these are shown by little rabbits on the left side of each card.

Yet from afar, black and brown looked similar to me. Even brown vs. orange made me do a double-take a few times.

These cards felt way too informational, though. I was really hoping the artwork would be the focus. Alas, nope.

Fantastic Artwork for All the Bunnies but a Miss on Similar Icons in Coney

Solo Mode Confusion

I was utterly confused by the solo mode right from the start. In the multiplayer game, the end is triggered by completing the 3×3 grid with a total of 9 cards.

Yet twice in the solo mode description, it explicitly calls out playing for 9 rounds and getting the best score. But this means it is extremely hard to get a full grid.

My scores were terrible playing like this, yet if I played to complete the grid, I ended up in the highest scoring tier.

Sadly, this sense of confusion dominated my experience. I kept placing rabbits incorrectly and reversing my turns.

Lots of Confusion Around the Workings of the Solo Mode in Coney

Getting a Little Better

Maybe it’s designed to be played for 9 rounds, but I found this extra clunky because I had to use a tracker. I was either trying to count in my head, or using a die.

This was a little better! Yet I found myself entirely ignoring the artwork. The most important information was completely separate, requiring no personality.

I thought that there would be a focus on selective breeding or pairing up males and females. Nope: Just placing cards.

Unfortunately, the increase in complexity introduced lots of sub-actions, many of which didn’t feel cohesive.

Lots of Adjacency Restrictions to Make Gameplay Overly Challenging in Coney

Look at the Bunny!

I’m the type of person who pauses and drops everything if I see an animal outside. Ha! Watching wildlife is fun, and rabbits easily grab my attention without much effort.

There were so many cuteness overloads when I looked through the artwork! Yet I didn’t even notice when this adorable rabbit showed up in my grid.

Maybe I’m simply not in the target audience. I enjoy placement restrictions, though, and I thought I was.

Also, take a moment to sit back slightly and see if you can easily tell if this bunny has a black or brown icon.

The Cutest Sorts of Rabbits and Wooden Resources in Coney

The Disconnect Between Theme and Mechanics

Going into my first play, the presence of male and female rabbits of different types gave me the idea that there would be something going on with pairing everyone up. Piepmatz immediately came to mind in this regard, where male and female birds are matched up. Here, it simply felt like these added more ways to add placement restrictions.

I think what got to me was how I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing. I collected rabbits and placed resources on some of them… But why? Was this their home where they preferred being next to or far away from other rabbits?

Hens is somewhat abstract, yet it feels like the grid represents a barnyard with various chicken species. Plus, it has a unique mechanic of choosing a breed halfway through for more victory points. I didn’t feel like there was anything specifically related to rabbits here, nor was there a cool mechanic to keep me interested. It was just… Another game.

Almost Respectable

I started to get a little closer to a decent score with this outing, but that mainly came from collecting the same store logos in the bottom right of the cards. Wait… What?

This collection element didn’t make much sense to me. Why were rabbits associated with stores? Why could I trade them for resources and remove them from the grid?

I didn’t actually trade anyone, owing to how limited the solo mode is with just 9 rounds. Maybe it was a good idea?

Things didn’t really feel connected, though. In the end, I didn’t feel like I made a home for rabbits… Merely cards.

Getting Close to a Slightly Respectable Score with Lots of Rabbits in Coney

Trying a Losing Idea

To cut down on the complexity, I tried to focus on picking rabbits with high fixed victory points. But that turned into a disaster! These rabbits were pretty unimpressed. Ha!

I really wanted to enjoy this game. It’s difficult to take a great game and make it a little more complex, so I appreciate the attempt. It simply fell flat for me.

Reserving cards, trading rabbits, and adding resources to some cards during growth felt like way too much.

Alas, I suppose these bunnies will be running wild without worrying about me trying to entice them with carrots. Ha!

Getting Roped Into the Wrong Victory Points in Coney

Session Overview

Play Number: 1-4
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 13, 14, 19, 12 (4 Losses)

I thought that the expansion might help, but it isn’t designed for solo… Unless it makes sense to simply offer more ways to earn victory points without affecting the scoring tiers. Sadly, this isn’t a game for me. It may very well work nicely multiplayer, although I hesitate with the similar icons and very restrictive placement rules. Such wonderful artwork, though! These are some of the cutest and fluffiest rabbits I’ve seen in board games!

Trying to Become Farmer of the Year Without Any Solo Rules in Coney

%

1 Play

Affordability

Price & Value

4

Functionality

Challenges & Mechanics

5

Originality

Design & Theme

3

Quality

Components & Rules

10

Reusability

Achievement & Enjoyment

4

Variability

Distinctness & Randomness

4

+ Pros (Positives)

  • Each rabbit is illustrated with beautiful details that add to the cuteness factor across many different cards.
  • The card quality is amazing, with some very thick material that’s almost approaching thin cardboard.
  • Reference cards help lay out the steps associated with the different actions and all of the end game scoring.
  • There are some interesting decisions to make when it comes to creating a 3×3 grid and filling it with cards.
  • Not all of the best scoring opportunities are obvious, and figuring out the synergies can be rather neat.
  • Since the same action can’t be performed twice in a row, finding the best timing is crucial and challenging.

– Cons (Negatives)

  • Tracking rounds in the solo mode feels like an odd addition, and takes away the fun of completing a 3×3 grid.
  • Sub-actions and store logos feel like unnecessary complexities that add confusion, rather than thematic elements.
  • The iconography is the most important part of the cards, yet it isn’t easy to tell the colors apart at a glance.
  • Formulating a strategy around chosen cards requires a lot of planning with each card’s adjacency requirements.

More Coney

Explore related posts about Coney!

Victory Conditions

Score 20+ Points

  • Overall Goal Progress 0% 0%

Goals and Milestones

Q

Complete the full 3x3 grid in at least 1 game.

Q

Score at least 20 points.

Continue the Conversation

Have you played Coney? Do you have a certain strategy or sort of rabbit you tend to gravitate towards? I had high hopes for the increased complexity, but sadly, this one isn’t a solo game that aligns with me. At least there are tons of cute rabbits to enjoy, though! This experience made me appreciate the many other games I have in this genre even more.

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