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Game Info
Year
2017
Collection
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Description
During the Qing Dynasty, a time before coal-powered travel, citizens of Pingyao relied primarily on camels to cross through deserts, wilderness, plains, and cities to trade wealth and goods. The nation was divided, unable to operate an efficient economy. A national agency of bankers was established as a means to connect all of China. With a network of banking created, wealth began to accumulate, and the city of Pingyao became the financial heart of China.
Pingyao: First Chinese Banks is an economic dice-as-workers placement game in which players assume the role of famous Jin merchants in the Qing Dynasty. During the blossoming age of banking, players expand from Pingyao to open agencies across China, offering remittance services to businessmen in order to earn profits. The goal of the game is to build up money over eight rounds and be the wealthiest player by game's end.
Throughout the game, players must recruit reliable managers to oversee their agencies, which can grant powerful abilities. With cash in hand, players may deposit their earnings to gain interest or offer loans in exchange for government favors and fame. Pingyao: First Chinese Banks also includes a solo mode in which you are challenged by a series of quests.
—description from the publisher
在道光年間，晉商首創了票號（銀行）並逐漸執掌中國金融界。這是一個現金流遊戲，玩家將會扮演一位晉商在一定的時間內（8個回合），經營自己的票號，派遣自己的掌櫃開票號、放款、做匯兌、培養人才、攀聲望、和官府合作，讓自己的票號開遍全中國。遊戲結束後誰是最成功的商人（分數最多）誰將獲得遊戲勝利。
—description from the publisher (Chinese)
Featured Videos
Playthrough
Pingyao: The Golden Pawner Playthrough
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 1 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video TY_4gwtEO4Y
Meeple University Playthrough at 3:11 sentiment: positive
video_pk 90668 · mention_pk 300732
Click to watch at 3:11 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging and thinky mechanics that reward optimization of capital
- Beautiful-looking ingots and coins; pleasant table presence
- Expansion and language-independent base game with a solo mode
Cons
- Complex rules and learning curve
- Two-player variant can feel tight on the board
Thematic elements
- banking, lending, remittances
- banking network with central bank and branches
Comparison games
- Monopoly
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Agents/managers and activated powers — Agents or managers are placed to activate special powers on agencies.
- Block placement using a rest area to prevent duplicates — In a round, you cannot place another die of the same number in the rest area; you may place to other spots.
- Borrowing from central bank and paying interest — Loans from the central bank can be taken with costs and terms; interest is paid over rounds.
- Branch and agency network with three levels — Player boards have branches at three levels and a central headquarters; actions include opening branches, advancing on fame, remittances, and borrowing.
- Dice Placement — Players roll dice and place them on action spaces; actions resolved from the highest number to the lowest; higher numbers go first but weaker actions; lower numbers are stronger but go later; players pay the difference between their die and the last die that took that action.
- Dice worker placement with numbering order — Players roll dice and place them on action spaces; actions resolved from the highest number to the lowest; higher numbers go first but weaker actions; lower numbers are stronger but go later; players pay the difference between their die and the last die that took that action.
- Fame track bonuses — Advancing on the fame track yields bonuses that influence income and other options.
- Government tiles granting bonuses — From round three, tiles provide powerful bonuses to specialize with.
- Loans — Loans from the central bank can be taken with costs and terms; interest is paid over rounds.
- Remittance system — Remittances transfer money between branches; you gain fees and manage funds across branches.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's thinky the game is stinky in terms of working out how you can best utilize your capital
- I love doing live playthrough because I get to chat with you
- there's a solo mode excellent
- the game is language independent
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video m4-9nuy0vKk
Meeple University Top 100 List at 6:07
video_pk 85258 · mention_pk 336790
Click to watch at 6:07 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- banking/investment engine — Tails/cards function like money; lending, consigning, and investment dynamics.
- timed income cycles — Immediate income from tails, with long-term investment withholding access.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the story of Alien in a board game
- it's semi-ooperative
- you feel like you're creating your own alien type of story
- Deception Murder in Hong Kong
- very gentle, very recommended
- this was really the first roll and write that I saw and I still think it sets the standard
- you can get these big chain reactions going
- it's a completely themeless game
- gateway deck building games
- it's a pleasant game yet still competitive and interactive
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video xFX5d-FfhSU
Board Gaming Ramblings Playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 36041 · mention_pk 335187
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- High component quality (metal coins and tokens)
- Language independence (mostly language-neutral components and icons)
- Expansion adds depth and more strategic options
- Two-player interaction via blocking and dice talk creates tense decisions
Cons
- Dice luck can heavily influence early pacing
- Income tracking and remittance management can be fiddly and hard to juggle
- Rule complexity and jargon may create a steeper learning curve in a casual setting
Thematic elements
- Bank management, loans, pawnshops, and government-aligned quests
- Early 20th-century China, banking expansion with pawnshops and government quests
- Abstract/functional with light thematic flavor
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Block dice / snake draft — A blocking phase uses all dice to block spaces; higher values go first but often yield weaker actions.
- Dice Drafting — A blocking phase uses all dice to block spaces; higher values go first but often yield weaker actions.
- Dice Placement — Players roll dice (two d6s and one d4) and place them on action spaces to perform banking, loan, government quest, and pawn shop actions.
- dice worker placement — Players roll dice (two d6s and one d4) and place them on action spaces to perform banking, loan, government quest, and pawn shop actions.
- Income phase and end-of-round scoring — Income is computed from side sheets and bonuses; end-of-round scoring uses assets and loans to determine points and tokens.
- Loans — Loans provide ongoing income; remittance cards simulate money transfers between banks and customers, with associated timing and penalties.
- Loans and remittance cards — Loans provide ongoing income; remittance cards simulate money transfers between banks and customers, with associated timing and penalties.
- Pawn tiles and side chains — Pawn shops provide income and special abilities; side chains are linked to remittance flows and actions on the board.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is the chinese version of the game
- 99% of this game is language independent
- metal coins which are super awesome
- it's not a how to play video; we just explain a bit and then jump into it
- expansion adds a lot to the game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3