Tapestry in about 3 minutes

[@3MBG]

New Sponsor, Board game atlas. It feels weird having a new stinger on the front of the video, but I guess we will get used to it. BG Atlas recently purchased board game prices, so its been a smooth transition. I'll be adding more of my content on the board game atlas site as well over the next wee while. It's a very promising site that is growing and developing with great energy. So really stoked to have them on board as the new sponsor.

[@jdtyler7]

I really appreciate how at the end of each of your 3 min reviews you offer some similar games that we might like. So many reviewers are afraid to do that for some reason.

[@3MBG]

I have been told that some publishers hate that i do it, because it gets people thinking about other companies products. What they fail to understand is just as often as it makes people go "oh, that sounds good, i like the other game", it makes people think "Oh, i love the recommendations and have played them already, i'll probably like this". And honestly, how many times when you're explaining a game do you say "its a little bit like X game", i know i do that all the time.

[@jdtyler7]

@@3MBG I wondered if the reasoning was something like that. I completely agree with your stance on it though. Especially the last point. My friends are all casual gamers. Introducing new games is tricky. I almost always have to refer to something similar that they like to get the ball rolling so to speak.

[@3MBG]

Even with really experienced gamers it works. Like, i played barrage recently and as soon as i got it was basically a hybrid of power gird and Gaia project, the game clicked.

[@dylangajewski]

@@3MBG and now apparently I need to learn more about barrage...

[@3MBG]

@@dylangajewski I have a video that could help :)

[@JamesFincham]

Having played the game with the family a few times and twice with our gaming group it seems to be another marmite game. I really enjoy it, as does my family. The random element can lead to swings but this works with younger players and gives them a chance against us parents. The gaming group had mixed feelings. Some echo the thoughts of many who do not like the anachronistic history or swinginess of those tapestry cards!

[@rictushep]

I hadn't thought of the similarity to Ganz Schön Clever - that's a good observation.

[@tychay]

A minus: Having to watch the runaway winner finish off his/her turns for the next hour when all of you are done. A plus: The best designed bot mode to date (even nicer than Anachrony).

[@3MBG]

High praise for the bot. I found it pretty good but not as good as you did.

[@tychay]

AI is semi-realistic, point scaling curve very realistic (variance is lower than a real player though), it’s got enough unpredictability that you can only game the AI and not the next move. Plus it has a shadow AI built in which can be used in two player games. The only problems are its high learning curve, and it plays faster as it plays stronger (real opponents are reverse of that). Overall, it does what it is supposed to do: give similar choices to what a real person would but allow you to play without another. Anachrony is still more fun to play solo, but that is because the game has such an impressive theme, not because the bot is better (it is great, but it doesn’t give me the same choices another player would since I know what it is going to go for when it takes an action).

[@LameryLame]

Me after watching the video : What an amazing game! I gotta have it! Me after reading the comments : Nvm lol

[@3MBG]

Hahahaha. I try in the vids to showcase the game, present the good and the bad and let people decide for themselves. But that's hilarious. It seems to be a very polarizing game.

[@Mustang242Sqn]

I just had the exact same experience. So it's time to go watch another 3-min board game video... :)

[@3MBG]

And, well, you can probably guess. I am in a 3rd group of people for this game. Those who didn't find the gameplay loop rewarding enough and didn't want to spend any more time on the puzzle. I ran a solo test, playing the same civilization using poor tapestry picks and then another game with optimal picks. I doubled my score. And that really made me not want to play it again. I can see why its popular, but for me that's too much variance. At least in a game of ganz schon clever, if i have a bad round, its 15 mins gone and I dont have to sit there watching someone play for another 10 minutes running up the score.

[@ObsessiveGamer]

I think I'm here. I have a lot of fun during the game, but ending the game is just flat and underwhelming and I really don't know where I'm going end up. The plus side to this is I'm willing to play it any time someone else wants to, I just mentally check out somewhere prior to the end of the game. That's pretty civilization! (I had to replay that several times to make sure I was hearing it correctly, and even resorted to reading the subtitle.)

[@micahgmiranda]

I agree. I think I wouldn't mind as much if the the tapestries or advancements actually felt like what they were labeled. The reason I like race for the galaxy so much is because even if it is puzzly, the card art and names really feel like you're engaged in a futuristic society. This was a huge disappointment.

[@p0lishsausage]

This is a great overview video. Thank you!

[@bernardofajardo4823]

Some months ago I bought Wingspan with its expansions because I'm a biologist and it seemed like a game I'd love, and I do indeed, it introduced me to tabletop games after not playing them since I was a child. Second on my list was Tapestry, which I just bought. I honestly don't understand why the hate to this game, it's so fun, and it has the right amount of luck and tactics to make it enjoyable... sure, it may not be a 'real' civilization game, but the idea of advancing like the game does it's quite satisfactory.

[@3MBG]

Nothing wrong with liking it. But there are reasons others are not fond of it. The lopsided nature of the game, the slow end game when one player finishes early, and the tapestry cards being huge swings are legit complaints.

[@bernardofajardo4823]

@@3MBG sure, I'm not trying to say it's the perfect game, I like it but there are some perks, as with most games, hehe. However, I've seen a lot of people really upset about it, not simply that they don't like it, but some throw hate at it because it's not historically correct. I'm curious to know if the last expansion that is on the works will correct some of those mistakes or it will add more controversies.

[@CarlosRodriguez-ez3ls]

Great review Jarrod! I played this game once and never really wanted to come back to it. It seems to reward repeated play but I never felt compelled to invest the time to do so.

[@3MBG]

For me, this was a broken game in terms of balance, and a miserable game to win because of its end sequence. I talk more about it in one of my "games i got rid of" videos.

[@CarlosRodriguez-ez3ls]

@@3MBG Ahh, so many videos to watch, so little time!

[@Straddllw]

Favourite game of 2019

[@thequeenofspades]

I played this game at a meet up once and I really enjoyed it. I was going to buy it, but then I saw the price, which I assume is for the miniatures. That the game is so expensive because of mechanically empty fluff pieces is crazy to me.

[@comanaut9566]

Playing Tapestry can either feel really fun or terribly frustrating. The cards are ridiculously situational and can make or break your game. The game is a bit of a show pony and flatters to deceive.

[@Christian_from_Copenhagen]

What's the opening greeting and what does it mean?

[@3MBG]

Kia ora Koutou "Hi all" in Te reo Maori, one of the official languages of Aotearoa/New Zealand

[@Christian_from_Copenhagen]

@@3MBG Cool! I have really been enjoying your videos recently. I seem to have caught a board game bug, but it can be really overwhelming, so your videos have been a great help!

[@docteurslump5517]

Thank you for this review. After reading the comments, I guess I will stick to my TTA copy 😅

[@anthonyswindall5752]

Off-topic, but I was just on eBay and saw a board game titled, "Maori Wars: The New Zealand Land Wars, 1845-1872" I don't know if you're familiar with this one or not, but it's definitely up your alley - thematically.

[@3MBG]

A friend of mine has it and we've been meaning to give it a serious look.

[@andreaslr27]

I guess you finally got to play Nations! :)

[@3MBG]

Only a solo, multi-hand "teaching" game. Not sure if that counts but it was at the front of my mind while doing this vid

[@tychay]

The Chosen? Never choose The Chosen! :D

[@3MBG]

One of the many Easter eggs in this vid.

[@LeeroyPorkins]

I think I will stick with Heroes of Land Air and Sea

[@RossHebden]

I enjoyed it well enough but wouldn't actively seek out another game of it. Puts it in the same boat as Scythe for me. Think my main issue is one you touched on with the Roll and Write comparison - I don't think there's enough interesting things to do or enough ability to overcome initial hiccups for the game's length. Definitely one that is worth the try-before-you-buy approach.

[@GBM93]

This reminds me of Sid Meier's Civilization hahaha

[@user-rr3gv7xf8f]

honestly, it's a game i wouldn't buy with my own money. i agree with the comments here, it was such a "argh" kind of a game. Did not enjoy playing it at all

[@leonrikes2252]

I just saw this right after seeing The Dice Odyssey's review of this. Their intro says it all. I laughed so hard at the hilarity of it because it sounds like what you said about Stone tools and space. You're so right about this game, huge letdown for me and I normally like Stonemaier's games. Great review!

[@3MBG]

I think some of the mechanics are ok, but that theme.... just does nothing for me at all

[@ThomasLuongo]

Definitely not buying it once we got to 'it's a roll and write' writ large. Thanks!

[@hairydongle8054]

Another great review...not so sure it's the game for me just on the basis of the point you made about space travel and stone tools! I love progression games and it looks easy on the eye, but surely that kind of anomaly in the game play, and there may well be more, is just wrong!

[@CandyOnAChopstick]

If this game was something new and refreshing, it might warrant that steep price tag. However, I am completely turned off by this game since it seems to do what Ganz Schön Clever can do for $60 less.

[@thelastmotel]

Hated Charterstone, really really dislike this, but love Wingspan. Stonemaier is a real crap shoot company to me.

[@republikadugave420]

This game is the biggest dissapointment of my gaming life... Its just wrong on so many levels...

[@user-rr3gv7xf8f]

i agree!!!! i wanted to go back in time and decide NOT to play this game.