Yokohama FAQ
81 questions players ask · Updated Nov 7, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup
- Does the Synapses edition include the official 2-player dummy-player rules?
- What technology value does the dummy player have in a 2-player game?
- Which area boards and management boards are used in a 2-player game?
- Do the area boards have to go in the positions shown in the setup diagram?
- Can the Canal land in a corner of the layout during setup?
- Why does the Start Player card show -1 Yen?
- Is there a solo mode for Yokohama?
Placement and Movement
- Must my President move during the Movement step, or can it stay where it is?
- Can I place fewer assistants than the placement step allows, or none at all?
- Can assistants be placed in any area, or only next to my existing pieces?
- Do I pay anything when placing assistants where my own President stands?
- What if I can't afford the Yen owed to an opposing President?
- What counts as a legal place to put or move my President?
- Can my President pass through or stop in an area with an opposing President?
- When I return my President to my hand, which assistants can I take back?
- What if my President is in hand and there's no legal area to put it in?
- Can I take assistants back from the board without returning my President?
- How does the Canal work? Can I leave in any direction?
- Can I move assistants out of the area I just used before they are recovered?
Area Actions and Power
- In the Recovery step, do all my assistants in the area return, even if they added nothing?
- Must I carry out the area action where my President lands, even if it gives nothing?
- Is area power capped at 5?
- What gives power for an area action?
- Do Shophouses, Trading Houses and the Station token count toward power?
- Can an area action ever have only 1 power?
- Does a Trading House owner get 1 Yen when someone else uses the area?
Building and the 5-Power Bonus
- Can I have both a Shophouse and a Trading House in the same area?
- Can I build a Shophouse and a Trading House in the same turn?
- How much power do I need to build, and can paying extra Industry or Faith value count?
- Can I build with a Shophouse or Trading House I took from the Warehouse during the same action?
- Can paid goods or extra Industry value count toward the 5-Power bonus?
- What does 'pt' on the back of a 5-Power token mean?
- If my area action has no effect, can I still build or take the 5-Power token?
Foreign Mercenaries and Additional Actions
- Can I use a Foreign Mercenary more than once, or more than one per turn?
- Does a Foreign Mercenary replace my President's action or add to it?
- Does a Foreign Mercenary add power or trigger an area with only a Shophouse?
- If I use a Foreign Mercenary where an opponent has a Trading House, is the opponent paid?
- Can I use a mercenary the turn I earn it?
- How do I earn Foreign Mercenaries, and do mercenary flags count in sets?
- Where does a used Foreign Mercenary go?
- What's the difference between Additional Action Phase A and C?
- Can I take an Order card's rewards in any order?
- Can I fulfil an Order to get Yen for building in the same turn?
- Is there a limit to how many Orders I can fulfil in one turn?
- How many Order cards can I hold, and can I discard any?
- Do I pay anything to claim an Achievement?
Area Details
- How many pieces does the Employment Agency give at 3 power, and what do they cost?
- Does taking a piece from the Warehouse through a building reward still cost Yen?
- Do assistants moved by a Movement icon have to follow a connected path?
- Can two 'Any Trade good' icons give different goods?
- How many trades do I get at Chinatown, and are they optional?
- At Customs, can I pay fewer Imports than my power allows?
- How does the Church action work, and can an assistant from the Church area be used?
- Can two players occupy the same space on the Church or Customs board?
- Where can I place the assistants that a Church reward gives me?
- How does the Laboratory's Industry value work, and what's the 5 cap?
- What can I take at the Port, and do I pay for two Orders?
Technology Cards
- Does the extra Laboratory cost start with the 4th or the 5th technology card?
- Are technology cards ongoing effects or one-time bonuses?
- Does Gaslight or Electrical Light apply to a building I build the turn I get the technology?
- Does the Tram let my President move to an area where I have no assistant?
- Do I still need an assistant in the Station's area to move my President there?
- Does the Station add power for other players, and where does it go?
- How many Station cards are in the game?
- Can two Presidents ever be in the same area?
- Can the Tram and Postal System together put my President in an occupied area?
- Does Stagecoach let me place assistants on an opposing President's area for free?
- How much extra Copper does Mining Technology give at Chinatown?
- Can I use Telegram and Newspaper in the same placement step?
- Can Telephone's kept assistant let me use a mercenary there every turn?
Achievement Cards
Game End and Scoring
- Does the technology bonus go to the most cards or the highest Industry value?
- What counts toward the Country bonus sets?
- What converts to points at the end of the game?
- Do the dummy's pieces count in the Church and Customs rankings and end trigger?
- What ends the game, and how many turns follow?
- Who wins a tied game?