Metal Coins – You Don’t Need Them, But You Want Them
A few months ago, Stonemaier Games reached out to us and let us know we could purchase anything on their store up to $75 USD to take a look at, so we took advantage of that and purchased…coins. We have had the immense pleasure of reviewing every single Stonemaier Game ever released, and so when we were provided this opportunity, we went hard down the well of metal coins, getting coins for all sorts of games like Scythe and Expeditions, Libertalia, Tokaido, and Vantage – yes, we spent over $75, and all the extra we paid for out of pocket. But what is it about metal coins that we like so much?
There are a few ways that you can upgrade your board game experience. Some companies like to offer upgraded components for their games. Stonemaier does offer a few of these upgrade packs, but more and more companies are creating games that feel pretty deluxe right out of the retail package. Whether using really thick cardboard, or including wooden components, the days of upgrade packs seems to be slowly slipping away. One way that companies are stepping up their deluxification options is through metal coins, and we are here for it.
We prefer to purchase Stonemaier Games metal coins for a variety of reasons, most notably that they tend to make coins that work in a variety of titles. Some companies like to print the name of the game on one side of the coin, or make them so specific that you likely would feel a bit of immersion loss if you added them to another game. For example, while the metal coins in Flamecraft from Cardboard Alchemy are really nice, I’m not sure I have a lot of other games that could utilize a dragon shaped coin – I feel the same way about the metal coins for Skyrim: The Adventure Game.
With Stonemaier, however, they very rarely do this. One exception I think are the coins they released for Viticulture, as they have a small little grape cluster icon on one side of the coin. Other than that, I find the Stonemaier coins very versatile.
Vantage Coins: We will be reviewing Vantage very soon, but Stonemaier was actually selling these coins early last year already. We purchased them to use in sci-fi games, and they have been excellent. They look like little credits you would exchange in outer space.
Libertalia Coins: We actually got these by accident – shout out to Stonemaier for shipping us the wrong coins BUT making it right very quickly! They said to keep these! The Libertalia coins are perfect for that game, but really just look like Dabloons I could use in any pirating adventure. We ‘ve used these periodically since receiving them, and they are nice and large, and give you an extra pirate feel!
Tokaido Coins: We actually purchased two baggies of the Tokaido coins as we actually have quite a few Japanese inspired games that could benefit from this coin. We use these quite often in games like White Castle and Rivers of Gold, so of all the coins we got, these have been used the most!
Scythe / Expeditions Coins: I lied, because these coins are the ones we have used the most. I would say that the Scythe and Expeditions coins really feel like someone took a bunch of different coin designs and dumped them into the bag. This might cause some issues for some, but when it comes to games that just have coins as a value, but not necessarily a specific timeline, these are amazing. They come in a variety of different values (including those illusive $3 coins – and they are perfect. Recently, we’ve been suing them in Ticket to Ride: Legends of the West!
Overall, I think metal coins are one of the best upgrades you can get for a game. They are definitely great to have and give games a really nice boost in table presence. While my wife would disagree – she’s ok with cardboard, or whatever comes in a retail box…I just want to quickly provide another perspective – I think there isn’t a better upgrade on the market!
Article By Adam Roffel
