The Crows of Coppershell Bay: A Wonderful Tiny Tin
Explore a seaside town to earn enough gems to pay back a debt in a delightful adventure with The Crows of Coppershell Bay.
If you know my recent game tastes, you’ll know that Paupers’ Ladder continues to be one of my favorites! When a second edition was announced, I jumped on board for the updated content… But was also intrigued by a secondary little game in a tin. The Crows of Coppershell Bay seemed like it might be a hit or miss, and I was excited to give it a whirl!
Game Overview
Game Name: The Crows of Coppershell Bay
Publication Year: 2023
Designer: Paul Stapleton
Artist: Paul Stapleton
Publisher: Bedsit Games
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
This compact adventure is about collecting gems over the course of 3 days and 2 nights. Fishing, foraging, or taking chances at the carnival might be worth it, while quests provide stories and rewards… If a character can make it to the end. Set in a charming world, this one is a lot of fun!
First Play
December 29, 2024
Complexity
3
Latest Play
December 30, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
1 Hour
High Score
60
Game Area
22" x 18"
Low Score
37
A Gamebook in a Tin?
With my love of Paupers’ Ladder, I wondered how this would feel. Might it only be a simplified version of the original? Was the challenge going to be too easy?
However, I was pleasantly surprised upon opening this up and going through the rules! This is an entirely different game, while the setting and humor remain the same.
And not to get ahead of myself, yet I can confirm that simple and easy are not accurate descriptors. It’s tricky!
I loved the compact play space, as seen here. All with lovely artwork and cute, tiny components! Very nice.
Character Choices
There is also a gamebook set in this world, which I’ve tried a few times, but haven’t gotten far since all of the work to track everything with a pen or pencil can be a lot.
However, I do believe this tiny tin tale is like a gamebook or RPG in a card game! There are 4 different characters to play as, who start with unique items and skills.
I began with Brabben Hegnull, whose sneak ability seemed pretty excellent to get a grasp on the main mechanics.
These little cubes move along to track strength, agility, and experience. Very simple, and I never dislodged them.
Questing for Gems
Many different places are available to spend time at, including locations like the beach or glade. Lots of cool items to collect to craft from or simply sell for the gems!
A major part of gameplay exists with the quests, though. It’s possible to win without going on any of them, but I found these to be a really enjoyable part of the experience.
There are 3 low-level quests and 3 high-level quests, depending on the character’s level. Plenty of variety!
I headed out in search of plumcaps, and simply loved how I could move around and discover lots of story cards.
A Final Carnival Visit
Gameplay lasts just 3 days and 2 nights, and it is not at all simple to reach the required 60 gems! As time was nearly over, I could either go to the carnival or try another quest.
Brabben decided it was worth the risk to play carnival games. Pest racing seemed like a good idea with what she had going for her, and the fast bat was worth the most.
This race moved ahead with simple dice rolls, and it looked like Brabben was going to pull ahead for the win!
Yet the bat surged right near the end, and won the race so that there were no gems to go home with. Uh-oh!
The Sheer Joy of a New Game Discovery
I fell into a little bit of a lull in solo game fun last month, and have been carefully getting myself back into the hobby. A lot of older favorites have brought back my love, yet this one was simply amazing. Not every new arrival is enjoyable, and I think some of those experiences have snowballed to make me hesitate to appreciate the joy of new experiences.
It was the perfect time for this one to show up! Actually, I thought I hadn’t picked it up when I got my shipping box. Indeed, I almost tossed the box full of shipping peanuts before I finally found this hiding in a corner. A literal tiny tin!
There are likely other unplayed games on my shelves that will bring me this joy of discovering a new source of fun. Any of them might have come along to remind me of the reason why I still pick up new games… Just very selectively! I continue to learn more about what I like, giving me a pretty good chance of enjoying these sorts of new experiences.
Rollin’ and Failin’
With the last bit of time, it was pretty apparent that Brabben was about to fail. So I decided to try out another carnival game, because who knew what might happen?
Rollin’ for tat seemed like a pretty safe bet to at least get a little closer to the gem requirement. Only my first roll managed to end the game early. Ha ha! What rotten luck!
A loss was obvious, yet I didn’t mind. I learned a lot about some of the better strategies and had lots more to see.
In this sense, the game feels like a gamebook you learn more about… But with enough variety to make it fun!
Boydell? BoyDell?!
I quickly reset to play again, and things went quite smoothly with the rules. There were a few outliers I had to look up, but this adventure was the main focus.
When I started another quest, I tried out one I hadn’t looked at, which is all about tracking down the fool, Scronth Boydell. And goodness, was he foolish!
Random quest markers are placed facedown to set up the quest, and moving to the chambers reveals each one.
I spent lots of time and pep tracking Boydell down. And he was in the last chamber, furthest away. What a fool! Ha!
Pecked to Death
Near the end, I was about 15 gems short. I figured it would be another loss, but with some sheer luck, a quest actually didn’t take up much time and got me to the threshold!
Brabben happily visited the crows, only to find out that they had additional demands. Ah, but I had stocked up as much as I could as these random dice rolls came about.
In the rudest of outcomes, I kept rolling a 1… Which could not be avoided! My health brew was used earlier.
This was almost a victory, but those terrible crows pecked Brabben to death! Should have picked up more brews.
Cards, Brews, & Tools
The rucksack holds all manner of items. Multi-use cards make for lots of possibilities, as these aren’t just for story moments during quests. Fish, materials, and forageables!
I had a little trouble keeping these all neatly tucked, but it all worked very well. Even better were the little markers to keep track of brews and tools. So easy to understand!
Also of note is how this card is double-sided. I used the text-heavy side, but the other side is mostly just icons.
Such a great experience! I still didn’t see a lot, especially since Brabben fled from every hazard. Must try to win!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 & 2
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Outcome: 2 Losses
I was still pretty proud of reaching the top of the agility track and gaining tons of experience! There really is a lot to see here, and I don’t think there will ever be a single guaranteed path to victory. Plus, the achievements card provides all sorts of secondary goals to check off. I left it out so I could focus on learning the game, but there is a lot more to enjoy! So glad I took a chance on this… And that the outcome was better than my carnival game visits. Ha!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
9
+ Pros (Positives)
- The world is wonderfully charming and full of character with every piece of artwork and tiny component.
- Not only is the box tiny and compact, but the play area is quite small in general for the depth of gameplay.
- Making decisions about what to do next is rather strategic, as this isn’t just about good luck leading to a win.
- Different characters provide different skill sets that change up how elements of gameplay are approached.
- Everything works very well and provides a sort of gamebook or RPG experience in a fun little card game.
- Achievements provide additional ways to focus on getting the most out of the game, and there is a lot to discover.
– Cons (Negatives)
- A very small number of rules are a little ambiguous and require a few reads to fully understand how they work.
- Bad luck from the dice can be mitigated in some ways, but there are times when dice rolls will result in a loss.
- The final card in the story deck can be quite punishing with taxes and rot, although this can be planned for.
- Certain elements are learned over time to be less novel than the initial experience, yet this is sometimes helpful.
Victory Conditions
Collect 60 Gems & Survive the Crows
- Overall Goal Progress 0%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game as Brabben Hegnull.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of The Crows of Coppershell Bay? Are there any other small boxes that feel like gamebooks? I was surprised by this initial session: Not that I expected a major miss, but I thought it might be more of a novelty. Nope! This is a tricky one that presents a wonderful adventure that won’t go stale anytime soon. So much in this tiny tin!
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