It’s time to move into games that were for sale at Gen Con this year. Cafe Baras was one that I knew I wanted to get, but that I actually didn’t get until the last day. Sunday at Gen Con, I stood in line and I got Cafe Baras, thankfully it was a short line. I didn’t need to rush for it, which was nice. But it was one of the first games to hit my table after Gen Con because of the theme and that KTBG (Kids Table Board Games) are easy to hit to the table. So how does it play?

How to Play Cafe Baras

This game is quite simple in that you are trying to score the most points for the best coffee shop. You gain points for money that you have, but more for scoring on the menu items, returning customers, and special customers you get. Let’s talk about how all of them work in Cafe Baras.

Cafe Baras is a simple game in that you do one of two actions during the game. You either play out a card to add it to your menu. Or you play out a card as a customer’s order. If you play out a card to add it to your menu you pay the cost for the card and you add it to your menu display. This will add coffee, tea, snacks, food, aesthetic, or a few other things to your menu and cafe.

The other thing you can do with a card is use the bottom half as a customer order. You gain on point for symbol that you watch. So if they want a coffee, a snack, and a tea and you have at least one of each symbol you get three coins. If they love something, let’s say coffee, you get a coin per coffee symbol that you have.

That’s the main part of the game. You play a card and then you take a card. That loop continues until someone has three returning customers. Normally if a customer only likes some of what you have, you just get money. But if you match all three symbols and the aesthetic desires, you get to put them as a returning customer. After every other player has a turn, the game ends.

What I Like

This game is simple and I really appreciate that. I don’t need to spend a ton of time explaining how it works because it is easy to teach. The fact that you either play down a card for the menu or for an order and that’s it demonstrates the simplicity.

I also appreciate the special customers in the game. I didn’t talk about them in game play other than that they provide end of game scoring. Each special customer can be scored by the players if they meet the requirements. For example, the Abuela wants Yerba Mate and an Empanada on the menu. You get that, you get six points. Or if you get eight money, you get six points. And there are more than you play with in a game, so there is variety to that scoring.

The scoring is also fun in the game for the cards that you have. Some of the cards you play out give you end game scoring, all of them have points on the cards, or almost all of them do. But some of the cards will score better depending on certain other things. For example, you get one point per different tea that you play. If you play three different teas, each of them score you three points. But no card scoring feels better than the others, really. The game is very well balanced.

What I Want To See More Of

With the simplicity of the game and limited actions, I think the game is not going to always feel that massively different. So if you play it a lot quickly, the game is going to feel like you’ve played it a lot quickly. It won’t offer a consistently or massively different challenge. It reminds me of Diced Veggies in that way. But there is an element of that which is intentional. It makes the game easier to sit down and teach. So it’s not a major negative, just something to be aware of.

Who is Cafe Baras for?

This I think works in two different situations. Firstly, it’s a good game for people who enjoy lighter games or want to introduce people to games. Cafe Baras is a very welcoming experience and a very cute theme. Most people like something from a cafe. And Capaybaras are adorable. So that combination is going to be fun for a lot of people.

But for more serious gamers, I think this a fun filler. I can see it being a good game when you wait for another group to finish up a game. The game play is fast and it says 30 minutes, but I think it could go even faster if people know the game.

Final Thoughts on Cafe Baras

I like this game as a fun filler game. For me, this is a great game to kickoff or wrap-up a board game night. People are either still showing up or some people have left but we want to play a game still. The time frame is fast, the teach is fast, and it’s easy for someone to sit down and chat while it is being played. That’s the niche of Cafe Baras for me and that’s something I won’t say no to in my game collection because it means that it gets played.

Is it going to be one that I pull out when I want to play a heavier and thinkier game, no. But not all games need to be that. In fact, I find in my collection that I need more games that aren’t that because the heavier games get played once in an evening. And then next game night, another heavier game gets played. But Cafe Baras could get played each time.

Is Cafe Baras a game that interests you? Do you like the fun theme on it?

My Grade: B+
Gamer Grade: C
Casual Grade: A

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