Boonlake - Learn While Playing

Here is my Boonlake tutorial where I teach the game as it is being played. Paid sponsorship by Capstone Games.
Teaching Timestamps:
Introduction - 0:00
Game overview - 0:42
Game start & tile selection - 3:47
Playing or discarding a card - 4:49
Resources explanation - 5:57
Placing tiles on the board - 10:30
Improving production - 11:52
Placing cattle onto a pasture - 13:20
Moving your ship on the river - 16:59
Resetting the action board - 18:42
Gaining & using levers - 19:31
Develop action explanation - 24:21
Upgrade action explanation - 25:44
Bonus for clearing rows - 26:47
Hiring inhabitants action - 37:06
Building a project explanation - 51:01
Region scoring action explanation - 54:06
Crossing dams on the river - 1:01:52
Interim scoring explanation - 1:02:52
Selecting a scoring tile - 1:08:11
Gaining income - 1:13:28
Scoring & resetting levers - 1:15:58
Resetting region scoring tokens - 1:16:28
Full river movement explanation - 1:16:55
Final scoring explanation - 1:18:32
Every lever bonus explained - 1:20:39
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[@JonGetsGames]

CORRECTIONS: 19:10 - Blue accidentally spent 4 money instead of 3.

[@TheBigScreenTv21]

Hey Jon i know you always struggle with viewership / subscriber anxiety. So i wanted to say, i watch all your videos and think you make the best playthroughs on youtube, The editing and the zoom ins on things really sets your channel apart. Great work

[@JonGetsGames]

Thanks so much for the kind words :)

[@aumpatel2183]

Such an underrated channel

[@simon5666]

I agree !!! At least 3 times more subscribers for this quality works ^^

[@walterraschenbach4068]

Without any doubt, this is my favorite board game channel. High-level reviews of games, or even rules-teach channels, are all fine and good, but learning the rules AND seeing the game in action, even partially, gives me just about everything I can hope for when picking out board games. I'm sure this is a lot of work and I am very grateful for the effort put into each video.

[@JonGetsGames]

Thank you so much for the kind words Ryan, it's great to hear :)

[@alexxpfister]

Fantastic video, thanks Jon. I love the way you explain a game while playing.

[@JonGetsGames]

Thanks Alexander, thanks for the fantastic game !

[@albertocortijo5692]

Agreed with others: this is my reference channel when looking for gamethroughs. When I grow up I wanna be like you!

[@JonGetsGames]

Hehe, that's great to hear thanks Alberto :)

[@davidsanchez-bu9un]

Very clear explanation, and the camera zoom is very useful. Thanks for the video.

[@spiozke]

I am getting my box next week, Jon. Thank you for your iconic as usually explanation.

[@jacobjslee]

I gotta tell you, Jon, you are a talented teacher. I can see why people hire you to write rules booklets. I didn't even bother reading the rules book this time for Boonlake. I just saved your video for when I was ready to sit down and learn it. Bam. I think I'm ready to play.

[@mysto751]

Best Channel On KZbin for Sure

[@Coyotek4]

I consider these videos 'required viewing' before playing. Thank you!

[@heidicakessoapco5343]

Excellent Playthrough. I just bought this game, based on this teach and can't wait to play. Thank you for your diligence and detailed playthroughs. Not everyone can teach this well!👍🏼👍🏼

[@JonGetsGames]

Awesome, I hope you enjoy it when it arrives :)

[@plutocracy8083]

Awesome game, on a convention Boonlake was the hottest. Our favourite game of 2021.

[@Grey_Chant]

Awesome video - I preordered this game a while back, and when it arrived I couldn't remember what had caught my eye about it. Watching this not only made me comfortable with how to play, it really reminded me why I ordered it to begin with - loved watching, so I can't wait to get it to the table!

[@Santanilla]

Simply wow, I’ve just finished this video and want to thank you for the EXCELLENT AND CLEAR explanation of this game . Can’t wait to try it out tomorrow with my group 👌

[@JonGetsGames]

:D I'm glad you found it helpful.

[@user-cf8eb5ld4w]

Your playthrough always helps me to get the rules easily! Thanks for your great work :)

[@die-cry-hate]

Best playthrough channel on youtube!

[@BenAlvarez]

Great video. I initially thought the game seem disjointed (watching another teach), but now I see the connectedness.

[@willardgrant2001]

fantastic guide as always - excellent game!

[@PauloRenato23]

Thank you for another fantastic video Jon!

[@scottlogan8293]

Awesome playthrough! This helped a ton. Lately I've been having anxiety and have been lacking the energy to learn and teach new games. I've been avoiding the heavier games which used to be my favourite. After this video I feel like it shouldn't be an issue. Everything was super clear and I can't wait to get it to the table. Thanks

[@Excuse711]

Thank you so much for the thorough explanation of the game. I feel ready to play! Watched the entire thing, usually I'm a skimmer.

[@jongedave]

I always watching your videos to see if it's something we want to play. Boonlake was one of that games and I've learned all the rules only to watching this video. Never read the rulebook. Thanks for the great explaining!

[@peterfleming9365]

Very helpful in informing my decision on whether to buy or not.

[@powerfade11]

Very, very helpful, Jon. Thanks!

[@pierrewhite2062]

Great tutorial! Thank you so much. I hope the game was fun for you.

[@bencpower]

This really cleared up tons of questions after our first play. Some of the wording (looking at you interim scoring) is worded kinda clumsy, so this was a huge help. Great content as always Jon!

[@piotrlekki4087]

Hi Jon! Thanks for the material- great as usual:) I could even skip reading the instruction before playing for the first time this Saturday. Consider it please as the best compliment:)

[@icarusmustburn]

Thanks! Great overview and saved me from having to read most of the rulebook.

[@JonGetsGames]

Awesome, glad to hear it. And thanks!

[@rickhatcher9640]

Keep up the good work Jon!

[@jeffhiatt1682]

Really good playthrough. Would love to see how this game progresses, and how scores of 0-10 balloon to 200+ in just 3 more scoring rounds. I was on the fence on this one, but now am definitely looking for a copy....oh goodie...looks to be sold out..will keep looking

[@j.r.cilliangreen4083]

Just to add on that I always hope a mew game I am interested in is taught by you!!!

[@Thischarletfire]

thanks for the tutorial

[@bill0804]

Thank you for the video

[@adamcarr9077]

A+ tutorial sir

[@StevenStJohn-kj9eb]

This reminds me a bit of Praga Caput Regni. The action selection system works functionally like the action crane in Praga. There are also aspects of the tile play that remind me of Praga. I like the placement of the scoring markers - the way you might choose to take negative points to avoid taking more negative points in a later round is an interesting decision. Overall this looks like a fun one.

[@JonGetsGames]

I hadn't thought of comparing it to Praga, I do see what you are talking about there.

[@stevenamamoto585]

Thanks again, Jon. You saved me another rules mistake. 🙃

[@lasocietedesjeux]

Thanks Jon :)

[@tc3p]

Was a little turned off by all the hype I've heard about this game, but after watching this I'm pretty sure that I will really enjoy it. Time to take a trip to the game store!

[@MortlachNL]

Great showcase of this game. I was on the fence before but now I am definitely more interested. I wonder how you'd rate this one against the other Pfister big games like GWT and Maracaibo.

[@JonGetsGames]

I currently enjoy Boonlake the most out of all the Pfister games I've played.

[@ruwenbussinger8550]

Hey Jon, great playthrough, thanks for your effort! Just one question: At 1:07:52, when yellow upgrades to a settlement, it’s adjacent to the others Player’s settlement. On the player boards next to the settlements there seems to be an icon that indicates you get negative vp if you do that. Would yellow need to lose some points for that move?

[@JonGetsGames]

That -5 point penalty only happens when a player builds more than one settlement of their own color within an overall region.

[@ruwenbussinger8550]

@@JonGetsGames Thanks for the clarification, Jon!

[@BoardGamesBooksAndWhat]

Great play thru. This encouraged me to pick up the game today. My first game by this designer in my collection. Do you have a recommendation on another game I should get by this designer?

[@JonGetsGames]

Most people love Great Western Trail, and I do think the 2nd edition is better than the first. For lighter games by them I can say that Isle of Skye is excellent.

[@golf16ball]

Love your teach/playthroughs. Any chance you would ever do tsukuyumi?

[@JonGetsGames]

Glad you enjoyed it :) I think that's pretty unlikely, I'd never heard of the game before this comment and it doesn't look like the kind of game that will win a Patreon poll for a video.

[@wsiegel9539]

Waiting for my pre-order copy to arrive, Hopefully soon. Question: -@--49:32-- when the blue player places a pasture onto the board, the spot chosen shows 4 player icons in the bottom of the hex where the pasture is placed. Is this hex only available in a 4 player game?- Edit: I read the rules and I guess this is part of the setup. 😁

[@Tristavillus]

Capstone pre-order? Curious if you got yours yet.

[@brazillb2]

I'm a huge Pfister Pfan and this one seems like another awesome game. Those cards really add some tough choices, seems like your always broke or out of those workers. It doesn't seem like a fun game to teach, but Pfister games always have such great icons.

[@JonGetsGames]

I was surprised when I taught this one in only 35 minutes at a game night, though the other players were quite experienced with heavy games in general.

[@callahanjohnson]

Hey Jon, wanted to let you know that I liked the thumbnail! 👍🏻 Know it was (and perhaps still is) something you were experimenting with so just wanted to give you some feedback. 😉

[@JonGetsGames]

Thanks! I forgot to take this photo when the game was setup, so later I had to re-set it up enough to snap this and I'm glad it's paying off :)

[@Thesussysuscat]

Perfect

[@dungareechubbins9789]

After the second scoring you get placed on a spot with a anchor symbol. Does that trigger your card bonuses? Or is it only when you stop on them with movement?

[@JonGetsGames]

Good question. I believe this does NOT count as moving there to trigger bonuses, at least that's how I've been playing it.

[@L3vinesNL]

wouldve loved to see a playfurther of this game.

[@samiamagainagain]

At 1:16:00, did you score yellow’s cows correctly? Would it not be 6 points for cows instead of 3 because 2 scoring spots are unveiled (under where the cows were removed from)?

[@JonGetsGames]

Each cow scores 1 point for ever Settlement adjacent to it. So one cow was worth 1 point for the 1 adjacent settlement and the other was worth 2 points for the 2 adjacent settlements.

[@samiamagainagain]

@@JonGetsGames OK. Thanks for explaining. It's strange that they put the scoring iconography under the cows on the player board if they don't work as multipliers. They should have just put the iconography off to the side. Typically, 2 unveiled icons would mean each icon scores for you. Confusing with this game. Thanks again!

[@JonGetsGames]

You weren't the only one confused by this here in the comments, so I think you make a good point.

[@samiamagainagain]

@@JonGetsGames Thanks for replying. Yeah, I think if they had put the iconography off to the side instead of unveiling it, it would be clearer. At this point, there's kind of an unspoken protocol for rules design, and they didn't follow suite here. But easy enough to remember, so not a big deal 😅

[@thegametrainer9004]

1:04:58 red has a second inhabitant in the New Hope (grey) region

[@JonGetsGames]

Ah, you are right. Good catch!

[@SteoanK]

Hey @1:15:00 ish doesn't the blue player score 2 points per settlement next to their cow?

[@JonGetsGames]

You always score 1 point per settlement next to each individual cow you have.

[@Terabiel]

When you placed the building tile at around the 32 minute mark, you did so on a space that had 4 little meeple symbols. isn't that spot restricted to a 4 player game?

[@JonGetsGames]

No, this icons are only there to help with the game setup for different player counts. In a 4p game that spot would have started off being covered by a tile.

[@Ulgroth]

The most important thing I learned is that I'm pretty sure Jon likes pulling levers.

[@slenkhar]

Technical suggestion: raising the volume of your videos. Have to listen at max volume on handheld device to hear things, which makes it very bad if an advert shows up. Stellar production otherwise !

[@JonGetsGames]

Yeah, this video came out super quiet and I'm frustrated with myself about it. I've made corrections to my audio settings template so hopefully my releases since this one have been better as far as overall volume.

[@slenkhar]

@@JonGetsGames Yes, all fixed on newer ones 👌

[@fmargueirat]

It looks like @ 19:10, blue player paid 4 money instead of 3.

[@JonGetsGames]

Good catch! I've added a correction, thanks.

[@Skycroft1000]

I have Great Western Trail, and I really like it a lot, but over time I grew frustrated with it and unable to play it anymore because I really hate the way you can speed around the board and rush the game end. I hate being rushed like that, and I hate doing it to others almost as much. Then Maracaibo came out, and I never got it because even though I loved _almost_ everything about it, it had the same element of being rushed, worse if anything. Then I was looking forward to Boonlake and... I guess the lesson to take is that Alexander Pfister loves to break my heart. In fairness, this is not nearly as bad as Maracaibo I think, where you can be rushed to the point of 3 or so turns a round (exacerbated by the fact that the solo automa does _exactly_ that) but still, it's really annoying to have all these games I _would_ love if it were not for this one mechanic.

[@brandtsanderson4665]

In all of these games you can rush but it is not a good strategy. Most people will lose by doing that. But that being said these are efficiency games where the timer is the other players.

[@johnwheeler6839]

I feel the same way. I actually do not like GWT but like Maracaibo quite a bit for two reasons; one is that if you play Maracaibo in the "expert mode" it's slows the game a little bit. And two is I look at Maracaibo as I'm going to get at least four turns in a round and I have to make the most of it.

[@Vadjong]

The core mechanics and gameplay look quite fun, but the theme/setting is neither here nor there and not a great fit for the feel of what you're actually doing. Maybe we could be evil geniuses, building our HQ together on the main board. Or managers running a crazy factory or institution. Or hackers messing about in a cyber network; just anything a bit more imaginative.