Ginkgopolis - Playthrough & Review

[@BeforeYouPlay]

This game was out of print for a long time, have you tried it? What are your thoughts?

[@snarfleezcattleprod4506]

I've been waiting for this reprint! I joined many other gamers on the BGG forums and the Pearl Games Facebook page to beg for this reprint. We just picked our copy up yesterday, and it's every bit as fun as I remember.

[@joshtaylor6137]

Played once a looongggg time ago, but remember really enjoying it. Super excited for your playthrough :)

[@ClockworkWyrm]

I saw a top Whatever games list a few years ago that had Ginkgopolis as a number one game and I've been wanting a copy ever since! So happy it's been reprinted and I snapped up a copy almost as soon as it was available in the States. It would have been awesome if they included the Experts expansion or updated the rest of the game art but those are small nitpicks. Played Ginkgopolis twice with my kids and they both loved the game. My daughter handily trounced my son and I in both games, haha.

[@xandermichael78]

Oh my goodness this looks so good! and it plays well on video. I loved seeing the areas changing hands over and over again. So many decisions! It's on my wish list now!

[@bobbio100]

I played this tonight -- your video helped me grok the rules! Borrowed it from a local library. It has some mechanical design that I like, but I think it suffers from a thin theme and it felt like my play group had trouble finding the motivation to see the game through. It does sound like a two-player experience would be much more interesting. Maybe even a really good candidate for a "duel" edition!

[@mrcat5179]

excellent video. I appreciate the clarity of information. Ya'll have a good conversational dynamic and you both have a knack for highlighting important information through speech cadence. I appreciate the lack of extraneous infromation. I hope you keep gaining subs. looking forward to discovering more content. thanks

[@jameskirk4692]

I definitely agree and second that.

[@bookaddict777]

I just got my copy of the game last week. Perfect timing!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Oh awesome! Had you played it before?

[@bookaddict777]

@@BeforeYouPlay No. I saw a playthrough video of it when the game was first released, but did not buy it at that time. I have been waiting a good long time for it to come back into print!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

So glad that it was reprinted. This one absolutely deserved it!!

[@bartl7436]

Yess! first Troyes and now Ginkgopolis :) Two of my favorites! I also always spell it gingko by mistake!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Same here lol!!

[@veronikarumyantseva5773]

me too/ And every time blame I cant find it))))))))))

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

Just got this yesterday. Perfect timing! Looking forward to trying this out with my wife.

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

This looks so fun!!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

It's fantastic!!

[@inezkestens5561]

This is such a weird game :p But I did pre-order it because something really intrests me, but I fear my friend will hate this :D he already finds 7 wonders Duel too competitive :p

[@dustinbschwartz]

Monique: "I love how you attempted to grab the empty bowl." Naveen: "Weeeeell it's a good visual. It's a good visual." 🤣🤣🤣

[@BeforeYouPlay]

LOL, if I had to reach across the board to make the point then it would be obnoxious.

[@dustinbschwartz]

it just made me laugh. Y'all have good energy together.

[@go_golden]

43:00 Shouldn't Monique also get 2 points for urbanizing next to a yellow tile with 2 resources?

[@SandmanX82]

I felt just like Monique at the end of this video - I read through the rulebook and wasn't sure I had a handle on the game. This video was instrumental for grasping the concepts introduced in the rulebook. I feel badly for Naveen and hope that doesn't happen during my play with my wife. It can be a bummer to feel like you're out of it early on, like he did. Would you guys say that's a typical 2p experience? Is one person typically left feeling stymied? Thanks for the video!

[@aleg2490]

I thought Monique was counting "1...2...3!" for them to say their scores hahah This seems like such a fun game, so many emotions!

[@raymyers700]

I paid through the nose for a copy....totally worth it. Very happy that other people will get the play it. Xavier George just nails it! Carson City, Ginkgopolis, Troyes....just amazing

[@BeforeYouPlay]

It’s so good, I was willing to shell out too for it. So glad they brought it back for people to experience. Since 2012 there are so many “new” gamers in the hobby, they deserve to give this one a try

[@dracmtt]

If you watch closely, you can see Naveen die inside every time Monique started scoring a new section.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

LOL!!!

[@RWHShadow]

Glad this game is back, really wanted to have it for so long! This game reminds me of Quadropolis, artwork-wise..

[@BeforeYouPlay]

It absolutely deserved a reprint! You're right, Quadropolis is the game I would likely compare this to.

[@NemoMangelk]

SPOILERS A reverse Darwins Journey

[@BeforeYouPlay]

LOL TRUE!

[@aberaigne]

I bought this game and have played it 4 times Solo. Its a good solo game too. Can't wait to play it with some peeps!!

[@FuzzyLogic0]

End game scoring. It's one point per resource of yours on a yellow tile. Count res not tiles.

[@FuzzyLogic0]

I think that's +5 points for Naveen, but +18 for Monique.

[@BoardGameGran]

lol Naveen saying "not good" when you asked how he felt after the game. I know that feeling well my friend. That "ohhhh" at the end lol

[@BeforeYouPlay]

HAHAHA exactly!

[@seanduffy502]

Just discovered your channel yesterday! Amazing playthroughs and fun to watch. I'm going to the boardgame shop tomorrow (to get the Harry potter card builder). Super motivating and so informative. Awesome :)

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Hi Sean, so glad you found our channel! Our voices and pace sound better when played at 1.15 speed lol. Have a blast going to your local gaming store!!

[@christianbank393]

I played this online for the first time last year and immediately wanted to own it! I'm glad it was reprinted and I hope they reprint the expansion too.

[@mikemaixner1]

Awesome playthrough! Love your channel-- you guys always produce great videos. I think you guys are mis-scoring one of the end game cards types. It's not "one point per red/blue/yellow tile", but rather "one point per resource on a rex/blue/yellow tile". It wouldn't have changed the outcome, this time, but could definitely be a game changer!

[@Goldfinch241]

I just got this game second hand and couldn’t understand the rule book at all. Thanks to your explanation I got the hang of it and it was then good to see you play to reinforce that understanding. Perfect and thank you - otherwise I might have given up.

[@jasonberezowski2869]

Yeah im kinda the same way, when I read through the rules i was a bit confused on a few things like "okay what exactly am I doing? Why does this need a tile and a card? Etc". However the game is more elegant than it first appears and once you get through your first game it really makes sense in my opinion. Really fun game that looks like a city builder but isnt one at all.

[@jd5iron]

Glad I took the time to watch this. I just got the game and heard the rulebook wasn't great. You both made it easy to understand mechanically while leaving tons of room for developing a strategy. Thanks for the comprehensive look at this. I'm requesting to play it on my birthday this weekend.

[@ClockworkWyrm]

This is such a great game. I'm in the same boat as you though I got my plays in last weekend. The rulebook could definitely benefit from some TLC but the game is actually a lot simpler than the rulebook makes it seem. Your turn is literally select a card (and tile maybe) to play, activate the card (and tile if needed) in turn order, pass your hand, draw back up to four cards. The only clunky part of the game, and it isn't even that bad, is constructing the deck each time it runs out of cards.

[@filiplazov5895]

I really enjoy your videos, great work :)

[@bushibayushi]

love your post game discussion guys, you always have great points

[@jameskirk4692]

Thank you a lot for this video teach and playthrough! Was awesome! Very useful, and interesting watching you play out your turns and state of the board always changing. I will try this game on BGA. I think I am gonna love it.

[@XenoSmyth]

Thanks for the awesome video! I just got my copy a week ago, so the timing is perfect.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@Gathanokos]

I just played this game and it was amazing! I know this is an old video but one question though: it seems that the card scoring you guys did, you added on point per particualr tile color with your resource, where the rule book says "one point per resource on a particular tile color." Would you be able to clarify this? Thank you for the video!

[@codyward8554]

Another great video. Looks like fun! 😀 PS, maybe it was the “season of Naveen”. 😂

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Definitely! Need to bounce back and QUICK

[@FestaNoYoutubiu]

One thing would be for her to earn 9 point for the collected tiles. Another thing, which is equivalent of a bucket of ice water, is to allow her to prologue the game by returning the tiles. I'm not sure about this design option. It seems totally anti-climatic.

[@deepdivemusicreactions]

so... how does it hold up in comparison to other city building games like quadropolis, suburbia, the capital etc?

[@malikouda7952]

I have a hard time calling this a city builder. The theme is the weakest of almost any game in my collection. The game itself is great though.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Unfortunately haven't tried Capital, but between the other 2 and this one, I would pick Ginkgopolis for sure.

[@isaacthimbleby8926]

Mechanically a very different game to any of those. Probably closest to Capital, just because of the drafting, but still not really comparable. This is a heavier game in terms of strategic complexity (though not really in terms of rules complexity - though they are slightly more obtuse), and more vicious than any of the games you mention. A substantial percentage of your points comes from area control, and you can 'attack' your opponent's areas. I'd sooner liken this to Inis than any of those three, though even Inis isn't a good comparison.

[@Arahmon1117]

Love these unexpected playthrough's that you haven't mentioned are coming up. I have heard good things about this so i'm interested to see if you will add yet another game to my watchlist!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Haha we have quite a few games planned in the coming weeks/months.

[@kaseygirven3522]

Really appreciate your thoughts on player count. Definitely think I'll be adding this one.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Awesome, glad we could help out!!

[@GlennDeBlock]

When I look for pictures on Google I see large grey components on the tiles, but I dont see them in your game? Do you know what those are?

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Hi! Great question! Are they large grey cylinders? If so, in the older version of the game they used those instead of the crane tokens that are in the new edition.

[@GlennDeBlock]

@@BeforeYouPlay thx!

[@disantolotino8758]

Hello, great game and good play! There are however few mistakes for the scoring. The yellow cards ending points (10, 11, 15) gives 1 point for each ressources not only for each tiles!

[@ronthal]

Interesting. I actually own Ginkgopolis since 2012 and even the expansion "The Experts" (which I never used), since it's initially a French game. It works well, it's very interesting conceptually. it's quite swingy, it's really more complex than it looks. But to me aesthetically it's dated, it's not really gratifying since you don't "own" your city, just trying to secure points one way or another. In that sense it's not a city building game really, the way Suburbia can be, and I much prefer the latter, even in its initial edition which is not really pretty either. Feels so much more fulfilling to shape your own city! I'm sad that Suburbia is not easily available either (Collector's Edition is only in English I think and out of print?).

[@TheEricBooth]

This is such a great game.

[@pve7797]

Just bought this following your video. I got lucky because my fave game store had just one copy left. They do not expect them to be delivered to NL again until in August.. So very excited and looking forward to playing this! Thanks again for the tip!!

[@FilippoCampana]

This was one of the very first real board game i played long ago. I miracolously found a copy online back in 2018 for just 40€! Played it a lot since then with my sister. Only played it once in 5 player count and absolutely loved the chaos it generated on the board; you could see absolute fear on everyone face whenever somebody played a tile with a card. do you guys know if they're going to reprint the expansion "the expert" as well? Have been looking for it ever since i played the base game

[@lizzygav]

Excellent rules explanation!

[@MaestroMcQ]

I watched your Alchemists review just a few weeks ago to see if the game was worth the buy and I've been binging your channel ever since (I think after watching your play through of On Mars I might actually try it myself). Such an excellent channel.

[@eatings]

lol, Naveen, you got obliterated! I'm very excited this game is coming back into print. Troyes is still in my top 3 games and this looks like it has an amazing depth to ease of play ratio. Keep up the great work, your videos are fantastic!

[@areyal26]

I wanted to buy this game back in 2012, never got the chance. I don't know if I'll get it this time. Thank for the video!

[@jonathanmaner1157]

Played this at BGG con and just bought it for a friend. It’s so good. I do not like tile laying games for the most part, but this one hits! Give it a shot!

[@Iamwrongbut]

Have you peeps ever thought about reviewing Suburbia? Specifically the collectors edition?

[@annereynolds955]

I've played Ginkgopolis several times now. It's a fascinating game, but I am soooo bad at it!

[@rudybotha4398]

Bought it based on this video. Love the game. Interested to hesr your thoughts on the expansion

[@gmathijssen]

Thanks for the clear playthrough. I actually have a French version with Dutch rules 😜

[@joerobert7847]

and last but not least. we are going to do our area control (as Laveen knows that her points from bonus alone almost has him beat). LOL

[@Rizorax]

The card gives points per resources in tiles for the colors, not per tiles

[@harleygrattan2851]

That was a great teach, I’m excited to get this game. I can see why Steph Hodge loves this game. Cheers 🍻

[@damiencosgrove9668]

An absolutely amazing game. I'm still on the fence about getting it as one of closest gaming friends has it and the expansion so there's little point in having 2 copies in our group, but it;s so good!

[@JEV03]

I haven’t been interested in any area control games yet and the theme wasn’t super interesting (I wanted it to be more ginkgo-y I guess instead of a city builder), but I’m really intrigued by this one. Just from watching this video I love the engine building and the sudden swings overbuilding can cause. I’ll be on the lookout for an opportunity to try it!

[@williamcallison2009]

Same. I had almost written it off, but their experience and analysis has put it back on the radar (just need to push something else out of the budget, as always 😀)

[@Michael_Killey]

This game looks like a lot of fun!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Hi Michael, it really is! turns are snappy too!

[@WaldoReyJr]

Thanks for the smooth playthrough. Looks like a fun game. However, looks also like it wil be a bit tough teaching it to others. Lots of little rules. What do you think?

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Thank you for your kind words! Yes, we absolutely love the game, but you're right. It can be a challenge to teach just because of how counterintuitive the card play can be. That's likely going to be the main barrier, but once everyone knows it well, it plays fine.

[@jimcole4952]

I love it! One of my only games I rate a 10.

[@jellevancamp7190]

It's a blast to see you guys play. Thanks for sharing this gem of a game. :)

[@readilium3432]

Hahaha she made him say his score again.

[@shinjial]

Ouch! Monique came back with a vengence to break Naveen’s streak. Ps: I loved Naveen’s shirt. Caught myself thinking “man, I need one of those”. Lol and I rarely notice clothing at all.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Yeah Monique wiped the floor with me. I felt it at about the 1/2 way point, some of the cards I was forced to pass were agonizing lol. Love me some flannel shirts, I think 2-3 in the collection would suffice. Thanks for the compliment!

[@joes8383]

You two are great! Thanks!

[@theSolemnBard]

I like the Natural Topology variant on BGG for 2P, but we need to play again to see our first game ran long because of the variant, or just because first game. The solo game has also been surprisingly enjoyable

[@theSolemnBard]

The variant is basically: remove some tiles from the starting layout, don't remove any from the pool, don't ever remove cards after shuffling

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Nice, we hadn’t seen the variant you described. We’LOL try to read up on it and see how it goes.