Tapestry: Plans and Ploys Expansion Review

Click here to read my review of Tapestry (base game without expansion).

“I love it when a plan comes together.”

– John “Hannibal” Smith, The A-Team

Intro Story

“They’re coming,” Aladar said, peering out from behind a large rock. The hood of his brown cloak shadowed his face, and his red tunic marked him as one of Thad’s men. The merchants’ caravan rattled along the dirt road, wares jostling each other, creating a cacophony that only they could make.

“Couldn’t have picked a better place for a trap,” Sasha said from behind.

“We’ll make a good haul off this group,” said Aladar. “First we pick off the guards, then the rest will be easy.” Aladar knocked an arrow to his bow’s string and pulled it back. “Wait for my mark.”

Aladar took in a deep breath, ready for the ambush to begin. A faint squeak of bowstring being pulled back sounded from Sasha’s position. He was glad to have found her; one more person with a bow would help immensely, and she had proven to be as accurate as he was. Fortunate how timely their paths crossed. Now that he considered it, perhaps the timeliness was too good. And…she wasn’t at her spot.

Sasha was still behind him.

“Sorry,” Sasha said, “but I can’t let you rob this caravan.”

Aladar sighed, lowered his bow, and turned slowly. Sasha smiled and tilted her head to the side, indicating he start moving. She tied him to a tree, hands behind him, and walked away.

“You’re just going to leave me here?”

“If you’d rather me put an arrow throw your heart, I could do that instead.”

Aladar glared at her, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t trust himself to not get himself killed. He watched her walk away in the direction of the caravan.

“Cursed double crosser,” he muttered, then waited for another group to pass by so he could call for help and, most likely, promptly be arrested.

Note: I was provided a complimentary copy of Plans and Ploys (an expansion for Tapestry) for the purposes of review. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Review

The short of it is, this is a relatively small expansion that doesn’t completely change the game, but does add some fun new things. Here’s what’s new:

New Card Type

The new Landmark cards are given to players at the beginning of the game (drafted, starting with the last player and ending with the starting player). These cards have a special requirement to meet, and once you do, you get the landmark it shows. It’s a nice way to get some direction when first starting out, and really boosts how your capital city fills up. Nothing game changing, but I really love the addition.

Solo Campaign

Alright, so the campaign itself isn’t really seeping with story. Rather, it’s a series of scenarios (five in all) that showcases the rise and fall of Atlantis. The scenarios provide new setup rules, new in-game rules, and new end-game goals. It’s a nice change of pace from the base gameplay (which is already excellent solo). While you may not want to play the scenarios more than a couple of times each, that’s still at least ten plays with the expansion, and that’s also strictly solo plays. I love Tapestry solo, and these scenarios only increase my desire to play.

New Civilizations

There are ten new civilizations in the Plans and Ploys expansion. These new civs add more options and variety to the game, mostly, but some also increase player interaction. I won’t go over all of the new civilizations (you can explore those on your own), but I will say that I enjoy their unique abilities, and some even help increase the player interaction.

New Tapestry Cards

More variety also comes in the form of new Tapestry cards. A fair number of these new Tapestry cards are similar to Trap cards, as they may be used when someone tries to conquer your land. While I think the Traps cards from the base game are good, I am happy to see more interactive cards come into play.

Now, these cards all work differently from the Trap cards. For example, the Retreat card lets you high tail it out of there so you don’t have to be knocked down. Double Cross is also a neat one, as it cancels your opponent’s trap card (if you are trying to conquer them) and you gain five points.

And, of course, there are some other Tapestry cards that affect your new era or have an immediate effect when played. While nothing “new,” at least in regards to mechanics and gameplay, there are some good additions, one of which being the Stadium, which allows you to place a new landmark—the stadium—on your capital city board.

New Landmarks

Speaking of new landmarks…Plans and Ploys gives us 7 new landmarks! (Yay!) Five of these are specifically for the new card type spoken of earlier, while the other two are gained from different sources (namely, the Stadium Tapestry card and a new space tile). I’ve always loved the look of the landmarks, so I’m happy to have more eye candy. Plus, having more ways to get landmarks is always good.

New Space Tiles

One of the Space tiles replaces a first-edition Space tile from the base game that was printed with the wrong icons on it. Use this one and toss the old one (or use the old one as a coaster…or something). Another Space tile provides the Monolith, a new structure. The other new Space tiles provide ongoing bonuses based on your advancement tracks. So if you want these bonuses to give you the most bang for your buck, you’ll want to race down the Exploration track to get there asap (and hope you draw one of those tiles).

Tile Draw Bag

This is a nice including, since now I don’t have to flip all the exploration tiles face down on the table before the game starts. Now, I can place them in the bag, give it a good shake, and call it good. (Even if it is a little see-through. Scandalous!)

EDIT: After a few months, the bag got frayed and the bottom opened up. My wife sewed it back together and it works fine again.

Landmark Tokens

The landmark tokens aren’t necessary, but it shows that Jamey Stegmaier really does listen to his fans and does what he can to make things better. These landmark tokens are simply placed on their corresponding landmark space on the advancement tracks. Once a player gets a landmark from that track, the token is removed, making it easier for everyone to see which landmarks are already gone. It was quite thoughtful to include, and while they’re not necessary for the game, I’m always going to use them, as visual clues are easier for me to process.

Standout Performances

While I enjoy everything in the Plans and Ploys expansion, these are, perhaps, the best additions.

• Landmark cards provide direction and bolster your capital city.
• Solo scenarios add new challenges and increase freshness.

Breaking the 4th Wall

In theater, breaking the fourth wall refers to when characters (or something else) directly address the audience, thus pulling them out of the narrative and making the astutely aware that they are, in fact, watching a performance and that’s it’s not actually real.

There is nothing in the Plans and Ploys expansion that takes away from the main gameplay. I feel that everything included in this box adds to the experience, making it a fantastic expansion.

Gameplay

The gameplay for Tapestry stays the same, with or without the expansion. Although Plans and Ploys doesn’t change up the rules or add new mechanics, what it does add is added variability to an already varied game. As such, we won’t talk about the gameplay as a whole. The only difference in gameplay is your starting landmark card that you can work toward at the beginning of the game. It’s nice to have a focus early on, and the landmark you get is certainly welcome in the capital city.

Solo Play

As I mentioned in my review of the base game of Tapestry, the solo variant is wonderful. With the new campaign and scenarios, the solo experience is even better. I like how the solo scenarios are new setups with a few new rules. They are fun puzzles and make for a fun story (even if the narrative itself isn’t that strongly linked). For solo gamers who already enjoy Tapestry, Plans and Ploys is really a solid pick. 

Final Thoughts

The Plans and Ploys expansion for Tapestry is just what it claims to be: an expansion. It simply adds to the game without really changing it. I love that about this expansion, since you don’t have to re-learn how to play every time you add in the expansion content. Of course, I wouldn’t imagine playing without this expansion content anyway, but that choice is up to you.

Final Verdict

I’m scoring the Plans and Ploys expansion as Captivating. It adds a delightful amount of content and increases the so-called “replayability” with new civs, new cards, and new buildings. This is what an expansion is supposed to me—something that expands  the game, not change it so much that it’s practically a new version of the game.

Verdict Scale (Lowest to Highest)

The Final Verdict is based on a scale of 1-7, although this scale is not numbered. Instead, it uses thematically appropriate words to describe the performance of the game.

Tomatoes – This game was emotionally taxing and difficult to finish.

Uninspiring – This game had me daydreaming about other games.

Lackluster – This game had its moments, but it probably won’t see much table time.

Laodicean – This game is decent. It works. There’s a reason people like it.

Two Thumbs Up – This game is very good.

Captivating – This game is outstanding! It’s more than good; it’s practically a staple.

Standing Ovation – This is the best game you will ever play. Period.

Read short fiction inspired by board games at BGI’s stories page!

Please follow and like us: