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If you’ve ever thought, “I love board games, but what I’m really missing is a race to build a foam sushi roll before my friends do,” then Gimbap might be oddly perfect for you.
In this real-time game, you play as a gimbap chef trying to fulfil picky customer requests by arranging ingredients just right, based on a set of visual instructions. It sounds easy. It is not. This is the kind of game where you’ll shout “Gimbap!” far too confidently, only to realise your spinach is in the wrong place and your cheese is touching something it absolutely shouldn’t. Still, it’s the kind of chaos that can be good fun in the right setting.
👥 2-4 players, ages 8+
⏳️ Playing time: 15 minutes
📝 Designer: Roberto Fraga & Yohan Goh
🎨 Artwork: Chunso
🏢 Publisher: Korea Boardgames (review copy provided)
Gameplay overview
Each player starts with a seaweed sheet and one of each filling: rice, cheese, spinach, perilla, ham and pickled radish. The pieces are foam and velcro, and you’re going to be handling them a lot, so it helps that they’re simple to work with.
At the beginning of each round, you flip over a few scoring tokens. Then the starting player rolls a number of dice, between two and four, that tell everyone how their gimbap should be assembled. The more dice you use, the trickier the round.
The dice give little rules like “this ingredient must be next to that one” or “don’t put this near the edge.” Some of them are pretty intuitive, others need a second look. Once the dice are rolled, everyone builds their gimbap at the same time, trying to meet all the conditions. You have to use all your ingredients, and the seaweed always goes on the outside.
When you think you’ve done it right, you roll it up, stick the velcro shut, shout “Gimbap!” and grab the highest-value token. If there’s a tie in points, the token with more radishes on it wins. Why radishes are the tiebreaker is anyone’s guess, but it works.
Once all the tokens are claimed, players check their rolls one at a time. If you got it wrong, your token goes back. If you got it right, you keep it face down. Even if you didn’t finish, you might still get a leftover token if others messed up worse than you did.
The game ends when all point tokens have been used. Whoever has the most points wins. If there’s a tie, the player with the most radishes wins. Still tied? You both win. Or both lose. Depends how you look at it.
There are also ten tutorial cards included that walk you through examples of dice combinations. They’re genuinely useful if you’re teaching new players or just want to avoid five minutes of arguing over what a symbol means. There’s also a silly little variant where you have to hold your gimbap up in the air and it has to stay rolled without spilling. It doesn’t add much to the gameplay, but it does make for some good laughs when someone’s ham strip goes flying.
Components and presentation
The presentation is cheerful and straightforward. The art is bright and cartoonish, with a kitchen theme that fits the light-hearted tone of the game. It’s not flashy, but it doesn’t need to be.
The foam ingredient strips are soft but sturdy, with enough colour contrast to be recognisable in a hurry. The seaweed sheets are black with velcro backing, so you can actually roll them shut. It’s a nice touch that gives the game its unique feel, even if it makes storage a bit awkward.
The dice are clean and easy to read, which is important, since a lot of the gameplay relies on reading symbols quickly under pressure. The scoring tokens show rolled-up gimbap, along with clear numbers and little radish icons that work as tiebreakers.
There is a small issue with wear and tear. After just a few plays, some of the foam pieces were already showing signs of fraying along the edges. It’s the one part of the game that feels like it might not survive the long haul, especially if you play with younger kids or a particularly enthusiastic group.
That said, it all functions well. Once you’ve wrapped your roll and secured it, it really does look a bit like gimbap. And even if the materials aren’t the most durable, the tactile part is a big part of the game’s appeal.
Our experience
We played Gimbap over a few evenings with different groups. It was quick to explain, quick to set up, and usually caused a bit of chaos within five minutes.
With three or four players, the balance felt right. There was enough competition for the best tokens to make it tense, but not so much that it felt rushed or stressful. At two players, the game still works, but it feels more like a logic race than a party game. There’s just less energy in the room.
Most rounds ended with someone realising they’d made a mistake. It didn’t really matter, though. The checking phase was often the funniest part, especially when someone’s proud roll had a glaring error in the middle. Everyone made mistakes. It was part of the fun.
We tried the lift-your-roll variant as well. It’s not essential, but it added a bit of tension. It also led to some absolute disasters when someone’s carefully built roll collapsed the moment they picked it up. Good times, really.
One thing we kept coming back to was how much this feels like an activity as much as a game. That’s not a criticism. It’s a tactile experience with a bit of logic and a race element thrown in. There’s a nice rhythm to it, and once people know the symbols, it flows smoothly.
It’s not the kind of game you’ll want to play for hours, and it doesn’t really evolve over multiple plays. But for a short, hands-on filler between heavier games, it holds up.
Final thoughts
Gimbap is quick, light, and sometimes a bit silly. It’s not trying to be anything more than that, and it’s probably better for it.
It works best as a family or casual game, or something to bring out between more involved sessions. It’s also ideal if you’re playing with kids or mixed-experience groups. The puzzle element is light, the rules are simple, and the physical components give it a playful feel.
It’s not without flaws. The foam sheets don’t seem particularly durable. The gameplay doesn’t change much from session to session. And if you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy real-time pressure, this might not be your thing.
But if you like games that don’t take themselves too seriously, and you enjoy a bit of movement and noise at the table, Gimbap is worth a try. It’s easy to teach, quick to play, and has enough personality to stand out, even if it doesn’t stay on your shelf forever.
📝 We received a copy of the game from Korea Boardgames for review.
