Welcome to the Ginkgopolis Game!

Let me walk you through the rules of this exciting game.

First, I want to talk about the importance of understanding the rules of any game. When you know how to play, you can fully enjoy the experience and make the most out of it. That’s why I am here to guide you and help you get started.

In Ginkgopolis, you will embark on a journey to build your own futuristic city. But remember, it’s not just about constructing buildings; it’s about creating a thriving and balanced community.

To begin, each player will receive a player board, some cards, and a set of meeples (little tokens representing people). The game revolves around these three main components.

The player board is your canvas. It represents a section of the city that you will develop throughout the game. You will place cards on this board to construct buildings and coordinate the growth of your city.

The cards are your tools. They depict different types of buildings and elements that you can add to your city. Each card has a unique ability, so choose wisely and strategize to gain the upper hand.

The meeples represent the people of your city. You will place them on the cards to indicate ownership and influence in that area. Meeples are valuable, so use them carefully and strategically.

Now, let’s dive into the gameplay. The game is played over several rounds, each consisting of three phases: the Explore phase, the Influence phase, and the Build phase.

During the Explore phase, new cards are revealed, offering you a selection of options for expanding your city. It’s like exploring the untapped potential of your city, discovering new opportunities for growth.

Next comes the Influence phase. Here, players take turns placing their meeples on the cards they want to control. You’ll have to carefully decide which cards to invest your influence into, as the competition is fierce.

Finally, we have the Build phase. In this phase, you’ll use the cards you’ve acquired to build new buildings and expand your city even further. The placement of these buildings is crucial, as they interact with each other and impact the overall development of your city.

Throughout the game, you’ll earn victory points based on the buildings you construct and the influence you exert. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins, but remember, it’s not just about winning. It’s about the joy of building something great and seeing your city flourish.

So, grab your meeples, sharpen your strategy, and let’s build the city of the future in Ginkgopolis!

Imagine a tree that has witnessed the passage of time, standing tall and strong. That tree, my friend, is the Ginkgo Biloba, the oldest and most resilient tree in the world. And now, this ancient wonder has become the symbol of a fresh approach to urban planning – one that embraces nature and harmonizes with our environment.

As humans, we have consumed the Earth’s resources to near exhaustion. It’s time for us to rethink our cities and find that delicate balance between production and consumption. Our challenge is clear – build up, build smart, and build sustainably. Together, we will forge a new era of city planning, where nature and mankind can coexist in perfect harmony.

A Brilliant Journey Begins

• The game includes 60 Building tiles, divided into 20 for each color.
• There are 12 Urbanization cards, labeled from A to L.
• 60 Building cards are included, with 20 in each of the 3 colors.
• 27 Character cards are part of the game.
• Players will have 125 resources in their respective colors, with 25 resources per color.
• Each player will receive 10 New Hand tokens.
• There are 12 Urbanization tokens, labeled from A to L.
• Each player will have a screen in their color.
• Tokens for 1, 3, 5, and 10 success points are used in the game.
• 15 Construction Site pawns are included.
• There is 1 First Player card.
• The game also includes a rulebook.

Objective of the Game

In Ginkgopolis, you and your fellow players are urban planners. Your goal is to construct and manage the city’s buildings in order to accumulate the most success points possible. Each round, everyone chooses an action simultaneously by selecting a card from their hand.

When you play a card on its own, you get to use one building in the city. But when you play a card with a Building tile, you can build a new building and use one or more buildings next to it.

After everyone takes their turns, we resolve the actions in the order they were played. The player with the most success points at the end of the game wins.

Now, let’s talk about the different parts of the game.

First, we have resources. These are the things you need to build and upgrade your buildings. The main resources in the game are wood, stone, and gold.

Next, we have workers. Workers are the people who help you build and operate your buildings. Each player starts with a certain number of workers, and you can get more throughout the game.

Buildings are the heart of the game. They come in different types and have different abilities. Some buildings produce resources, some give you special powers, and some let you take extra actions.

Finally, we have the city. The city is where you place your buildings. Each player has their own city, and you can only build in your own city.

Now that you know the basics, it’s time to start playing! Remember, the goal of the game is to score the most success points, so make sure to plan your moves carefully and make the most of your resources. Good luck!

We need resources to build and use buildings. Resources are colored pieces that show who owns a building.

Let’s Talk about Building Cards

When I play a Building card, it means that I want to construct a specific building in the city. The Building card matches the color and number of the topmost tile of that building.

Understanding Building Tiles

Building tiles represent the different kinds of buildings that we can create. Each tile has a unique color and number.

Did you know that we can stack multiple tiles together to make a tall building? The color and number of the topmost tile determine the building’s characteristics. The number of floors in a building matches the number of resources on it.

Do you ever wonder what the different colored buildings are used for in real estate projects? Well, let me explain. Red buildings are production buildings that help you acquire resources. They are like the hard workers behind the scenes, tirelessly generating materials for your projects. On the other hand, blue buildings are office buildings that serve as hubs for academic, analysis, research, and other administrative functions. They are like the brains of the operation, providing the knowledge and expertise needed to make informed decisions. Lastly, we have the yellow buildings, which are all about daily life. These buildings include housing, commerce, and leisure facilities. They are like the heart of your projects, creating a vibrant and livable environment that attracts people and boosts the success of your endeavors. So, as you embark on your real estate journey, remember the significance of each color and how they contribute to your overall success.

Urbanization Tokens & Cards

Urbanization, a word that players of board games like Monopoly and SimCity are likely familiar with. But do you really know what urbanization is all about? Let me explain.

Urbanization refers to the process of a population shift from rural areas to urban areas. In simpler terms, it’s the movement of people from the countryside to the city. When this happens, the city grows, new infrastructure is built, and the population becomes more concentrated.

The influence of urbanization can be seen through various tokens and cards in board games. These tokens represent the development and expansion of the city. They can be buildings, roads, parks, or any other element that contributes to urban growth.

Take a game like Monopoly, for example. As you play, you acquire properties and build houses and hotels on them. This represents the process of urbanization, as the city expands and becomes more developed.

Similarly, in SimCity, the goal of the game is to create a thriving metropolis. You can do this by building residential, commercial, and industrial zones, along with various infrastructure elements like roads and utilities. These actions simulate the urbanization process and give you a taste of what it’s like to be in charge of a growing city.

The interesting thing about urbanization is that it’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, it brings about economic growth, job opportunities, and improved living conditions. On the other hand, it also leads to challenges like overcrowding, traffic congestion, and environmental issues. So, when you’re playing these games and encountering urbanization tokens and cards, you’ll experience both the positive and negative aspects of this phenomenon.

So, next time you’re playing a board game that involves urbanization, consider the significance of the tokens and cards. They’re not just game pieces, but representations of a complex process that shapes our cities and societies.

I am here to tell you all about Urbanization tokens. These tokens are found on the outer edges of a city and mark the areas where new buildings can be built.

Every Urbanization card is connected to an Urbanization token.

Character Cards

Hey there! So, guess what? In this game, all players start with 3 characters. Cool, right? But hold on, let me explain. In the very beginning, when we’re just getting started, we all get a set of cards that have different characters on them.

Now, pay close attention! Each character has a specific role. You know, like in a movie or a play. We have these bio-city planners who are all about helping us earn these things called success points. They’re the yellow cards. Then we have the bioengineers, who are the blue cards, and they help us with designing projects, like building cool stuff. Finally, we have the bio-technicians, the red cards, and they’re the ones who help us either make new resources or recycle the ones we already have. Pretty neat, huh?

Setup

Here’s what I suggest you do:

1. First, let’s set up the board. Take the 9 Building tiles numbered 1, 2, and 3 and place them randomly to form a 3×3 square. We want it to be a surprise!

2. Now, let’s prepare the rest of the Building tiles. Shuffle them up and make face-down piles. If we’re playing with 2 or 3 players, let’s remove 6 random tiles without peeking and put them back in the box. These piles are called the general supply. Throughout the game, we’ll be taking Building tiles from here.

3. Don’t forget to put the success points and Construction Site pawns near the Building tiles. We’ll need them later.

4. Time to make a deck! Shuffle the 12 Urbanization cards (A to L) with the 9 Building cards that match the starting buildings (the cards numbered 1-3). If we’re playing with 2 or 3 players, let’s discard the first 7 cards face-up next to the deck. They won’t be used.

Hey there! Let’s get started with the setup for the game. Here’s what you need to do:

First, grab the building cards numbered from 4 to 20 and sort them out by color. Arrange them in ascending order within each color group. You should end up with three stacks of cards, one for each color.

Next, it’s time to distribute the resources. Each player will choose a color and place the corresponding resources into the general supply. The number of resources depends on the number of players: 25 resources per player for a game with 2 players, 20 resources each with 3 players, 18 resources each with 4 players, and 16 resources each with 5 players. Any leftover resources should be returned to the box. Remember, all resources that players gain during the game will come from this general supply.

Now, let’s set up each player with their personal items. Each player will receive a screen in their chosen color and two New Hand tokens.

To begin the game, each player starts with three Character cards. These will be essential for your strategies and decisions as the game progresses.

When we start a game, we all get a set of 3 Character cards, each with the same number. But in a regular game, things change a bit. We have to choose our characters by drafting them. Here’s how it works: we each get 4 cards, we choose one and keep it secret. Then we pass the remaining 3 cards to the person on our left, and from the 3 cards we receive from the person on our right, we choose one to keep. We keep doing this until we each have 3 cards.

Any cards we don’t choose go back in the box. Once we’re done drafting, we all reveal our chosen Character cards at the same time.

Put your 3 Character cards in front of you. On the top-left of each card, there are icons that show you how many items you get for choosing that character. These items can be Building tiles, resources, or success points. Take these items and put them behind your screen. Remember, all the items you receive during the game will go behind your screen.

In the game, the player who has most recently planted a tree is the one who gets the First Player card. That person then deals 4 cards from the deck to each player.

For example:

Let’s say we’re playing a 4-player game. We’ve completed the setup up through Step 7 (you can see the illustration below for reference). Since this is an introductory game, each player gets a set of 3 Character cards. Nell gets the #2 set of cards. With the three cards she received, she starts the game with 4 resources, 2 tiles, and 2 success points.

Note: It’s a good idea to keep your Character cards organized in columns, based on the icon to the left of the arrow. You can follow the same method when you earn cards through the Constructing a floor action.

Let’s Play

The game is made up of a variable number of turns. Each turn has 3 steps:

1. Choose a card
2. Take actions
3. Get ready for the next round

Step 1: Pick a Card

Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re all gonna take a card from our deck at the same time. Look at the four cards you have in your hand, pick one that you like, and put it face-down in front of you.

Now, let me remind you – you can play this card on its own or with a Building tile. If you decide to play a tile with it, grab the tile behind your screen and place it face-down on top of the card you chose.

As for the other three cards, just put them face-down in front of you. And listen, if you happen to have the First Player card, make sure to put it on top of your unused cards. It’ll make it easier for us to know who’s starting the game.

If you ever want to switch things up during the game, you have the option to discard all 4 cards in your hand and draw 4 new ones. Just say, “I’m getting a new hand,” and it will be done. Keep in mind that you can only do this twice per game.

If multiple players want to get a new hand at the same time, they can take turns doing so in the order they announced it. Don’t worry about missing your turn – switching hands won’t disrupt your normal gameplay. And at the end of the game, each unused New Hand token you have is worth 2 success points.

2. Resolve Actions

Now let’s talk about resolving actions. Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player reveals the card they’ve chosen and, if applicable, the tile they’ve played. The action you take will depend on the type of card (Urbanization or Building) and whether or not you played it with a tile:

1. Exploiting: If you play a card by itself

What Does It Mean to Play a Card in Urbanization?

Urbanization is a board game that simulates the process of building cities. In Urbanization, there are different actions that players can take to progress in the game. Two of these actions involve playing cards: urbanizing and constructing a floor. Let’s take a closer look at what these actions mean and how they work.

Urbanizing

The first action, known as urbanizing, involves playing an Urbanization card with a tile. This means that you are using the Urbanization card to add a new tile to your city. When you urbanize, you are expanding your city and making it grow.

Constructing a Floor

The second action is constructing a floor, which involves playing a Building card with a tile. In this action, you are using the Building card to add a new floor to an existing building in your city. Constructing a floor allows you to increase the height and capacity of a building, making it more valuable.

A. Exploiting

There is also another way to play a card in Urbanization, known as exploiting. This action involves playing a card by itself, without a tile. When you exploit a card, you are using its special ability or effect to gain an advantage in the game. Exploiting can be a strategic move that allows you to maximize your resources and make strategic decisions.

So, in Urbanization, playing a card can mean different things depending on the action you choose. Whether you are urbanizing, constructing a floor, or exploiting, each action has its own purpose and contributes to the overall development of your city. By understanding and utilizing these actions effectively, you can create a thriving and successful city in the game of Urbanization.

If you played only a card called Urbanization, you can choose to get either a resource or a tile from the general supply. It’s up to you!

If you only played a Building card, you can operate the city building that matches the card.

And then, you receive the things indicated by the color of the card:

• If it’s a red card, you’ll get resources,
• If it’s a blue card, you’ll get tiles,
• If it’s a yellow card, you’ll get success points.

The number of things you receive is determined by the height of the building you operated. For each floor of the building, you receive one thing: a 1-floor building gives you 1 thing, a 2-floor building gives you 2 things, and so on.

If you’ve got any cards that give you an Exploiting bonus nearby, you’ll get the stuff those cards say. These bonus cards are Character cards you get at the beginning of the game, or cards you earn when you build a floor.

Once you’ve completed the action, put the card you played in the discard pile.

For instance:

So, guess what? I just played the Red 7 all by itself. That means I get to use my nifty two-floor building called the red number 7 building. And the best part? I scored 2 resources from the supply and stowed them behind my screen. Score!

Oh, and here’s another cool thing I did. I had not one, but two cards with an Exploiting bonus in my area. The first card let me snag an extra tile, and the second card earned me a sweet success point. And to top it all off, I went ahead and got rid of that card. It served its purpose!

B. Urbanizing: Playing an Urbanization card with a tile

Now, listen up. When you play an Urbanization card along with a tile, you’re giving our city a little makeover. You get to expand it by adding a brand-new building on the outskirts. Here’s the lowdown:

If you’re trying to find the right urbanization token for your card, just replace it with the tile. It’s as simple as that!

If you own the building, you can show it by placing a resource on this tile. You can also put a Construction Site pawn to show that the card for this building hasn’t been added to the deck yet.

When you play the game, you have the option to move the Urbanization token to a space that is right next to the new tile. But keep in mind, you can only move it orthogonally, not diagonally. Most of the time, there will be an empty space nearby where you can place the token. However, in some rare situations, there may not be an empty space available. In those cases, you have the flexibility to place the Urbanization token somewhere else, as long as you make sure to follow the alphabetical order of the tokens.

In addition to this rule, you also have the freedom to move other Urbanization tokens if needed, in order to follow the alphabetical order. So don’t worry, if you find yourself in a tricky situation, you have the power to rearrange the tokens to make it work.

So here’s how it works: when you place a building, you can use the ones next to it, but not the ones diagonally. By “using” a building, you get the rewards as if you had played that building’s card on its own.

Hey there! So, if you’ve got any cards with an Urbanizing bonus, you’re in for a treat. They come with some pretty cool stuff that you can use (check out the Card Bonuses section for all the details).

Once the action has been resolved, put the card you played in the discard pile.

Here’s an example:

So, here’s what happened: I played the Urbanization card, which had the letter A and a red number 4 tile. This means I had to replace the Urbanization token A with my tile, and I also had to put a resource and a Construction Site pawn on the tile.

After I placed the tile, I moved the Urbanization token to an empty space next to it. Then, I took advantage of the two adjacent buildings and gained 1 resource and 2 tiles, which I put behind my screen.

Now, here’s the cool part: I had a red card with an Urbanizing bonus, so I got an extra resource. And to wrap things up, I discarded the Urbanization card I played.

Playing a Building card with a tile

Now, let’s talk about constructing a floor. When you play a Building card with a tile, you add a new floor by placing the new tile on the building in the city indicated by the card. Here’s how it works:

Got resources that belong to a building? Return them to the owner! When you have resources from someone else’s building card, give them back. The owner will put them behind their screen. And guess what? If you’re the owner of the building, you get 1 success point for each resource returned to you.

Remember: You don’t get any success points for returning resources to your own building. So don’t try to cheat!

When you play a tile, put it on the specific building shown on the card.

There may be extra costs:

If the number on your tile is lower than the number on the tile you’re covering, you have to pay the difference in success points. For example, if you place a 4 on top of a 5, you need to pay 1 success point.

If the color of your tile is different from the color of the tile you’re covering, you have to get rid of 1 resource and give it back to the general supply.

Hey there! Let me tell you a bit about building in this game. When you want to build something new, you’ll need to place your resources on the tile. Remember, it’s one resource per level of the building. Now here’s the thing: all the resources on one building belong to just one player. And that number of resources? Well, it always matches the number of tiles in that building. See? It’s all about strategy and making sure you have enough resources to build what you want. Have fun!

Once you’ve found a card that interests you, you can place it in your deck. Be sure to take note of its title and any special abilities it may have. These cards are what you’ll use to construct your deck and compete against other players.

When you add a card to your deck, you’ll also need to add a Construction Site pawn to it. This pawn represents the fact that the card has not yet been fully integrated into your deck. It’s a visual reminder that you still need to work on incorporating this card into your overall strategy.

Building a deck is an important aspect of the game, and it’s something that you’ll need to carefully consider. Each card you add to your deck has the potential to enhance your overall strategy, but it also has the potential to throw off the balance of your deck if not chosen wisely.

So, when you’re choosing cards for your deck, it’s important to take into account how each card will fit into your overall strategy. Think about how it will interact with the other cards in your deck, and how it will contribute to your overall game plan.

By carefully choosing and incorporating new cards into your deck, you’ll be able to create a strategy that is both cohesive and powerful. So take your time, experiment with different cards, and find the ones that work best for you.

If you happen to have any cards that give you a bonus for constructing a floor in your area, you’ll get the items that are mentioned on these cards. You can find more information about these bonuses in the Card Bonuses section.

When you play a card, keep it face-up in front of you. This card will give you a special advantage for the entire game. There are two types of advantages: permanent advantages, which have a black arrow and are active the whole game, and endgame advantages, which have an “=” icon and earn you points at the end of the game.

For example:

So, here’s what happened: I played the blue number 5 building card, and also placed the red number 4 building tile. Now, the blue 5 building belongs to Faye, so she collects the two resources that were placed there and earns 2 success points. As for me, I put the number 4 tile on the blue 5 building.

But, there’s a catch. Since 4 is less than 5, I have to pay 1 success point. And not only that, I also have to get rid of a resource because the color of the new tile doesn’t match the one it’s covering.

But it’s not all bad news. I get to place 3 of my resources and a Construction Site pawn on the new building. Because I have two bonus cards for constructing a floor, I earn 1 success point and 1 resource in return. And to top it off, I put the blue number 5 building card face-up in front of my screen.

Hey there! If you ever find yourself playing a card and a tile, but you don’t have the necessary items to place the tile in the city, don’t worry. You can just take the tile back and put it behind your screen. It’s as if you had only played the card by itself.

1. Get Ready for the Next Round

Once everyone’s done with their actions, it’s time to prepare for the next round. Each player collects the unused cards, including the First Player card if it’s there, from the player on their right. Then, starting with the new first player and going in player order, everyone draws a card from the deck. This way, everyone always has a hand of 4 cards.

If at any point the deck runs out of cards, don’t worry. The first player immediately reshuffles the deck by following these steps:

When I want to call out the tiles with Construction Site pawns on them, I start by saying the numbers for each color. Then, someone else goes through the stacks of Building cards and takes out the cards I mentioned. Those cards get added to the discard pile.

After that, I take the discard pile and shuffle it. This becomes a new deck for us to use.

But wait, there’s a rule change depending on how many people are playing. If it’s just two or three of us, I have to remove the top seven cards from the deck. But if there are four or five players, we don’t have to discard any cards.

Lastly, I pick up the Construction Site pawns and put them back with the rest of our supply.

Now, let me give you an example so you can see it in action.

I’ve just finished my turn, and now it’s time for me to pass my remaining cards to my neighbor on the right. Miley, who is the first player, takes the last card from the deck to make sure she has four cards in her hand again. But now, we’ve run out of cards in the deck and need to start over.

To rebuild the deck, Miley starts by telling us the numbers of the yellow tiles with a Construction Site token on them. In this case, they are tiles number 4, 5, and 9. Nell collects the yellow 4, 5, and 9 Building cards and adds them to the pile of discarded cards. We do the same for the red and blue Building tiles. Once that’s done, Miley shuffles all the discarded cards together to create a new deck.

After that, Miley discards the first 7 cards from the new deck, since there are only two players. Then, she removes all the Construction Site pawns from the city, and finally, it’s Nell’s turn to draw her card.

End of the Game

Hey! So, here’s how it goes down: When all the tiles run out the first time, we all get to add more tiles to the game. The catch is, we can add as many tiles as we want! Sneaky, huh? We each secretly gather a group of tiles behind our screens and then, BAM! We reveal them all at the same time. Talk about anticipation!

Now here’s the cool part – for each tile we reveal, we earn ourselves one success point. Nice! All the tiles we revealed get mixed together (face-down, of course) to create a fresh bunch of tiles for everyone to enjoy. And then, we just continue the game like nothing happened.

But wait, there’s more! The game only comes to an end when one of two things happen. One – we run out of tiles for the second time. Or two – one of us manages to place all their resources in the city (which varies depending on how many players there are). Once one of these conditions is met, we finish up the current round, tie up any loose ends, and call it a day. Game over, folks!

Note: Even if you retrieve all your resources because of another player’s action, the game still ends.

The player who has the most success points wins. To calculate your success points, add up the following:

• The tokens you earned during the game,
• The bonus points from cards with the “=” icon,
• 2 points for each unused New Hand token,
• Points based on your presence in the city districts.

A district is a part of the city formed by at least 2 buildings of the same color. A single building on its own does not count as a district.

In each neighborhood, we compare how many resources each player has in their color. The player who has the most resources gets points equal to the total number of resources in the neighborhood, no matter what color they are. The player in second place gets points equal to the number of resources they have in their own color. If there’s a tie, the player with the tallest building in the neighborhood has the advantage. If there’s still a tie, the player with the tallest building showing the highest number in the neighborhood has the advantage.

It’s important to note that if one player owns all the resources in a neighborhood, they earn points for both first and second place. This means they get 2 points for each resource in that neighborhood.

Here’s an example to help illustrate how it works.



Look at the picture. There are two groups of tiles: blue and yellow. See that red number 20 tile? It’s all alone, so it doesn’t belong to any group.

Now, let’s focus on the yellow group. Miley is the only one in this group, and she has 3 resources. Because of that, she earns 6 points. As for the blue group, Faye has the most resources out of the 7 resources in the group. That means she earns 7 points.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Miley and Nell are tied in both the number of resources they have and the heights of their buildings. Miley’s building has a higher number, so she earns 2 points. Nell, on the other hand, doesn’t earn any points.