Tapestry | "A great score is 300" 😱 | Board Game Review
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 มิ.ย. 2024
- It is the dawn of a new civilisation and you've discovered FIRE and there's an even bigger fire in your belly to make things happen! Little by little, one tiny step at a time, evolve your people on to do great things, make scientific, sociological and technological breakthroughs essential to modern life, like language & currency, and tabletop games. Who can stretch their resources the furthest? Build the most landmarks? Conquer the most land? And ultimately, be the pushiest cube pusher that ever pushed.
Tapestry
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
00:34 Theme overview (Themer)
01:01 Mechanics overview (Thinker)
06:34 The underwhelming early experience
07:53 The one line in the rulebook that drove us mad...
08:43 Peeling back the layers
10:28 Core skill versus balance & randomness
14:22 Testing our theory
15:40 But do we like it?
26:53 Player count (& the Shadow Empire)
30:04 Solo (Automa) review
33:09 Wrap up
Designer: Jamey Stegmaier
Artist: Andrew Bosley, Rom Brown
Players: 1-5
Play time: 90-120 min
Publisher: Stonemaier Games
boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2...
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Thanks for stopping by for our mechanics & theme board game review of Tapestry. We're Amy & Maggie aka ThinkerThemer. We're an Australian couple with two very different perspectives of what makes a great board game - Amy (Thinker) is all about the mechanics and enjoys tight, competitive games, and Maggie (Themer) is all about the storytelling and the theme of the game, and the 'world' that the designer is trying to create. Subscribe to our channel to hear us talk about these two elements of a game, and how well integrated we feel these are in delivering a cohesive and wonderful game experience.
Are you #teamthinker or #teamthemer? ❤🏳️🌈🇦🇺
I will definitely agree that my first ever play or “learning game” way back did seem underwhelming but as I continued to play those “layers” as you say pulled back. Great review.
Thanks Jazz and we loved your expansion review too! ❤ Thanks for watching and supporting us as always, it means a lot.
I loved that the "300" measuring stick kept you playing too. I really love this game despite its many flaws, but a large part of that had my playgroup returning to is that little taunt in the rulebook.
Hahaha we do love a challenge!!! Thanks for watching Olivia and glad to hear your playgroup has enjoyed this one too ❤
I've only played Tapestry solo, but the 'thinker' side of me really loves it. I have 19 plays so far and my top score is 233. I am struggling to get to the 250 mark and cannot imagine reaching 300! Maybe some day I will...
This was a wonderful game review! Very informative, and y'all have great reasoning behind the element that you like and the ones you don't.
This is such a great review! I love how you both put your heart and passion for board games in giving such an authentic review. I really appreciate the hours of play and depth and detail. I have not played Tapestry, but this is the perfect review and overview for anyone who is considering it. Thanks for doing the expansions as well! I was so excited to see three new videos come out! Thanks for the awesome work on this!
Thank you so much Darlene! ❤ Given our similarity in game taste I am curious if you'd feel the same way as we did about this one. It's an easy con game with a short teach so I'm sure you'll be able to try sometime without committing to purchasing! Thanks as always for your kind words... we always appreciate the support 🥰🥰
Loved your take on this, great review!
Thank you so much for watching & taking the time to comment! 🥰
Great review. Thanks for the deep dive into the game.
Thank you Shawn for watching as always! ❤
Fantastic review. You answer all the questions I had about this game. Thanks
Thank you Pierre that's wonderful to hear !
I think this must be one of your best reviews so far. Well done! We really enjoy the game, and yes the theme is not super thick... but I love a game like Trajen and it really is themeless. Oh, love the components and table presence.
Thank you so much!! That's really kind of you to say and the feedback is really helpful. Glad you enjoy this one too!
Shadow empire definitely improves 2 player game for us which is really appreciated and will never play 5 and barely like 4. Thanks for the review
I think your articulation of Tapestry being like an onion whose layers you have to slowly peel to understand the interactions between the tracks and tapestry cards, etc, is really spot on. I've been increasingly enjoying this game, every time I play it, and your articulation of what that reason was is perfect. Super-cool that you decided to test that theory of core-skill too; great review, you two!
Thank you so much Alexander for sharing your thoughts! We are glad our experience of the game resonated with you and that you've been enjoying this one more and more. Thanks for taking the time to comment 😊
Phenomenal review. You’ve reflected a lot of what I felt when i first played this game and gave me a few new things to think about. I’m a bit conflicted on it though. I haven’t played Tapestry in two years and, after watching this discussion, I simultaneously want to play it immediately and put it on the sell pile.
This is such lovely feedback Don, thank you so much. 😊
Great review. I always feel like I get a full idea of what a game feels like to play while watching your videos.
Thank you Craig that is such lovely feedback and it means a lot to us. ❤
Great review guys, always been curious about Tapestry and this answered a lot of questions
Thanks so much Duncan! Which direction did it tip you in? ☺
@@ThinkerThemer Definitely going to have to get it at some point
Something that I enjoy about all three Tapestry reviews, well all your reviews, is the journey both of you take during different playthroughs. It sets a good example to see if there's a barrier to entry, or if there's limited replay value. It's very comprehensive, it helps me understand the game better, but it gives it a personal touch, as well.
One thing I missed this time, maybe even the last couple reviews, is the mention whether you thought if this game will stay in your collection. It's a little bit of insight that I value, but ultimately do what you think your reviews need. Tho future want or suggestion from me, if you can recommend similar games that you like or you think people could alternatively enjoy if they enjoy whatever game you're covering.
Thanks for the great review as always and take care!
For myself I also noticed my score increased the more I played and understood the synergies. It would be interesting to see the Board Game Arena data to see what combinations people use. To get around some randomness I decided to add a home rule to draft the Tapestry cards at the end of the Era. So for a 3 player game we would draft 6 cards, you pick the 1 card you want, then pass the remaining cards to the next player. We would start with the the 2nd player to end their era (like a bonus for them). The player who ended their era first drafts last.
Though I don't think it's for me it makes me so happy to see a really in depth review of the game now that time has passed and people that have played it a bunch. I had a lot of trouble dealing with the conflicting reviews when it first came out so I just wrote it off. I think alot of reviewers rushed it early on. Thank you both!
Thank you Aaron!! We enjoy revisiting these big titles and the expansion was the perfect excuse. Thanks for watching as always ❤
Great authentic review that covered all aspects well. I’ve not played this, and I probably wouldn’t jump at it if someone brought it to games night, but at least I know enough now to make an informed decision
Thanks so much for the kind words Michele, I'm glad you were able to learn something about the gameplay of this one! ❤
Thanks for reviewing Tapestry. I love the game, but can definitely understand many of your points. I totally agree that the learning curve for this game isn’t about the rules. It’s all about learning how to streamline your processes and maximize your synergies. It takes several plays to get there. I really enjoy the variety of civilizations and how they can add unique strategies to game play. I 100% agree that the bases of the landmarks needed to be color coded. It’s absolutely maddening. It’s a small thing that could have made a big difference in ease of setup. Thanks for another thoughtful review!
Thanks so much Stephen and so glad to hear you love this one! Have you chased down that elusive 400? Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts ☺
@@ThinkerThemer 400? No, not quite. LOL. I’m hoping to break 300 soon. :)
I've struggled to get excited about playing this game when folks ask for it but this was a good review and I like the "nerfing" tactic. Great review!
Thank you so much! Definitely a game that has grown on us over time...! Thanks for watching.
Loved this video…
It made me reflect on why I am so enchanted and have been confused or frustrated by the game.
I recently made colour coded bases for every building out of that clay stuff you bake in the oven; it’s called fimo in one version; now they fit in the capital in a satisfying way. Try it! You’ll find using grease proof paper and a sharp craft knife are very useful. Thanks
Late to the party, but I want to thank you both for these awesome in-depth Tapestry videos (this one and the expansions). I was considering buying it for Christmas and you told me everything I could wish to know and more. Spoiler: It sounds like my jam. :) Thanks for all the work you put in those. Happy gaming!
This is one of my top games everrrrr need to see your videos about the expansions
Oh really Chris? That is great to hear. I hope some of the review (s) resonated with you ☺
@@ThinkerThemer I feel like they always do and usually your reviews of ones I haven’t played before means I end up adding another game to the wish list 😁
Very nice and well elaborated review, which comes to grasp with my feeling of the game. Like to play, but not on my favorites list.
Glad to hear it resonated with you Sebastian. Thank you for watching as always! 🥰
Amy said "irregardless!" 🙄 😄
Just teasing; thank you for an excellent overview!
I KNOW. As soon as I said it I was like... whyyyyyy... 🤣 I've never said it in my real life ever hahahaha
Was hoping it would slip by 🤫
😁 Think of me as your guardian grammar polizei.
I'm Tapestry lover and we always play this on 4-5 players.
What I like about it:
-Asymmetrical Civilizations(every Civs are worth playing)
-Gameplay itself(love the advancement track gameplay)
-Skyrocketing Scores(we got scores of 200-300 on our regular playthroughs)
-Chance mitigations(plenty of options to mitigate or to compensate)
What I don't like about it:
-City Mats and Landmarks(though they are aesthetically beautiful)
-Not a Civilization game(not thematic)
-Balancing Issues and Randomness(even with the adjustments)
I have Viticulture, Scythe, Wingspan and other SM games and my favorite is Scythe. I have other games like West Kingdom, Lacerda, Rosenburg, and etc games. Tapestry may be my one of the top tabletop game of all time. Since today, with the latest expansion, we still optimize our turns as much as possible. And that's the beauty of it.
Masterpiece
This is a huge box for Ganz Schon Clever
😂😂😂
This is a game I love and which I think gets a lot of weird and frankly unfair reaction online. I appreciate your approach to it.
Thank you so much Marc and really glad this review resonated with you. Appreciate that you took the time to comment 🥰
This is a great game! I also have both the expansions, they add a lot more variation in ways to gain more points to the game. Still, the highest score I've ever seen in a game of Tapestry was 212, so we have a bit of practice to do to get to those 'great' scores... 😅
Great review. As I own everything for Scythe and Wingspan, both games in my personal top 10, I passed on this one from the get-go. Overall I found Tapestry overhyped when it came out. But maybe I should try it... You also confirmed that Tapestry should not be seen as a Civilization-game. I wonder in this context though what would be the best Board game if you like a CIV-building experience? 7 Wonders seams to be too light for this.
Hmm! I don't think we've played too many civ building board games to be honest. Maggie really enjoyed Imperium but that was not for me at all 😅 what's your favourite??
@@ThinkerThemer Mulling it over, and looking at the Sid Meier's Civilization board game versions, maybe the civ-building experience from the original video games has not really been replicated. Not that I am an expert on the video-games - they always struck me to be too long and tedious. Imperium is mainly card based. Tapestry has buildings on separate player board, and the main board is abstract as well and hardly used. Through the Ages seems similar in this regard. Everdell is a cute animal-kingdom but you don't build a civ on the board. The expansions build the world. Robinson Crusoe with the upcoming palisade-miniature looks great, but it is on the board and not being build ON the Island-tiles. I don't know... Maybe the T-games, never tried any. TM=civ in space?
Polyomino. New term to me- I was explaining that side game as ‘Sudoku with buildings’ to someone even newer than I was (game 1 vs game two or three 😆).
I should note that the first timer got 127 her first try. And as for the science track… it feels ‘wacky’, but I’m hoping that’s just because I grew up with a dice bias toward dodecahedrons in role playing games (ha!)
Yeah, polyomino is a term we find ourselves saying a lot because we’re quite fond of games that incorporate that as part of the puzzle. And not having played RPGs in the past (we’ve only ever had one intro session with Amy‘s brother) I had assumed that the dice would’ve felt very familiar because there are so many different ones in RPG‘s. So it was interesting to hear that it actually feels strange to someone used to RPG dice 😊 Thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment 🥰
My first impressions were very bad. I was so hyped and i ended very disappointed. I was looking for very clever mechanisms and very thematic immersive experience, history reach fun with inventions and cultural progress, to be able to play with many completely different path to develop your Civilization. I totally agree there is no way to be thematically or emotionally invested in the game. But when all dust settle down, when all expectations were shattered. I finally started to enjoy this game and were able to appreciate some of its aspects. It’s hype really hurts and game is something completely different then most people, including me, were expecting but it is so well done for what it actually is. The way, how you put it to master the core game mechanisms, to master tracks and optimise resource gaining is very interesting. Even tho the tracks in themselves are not that interesting where you go step by step almost like in old roll and move type of games. Tapestry for me has really boring inventions - they do make sense but never bring a lot to the game, totally not interesting puzzle in the capital city (a bit hard to do, not great in graphic design aspect and the footprint aspect of the big buildings and colour coding also and very not rewarding way after you finally solve it), very weak system of tapestry cards - the title element of the game, but in the end i do enjoy playing it as a very light Civilization, not themed but, flavoured game. But for being such a light experience it has too many elements, sometimes felt like couple small games glued together, and it is simply too expensive for what it brings for me to the table. Solid game and design. There is a lot of elements bringing big table presence but nothing is true amazing while playing it.
I so agree with you on so many things you just said and were telling the similar in my reviews and recommendations. Thank you for this video.
Thank you Max for taking the time to share your views (here and on instagram!) It was really interesting to read your experiences of the game given your expectations going in. I would say we didn't know too much about the game to begin with aside from some general hype (and criticisms) so I can imagine your experience of reconciling this would've been a bit of a journey! I'm glad you were able to appreciate it for what it is and that some of our thoughts were similar. Thank you for watching as always ☺
It's really interesting to listen to your thoughts. I feel I need to spend a bit more time with this game before I review it.
I think that ultimately, whether it's balanced or not isn't even really relevant. The more pertinent question (at least regarding enjoyment) is whether it FEELS balanced. Does it FEEL like I have agency? And I never feel like I do.
Interestingly, I enjoyed it far more at 2p than 3p and I am not looking forward to 4/5p. But I am someone who likes to be involved, so when other people are doing their own thing that doesn't involve me, I don't feel super-engaged.
It feels like you need to have a certain degree of willingness to 'go along for the ride' and also be interested in the stories that other people's journeys tell, even though they may be totally separated from your journey.
Thanks for watching Bez and hope you've been well ❤ thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts on this one. I (Amy) totally relate to the lack of involvement with other players. If it wasn't for the 300 goal and trying to assess how other's were getting closer to that I think the game would've lost me. At first I felt like I had little agency but that changed over time as we got better at the combos. Interested to hear your review when you get to it. Thank you and hope youre having a wonderful weekend!
I finally reached 300 points after my 15th play.
Congratulations!!!! ❤
Thanks for the review. This game is not for me. I am really interested in some of the mechanics though. I'd like to play it someday, but not going to buy it.
It is quite an expensive game so that is a great plan! It's also one that is super easy to teach so I'm sure you will find it at a game day or a friend that is willing to teach it even if they haven't played it in a while. Thanks for watching Ki ❤
Tapestry is a fun game. I love civ bulding! The various civilizations are fun. But the imbalance of the tapestry cards makes me not want to play it any more. And all the other luck elements are not really for me. A common problem I have with Stonemaier Games. In a 3 player game it can end with 100 points between each player. And someone can end the game half an hour before everybody else, which is not a fun experience. BTW, the singular version of dice is die :)
Hahaha I think if we are still making videos in 5 years we will still be mixing up dice and die. At least Maggie can blame ESL 😅 enjoyed reading your take on Tapestry. Perhaps you could house rule a draw 2 cards pick 1 kind of thing? Thanks for watching as always!
@@ThinkerThemer that would probably make the game better for me. The green die is also something no one in my group likes. But there is a resistance to house rules. I've managed to get Paladins house ruled (suspicion always 1 coin) and I like it better that way.