I wonder if rulebooks should start including a "How to Teach" section. Just a bullet list of the order to introduce key concepts and rules. Tapestry has a fairly short rulebook, so maybe that's not needed. Other games with longer rulebooks could use a small section for the teacher to remind them of all the main topics to cover.
Thanks concise and informative. You have brought so much joy into my life through the playing of your games and the bonus benefit of meeting new people.
Thanks, Jamey! Great video and an excellent game. The ease of teaching Tapestry is one of the very best things about it- it's so rare to find a game with such depth that you can drop in front of a new group of players and get started in about 10 minutes.
Thanks, Jamey! Another Stonemaier hit in our home. Got the game on Friday, played it six times over the weekend, starting Saturday. We even broke our cardinal rule and started a game at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday! I agree this is a great way to teach the game. The best way to learn it is to do it, which is true of a lot of your games. Learning the mechanics of the tracks as the players go down the track. I think like you said, just give them some guidance on the Civilization, tell them to try different tracks so they get the feel for them. And I think the teacher can help by showing them different tracks. Teachers of games need to remember to put away their competitiveness during the teaching game and don’t look for the win, look to get the Padawan learner interested and enjoying the game. After they get hooked, swoop in for the kill. When my daughter and her BF learn games with us, they routinely beat us (the more experienced gamers), because we are focused on teaching, not winning. We really love tapestry, and I know it will get a lot of play time. So many different variables, that the results are constantly swinging. We had scores ranging from below 100, to both of us being over100, and even one where my wife was 272 and I was 183. She beat me every single game, by the way (she usually does beat me in games, although we tend to split Viticulture Essential/Tuscany). Again, thanks for the great game. And thanks for the video, as we are hoping to get my daughter and her BF down this weekend and play. Maybe we’ll even play some Vitiiculture/Scythe and Wingspan this weekend. ...... None of those made it to the table this weekend. We just wanted to make sure we cemented Tapestry in our minds. LOL
Your ‘how to teach Scythe’ video was of great help and allowed me to play it with people I never thought I would. I’ll certainly use this when tapestry is available where I live !
Perfect timing for me on the posting of this video, Jamey. Thanks! Received my game this week, and read rules (and watched Rodney) last night. Heading to my brother’s place today to teach/play this game with family. Really excited to get this to the table. It is the perfect type of game for me and my (slowly) growing family of gamers. And it is a wonderful production all the way around. Very nice work!
@@peterick5418 Yes, the game went over pretty well. I still play Tapestry, but have yet to get the expansion to the table. Introduced to a couple of other people who enjoyed the main game, as well.
Pretty similar to how I did it, except I removed the choice of civilization card and just gave my wife the Merrymakers card last night on her first play because that was the one I played first against the Autom(an Empire) and because the two she did get to choose from, I hadn’t played yet and they seemed more complex than she felt she could deal with initially. I think now that she’s played it once, it’ll make more sense for her next play when she chooses. She went on to pummel me and our son, 340>261>194. I even was able to extend my gameplay for 2 more turns beyond her! (She’s really good at games-full disclosure.) Another idea I read and may try is to explain like this, then play through one full era so people understand the basics, then answer any fundament questions and reset the board for an official game. Basically a ‘practice era’.
I like the idea of a practice Era. I think that is how I'm going to teach this next week. I'll hand out a random Civ card so there are no decisions to be made, and just start the practice round. Answer questions and clarify rules during that round, encouraging use of all tracks, then start again, after the income step. Thanks for the idea.
I find it important to clarify the end game scoring also. I will take this approach when teaching as it will definitely help get the game initially underway and let players discover more as it progresses. Thanks!
The Rose City ComiCon is going on here in lovely Portland, Oregon. I went last night, and shot straight to the game room to see what was being played. Tapestry was on the table. I was so excited. Unfortunately I had to meet up with my daughter, so couldn't stay, but I spoke with the gentleman who was running the game, and he'll be playing it all weekend. Today's the day I'm going to try it out.
I feel that income mats have a lot on them, and it's one of the more complicated parts. I taught 3 newbies last night, and started with explaining the four tracks, quickly went over the four core actions, and then explained that there is an income building and resource associated with each track. Then I showed the income board, and how removing income buildings will get them more resources down the road, and showed the capital city map. Only at that point did I hand out the civ mats (we did the rest of set up before) so people chose their civs and we all took our first income turn simultaneously. It worked well, I think once we did set up, it was ~7 min of teaching. Also, I got creamed.
I'm so excited for this game! I'm loving the resource management, artwork, components, engine building and civ theme. This game is on its way to my house!
I was just wondering this morning if you were going to provide a video like this for Tapestry as I've found your videos for teaching Scythe and Euphoria very useful. Thank you very much!
Thanks for this Jamey. (I came over from my post on BGG) Great tips, starting with the income turns and explaining the symbols. What would you say is the general goal and strategy for players, as I find in most games people teach to me, they tell me the game and the actions but not what I should be aiming for or keeping my eye on :)
I would say the general goal is to pick a track that looks interesting to you and pursue it while also maximizing your civ's potential. There are many other smaller paths to points and optimization, but if you're just learning/teaching Tapestry, that's what I'd say. There are also 3 goals printed on the board itself that players can aim for.
My wife and I played Tapestry for the first time last night and we both loved it. I enjoyed it just a tad more (I think because I won) but we are equally energized to play again. She is determined to win and I suspect she will. Her inner-gaming Kraken has been released.
I think after setting up, part of teaching is immersing the players in the story. Then establish the goal. Mechanics can then follow. Often times, mechanics won't make sense if the backstory and contexts are not established.
I’m not sure what’s the best civ to give to a new player. One one hand leaders are very simple, but something like militants gives them a guide for what to do
I would so love to be able to teach like this. I learn best by playing and go through the movements. However the main people I play with like everything upfront. For example when asking them to choose between the two factions, they would day how can they choose if they don't know how it plays out.
There aren't any turn order cards--players simple take turns clockwise. There are small reference cards in the core game that explain income turns and the 4 core actions, though. I don't know where they are in your specific copy at this point, but they're included in the game in shrinkwrap with the other cards.
Thanks for the video! Probably teaching this a bunch next weekend. When you're teaching experienced gamers, have you noticed they want more information front loaded? I feel my friends are going to want the capital city and a lot of the major symbols/ benefits explained right away.
Thanks for teaching it, Carol! I understand what you're saying, but I would highly recommend against explaining each of the 48 different benefits up front, especially when there are 2 identical reference guides you can simply pass to the players who want to know what the later benefits mean.
Thanks! Yeah, going through every symbol would be nuts. I'll probably have to generalize the progress of each track for them then point them towards the guides. Loving the game so far! And have people next weekend dying to try it and Wingspan out.
@@jameystegmaier Cheers, will be checking it out. Btw, had tapestry out with my kids today for the first time. We’ve been playing wingspan for the last few months, they love your stuff. I have scythe sitting in the closet... won’t take it out until they dominate tapestry... I’m so happy I decided to go down the board game road, my eldest was starting to think she wanted a game console... haven’t heard her talking about it since we started playing board games. It’s really helping with her math and reading too! Double winning!
@@TheOdizeo Thanks for taking Tapestry for a spin (and for playing Wingspan). I'm glad these games are helping with your eldest's math and reading skills. :)
Players often assume that the explore tiles will be face down until played but the rules state that they are kept face up - which you reiterated in the video Jamey. I'm curious was there a particular reason you decided on face up?
I just didn't think they needed to be hidden information, and it's easier to plan ahead for them if they're face up in front of you (it's hard to have a "hand" of tiles like that).
Played this night and really enjoyed it. The weakest part of the game is the Capital city scoring. It really doesn't feel like it is worth the investment. The extra resource is nice but in terms of scoring it really falls flat and rarely happens making it far less incentivized. I'd love to hear why it was designed that way. Perhaps if you got a point for each district as well when it scores and up the points to 2 points per row and column. My friend played Architects and the power was practically useless and just a really lame power. Still love the game but that aspect was dull to me.
Each capital city scoring icon that is exposed on your income mat scores you 1 point per row/column. So if you expose all 3, you gain 3 points per row/column. This can add up to some big point income turns. Our last game my wife easily scored over 60 points from her capital city throughout the game.
@@codydavis3100 I think the point is to put big buildings in it and then fill the holes with the small 1x1 income building. If played well, you get most of your points there. Definitely more than 5 per income turn!
@@firebound12 yes that is the point but in multiplayer games people will most likely reach those building spaces before you so the number of bigger buildings you'll receive is not high. I want to keep playing it but for my one play it wasn't an interesting aspect
@@codydavis3100 what about the other big buildings that you get from the tech cards? This game is supposed to have an exponential curve where at income 4 and 5, you're just gaining a lot more resources/VP than at income 1 and 2.
Just getting the game in time as promised would be good !!! In Canada and didnt receive my tracking email even if im a champion and should get it early but i Guess i ll have it at same time as non champion !!!
I wonder if rulebooks should start including a "How to Teach" section. Just a bullet list of the order to introduce key concepts and rules. Tapestry has a fairly short rulebook, so maybe that's not needed. Other games with longer rulebooks could use a small section for the teacher to remind them of all the main topics to cover.
Skeeter Murphy or a QR code to take you straight to a video
I have found that having players help in setup of the game makes their learning curve less daunting and at little more exciting!
Thanks concise and informative. You have brought so much joy into my life through the playing of your games and the bonus benefit of meeting new people.
Thank you so much, Casandra! Joy is my main goal, so that's great to hear. :)
Thanks, Jamey! Great video and an excellent game. The ease of teaching Tapestry is one of the very best things about it- it's so rare to find a game with such depth that you can drop in front of a new group of players and get started in about 10 minutes.
Thanks, Jamey! Another Stonemaier hit in our home. Got the game on Friday, played it six times over the weekend, starting Saturday. We even broke our cardinal rule and started a game at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday! I agree this is a great way to teach the game. The best way to learn it is to do it, which is true of a lot of your games. Learning the mechanics of the tracks as the players go down the track. I think like you said, just give them some guidance on the Civilization, tell them to try different tracks so they get the feel for them. And I think the teacher can help by showing them different tracks. Teachers of games need to remember to put away their competitiveness during the teaching game and don’t look for the win, look to get the Padawan learner interested and enjoying the game. After they get hooked, swoop in for the kill. When my daughter and her BF learn games with us, they routinely beat us (the more experienced gamers), because we are focused on teaching, not winning. We really love tapestry, and I know it will get a lot of play time. So many different variables, that the results are constantly swinging. We had scores ranging from below 100, to both of us being over100, and even one where my wife was 272 and I was 183. She beat me every single game, by the way (she usually does beat me in games, although we tend to split Viticulture Essential/Tuscany). Again, thanks for the great game. And thanks for the video, as we are hoping to get my daughter and her BF down this weekend and play. Maybe we’ll even play some Vitiiculture/Scythe and Wingspan this weekend. ...... None of those made it to the table this weekend. We just wanted to make sure we cemented Tapestry in our minds. LOL
Your ‘how to teach Scythe’ video was of great help and allowed me to play it with people I never thought I would. I’ll certainly use this when tapestry is available where I live !
Perfect timing for me on the posting of this video, Jamey. Thanks! Received my game this week, and read rules (and watched Rodney) last night. Heading to my brother’s place today to teach/play this game with family. Really excited to get this to the table. It is the perfect type of game for me and my (slowly) growing family of gamers. And it is a wonderful production all the way around. Very nice work!
And? Did you like it? Are you still playing the game?
@@peterick5418 Yes, the game went over pretty well. I still play Tapestry, but have yet to get the expansion to the table. Introduced to a couple of other people who enjoyed the main game, as well.
Pretty similar to how I did it, except I removed the choice of civilization card and just gave my wife the Merrymakers card last night on her first play because that was the one I played first against the Autom(an Empire) and because the two she did get to choose from, I hadn’t played yet and they seemed more complex than she felt she could deal with initially. I think now that she’s played it once, it’ll make more sense for her next play when she chooses. She went on to pummel me and our son, 340>261>194. I even was able to extend my gameplay for 2 more turns beyond her! (She’s really good at games-full disclosure.)
Another idea I read and may try is to explain like this, then play through one full era so people understand the basics, then answer any fundament questions and reset the board for an official game. Basically a ‘practice era’.
I like the idea of a practice Era. I think that is how I'm going to teach this next week. I'll hand out a random Civ card so there are no decisions to be made, and just start the practice round. Answer questions and clarify rules during that round, encouraging use of all tracks, then start again, after the income step. Thanks for the idea.
I find it important to clarify the end game scoring also. I will take this approach when teaching as it will definitely help get the game initially underway and let players discover more as it progresses. Thanks!
Teaching my first multiplayer game tonight. This has quickly become one of my favorite solo games.
The Rose City ComiCon is going on here in lovely Portland, Oregon. I went last night, and shot straight to the game room to see what was being played. Tapestry was on the table. I was so excited. Unfortunately I had to meet up with my daughter, so couldn't stay, but I spoke with the gentleman who was running the game, and he'll be playing it all weekend. Today's the day I'm going to try it out.
Tim Teigen - hope you get to play. This game is absolutely another Stonemaier gem.
Thanks Jamey! You are awesome...and the game looks awesome as well, I'm looking forward to getting my copy and playing it!
I feel that income mats have a lot on them, and it's one of the more complicated parts. I taught 3 newbies last night, and started with explaining the four tracks, quickly went over the four core actions, and then explained that there is an income building and resource associated with each track. Then I showed the income board, and how removing income buildings will get them more resources down the road, and showed the capital city map. Only at that point did I hand out the civ mats (we did the rest of set up before) so people chose their civs and we all took our first income turn simultaneously. It worked well, I think once we did set up, it was ~7 min of teaching. Also, I got creamed.
Bought this game last Friday and played it twice already and can see it becoming a regular on our table!!!!
Thanks Justin! I hope you have fun exploring the different civs. :)
I'm so excited for this game! I'm loving the resource management, artwork, components, engine building and civ theme. This game is on its way to my house!
I was just wondering this morning if you were going to provide a video like this for Tapestry as I've found your videos for teaching Scythe and Euphoria very useful. Thank you very much!
Thanks for this Jamey. (I came over from my post on BGG) Great tips, starting with the income turns and explaining the symbols.
What would you say is the general goal and strategy for players, as I find in most games people teach to me, they tell me the game and the actions but not what I should be aiming for or keeping my eye on :)
I would say the general goal is to pick a track that looks interesting to you and pursue it while also maximizing your civ's potential. There are many other smaller paths to points and optimization, but if you're just learning/teaching Tapestry, that's what I'd say. There are also 3 goals printed on the board itself that players can aim for.
@@jameystegmaier thank you!
My wife and I played Tapestry for the first time last night and we both loved it. I enjoyed it just a tad more (I think because I won) but we are equally energized to play again. She is determined to win and I suspect she will. Her inner-gaming Kraken has been released.
Thanks Dan! I'm glad you two enjoyed your first play. :)
a good way to learn it is to learn the overview of the game and then learn the details part by part (it's very broad). Then put everything together.
To me when I teach this, it's about how to win, what's your end result/goal, what are the options to success, how they get there is then their choice.
I think after setting up, part of teaching is immersing the players in the story. Then establish the goal. Mechanics can then follow. Often times, mechanics won't make sense if the backstory and contexts are not established.
I’m not sure what’s the best civ to give to a new player. One one hand leaders are very simple, but something like militants gives them a guide for what to do
I would so love to be able to teach like this. I learn best by playing and go through the movements. However the main people I play with like everything upfront. For example when asking them to choose between the two factions, they would day how can they choose if they don't know how it plays out.
Yeah I think it's better to explain the advance turns first since they're simple and more common and then the income turns.
Very Helpful Thanks Jamey!
good video, i just picked up the game this weekend
Thanks for giving Tapestry a try!
My copy has been 40 min away since 1:30 am if I get it before 2 we will be trying it out today (Saturday 14)
On conquering, if a hexagon tile already has your outpost, can you stll place a second outpost on it? if yes, when?
No, you can't conquer an outpost you already control.
i cannot wait to get a copy!!!
Game looks fun. It's complex though.
Maybe this has already been asked, but I don’t see any turn order reference cards in the base game or in Ploys. Where can I find those?
There aren't any turn order cards--players simple take turns clockwise. There are small reference cards in the core game that explain income turns and the 4 core actions, though. I don't know where they are in your specific copy at this point, but they're included in the game in shrinkwrap with the other cards.
Thanks for the video! Probably teaching this a bunch next weekend. When you're teaching experienced gamers, have you noticed they want more information front loaded? I feel my friends are going to want the capital city and a lot of the major symbols/ benefits explained right away.
Thanks for teaching it, Carol! I understand what you're saying, but I would highly recommend against explaining each of the 48 different benefits up front, especially when there are 2 identical reference guides you can simply pass to the players who want to know what the later benefits mean.
Thanks! Yeah, going through every symbol would be nuts. I'll probably have to generalize the progress of each track for them then point them towards the guides. Loving the game so far! And have people next weekend dying to try it and Wingspan out.
just curious, is the black box with flame looking things on top of the left shelf a board game?
It is! That's Dice Throne.
@@jameystegmaier Cheers, will be checking it out. Btw, had tapestry out with my kids today for the first time. We’ve been playing wingspan for the last few months, they love your stuff. I have scythe sitting in the closet... won’t take it out until they dominate tapestry... I’m so happy I decided to go down the board game road, my eldest was starting to think she wanted a game console... haven’t heard her talking about it since we started playing board games. It’s really helping with her math and reading too! Double winning!
@@TheOdizeo Thanks for taking Tapestry for a spin (and for playing Wingspan). I'm glad these games are helping with your eldest's math and reading skills. :)
Players often assume that the explore tiles will be face down until played but the rules state that they are kept face up - which you reiterated in the video Jamey. I'm curious was there a particular reason you decided on face up?
I just didn't think they needed to be hidden information, and it's easier to plan ahead for them if they're face up in front of you (it's hard to have a "hand" of tiles like that).
Jamey, what is your list of the simpler civilizations?
I don't have such a list. :)
Hello Mr Stegmaier. Which factions will You recommend for first play. (3 meeple)
I don't have first-play recommendations--feel free to choose those that look interesting and fun to you. :)
Played this night and really enjoyed it. The weakest part of the game is the Capital city scoring. It really doesn't feel like it is worth the investment. The extra resource is nice but in terms of scoring it really falls flat and rarely happens making it far less incentivized. I'd love to hear why it was designed that way. Perhaps if you got a point for each district as well when it scores and up the points to 2 points per row and column. My friend played Architects and the power was practically useless and just a really lame power. Still love the game but that aspect was dull to me.
Each capital city scoring icon that is exposed on your income mat scores you 1 point per row/column. So if you expose all 3, you gain 3 points per row/column. This can add up to some big point income turns. Our last game my wife easily scored over 60 points from her capital city throughout the game.
@@richardd8679 well if I play it more that may happen but no one got more than 5 points on income turns from capital cities.
@@codydavis3100 I think the point is to put big buildings in it and then fill the holes with the small 1x1 income building. If played well, you get most of your points there. Definitely more than 5 per income turn!
@@firebound12 yes that is the point but in multiplayer games people will most likely reach those building spaces before you so the number of bigger buildings you'll receive is not high. I want to keep playing it but for my one play it wasn't an interesting aspect
@@codydavis3100 what about the other big buildings that you get from the tech cards? This game is supposed to have an exponential curve where at income 4 and 5, you're just gaining a lot more resources/VP than at income 1 and 2.
Got mine today!! Yes!!!!!!!
Just getting the game in time as promised would be good !!! In Canada and didnt receive my tracking email even if im a champion and should get it early but i Guess i ll have it at same time as non champion !!!