- BGG rating
- 7.6
Ginkgopolis: The Experts
- 2–5 players
- 45 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2013
- BGG rank
- BGG #444
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Ginkgopolis
2012
Rules assistance for Ginkgopolis
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–5 players
- 45 min
- 13+
- Complexity 2.9/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Ginkgopolis
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Ginkgopolis is a board game released in 2012 for 1–5 players, 45 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Xavier Georges and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Income, and Area Majority / Influence.
Expansions
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About the game
2212: Ginkgo Biloba, the oldest and strongest tree in the world, has become the symbol of a new method for building cities in symbiosis with nature. Humans have exhausted the resources that the Earth offered them, and humanity must now develop cities that maintain a delicate balance between resource production and consumption. Habitable space is scarce, however, and mankind must now face the challenge of building ever upwards. To develop this new type of city, you will gather a team of experts around you, and try to become the best urban planner for Ginkgopolis. In Ginkgopolis, the city tiles come in three colors: yellow, which provides victory points; red, which provides resources; and blue, which provides new city tiles. Some tiles start in play, and they're surrounded by letter markers that show where new tiles can be placed. Begin with three Character cards which grant you starting resources and bonuses to power your game actions. On a turn, each player chooses a Construction or Urbanization card from his hand simultaneously. Players reveal these cards, adding new tiles to the border of the city in the appropriate location or placing tiles on top of existing tiles. Each card in your hand that you don't play is passed on to your left-hand neighbor, so keep in mind how your play might set up theirs! When you build over a tile, you add its “power" card to your tableau, which provides you additional abilities during the game, allowing you to scale up your building and point-scoring efforts.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Hobby Japan
- uplay.it edizioni
- Heidelberger Spieleverlag
- SD Games
- Z-Man Games
- Pearl Games
Questions and answers
Ginkgopolis supports 1–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Ginkgopolis is 45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Ginkgopolis for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Ginkgopolis has a complexity rating of 2.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Ginkgopolis belongs to these categories: Territory Building, City Building, and Science Fiction. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Income, and Area Majority / Influence. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Ginkgopolis are: Xavier Georges. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Ginkgopolis as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.