Enchanted Plumes and a Handful of Beautiful Feathers
Stack feathers from the colors of the rainbow to create beautiful assortments before the peahen arrives in Enchanted Plumes.
About a year ago, I tried Enchanted Plumes multiplayer and enjoyed its decision space. The feather artwork is gorgeous, too! Only recently did I discover that there is an official solo mode available for it. With a copy of my own, I was excited to try out this challenge and see what sorts of feather plumes I might create… Or would I get too ambitious? Ha ha!
Game Overview
Game Name: Enchanted Plumes
Publication Year: 2021
Designer: Brendan Hansen
Artist: Echo Chernik
Publisher: Calliope Games
Solo Mode: Official Solo Variant
Plumes are built by starting with a back row. These feathers determine which colors may cascade down, yet these values are worth negative victory points. With a small market where cards may be exchanged or drawn, the trick is to find the balance between points and plume size!
First Play
June 1, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
August 31, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
12
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
89
Game Area
26" x 16"
Low Score
58
Feather by Feather
The starting hand consists of choosing 6 of 9 drawn cards. Feathers come in 10 different colors, and the solo game uses values ranging from 0 to 6. Lots of choices!
Building a plume’s foundation, or back row, shows which colors may appear in the next row. Yet this is also where negative points are awarded, so it’s not so easy to build.
Colors may be repeated in rows, which can be helpful to ensure there is space in the next row for various colors.
A single giant plume may work, yet the better strategy is often to work on several medium-sized plumes.
A World of Colors
So very colorful! I love the appearance, although I will note that a few feather colors are much closer than they should be. Iconography would have been very useful.
Gameplay is all about placing 1 or 2 cards, then deciding how to acquire more. These can be drawn face-down from the top of the deck, or exchanged in the feather train.
The solo mode slowly removes cards from the central area, then resets. It’s very quick and quite clever!
Yet there is a card lurking in the bottom few cards that ends the game immediately… Watch out for the peahen!
Peahen of Doom
There really isn’t anything wrong with the peahen… I just enjoy yelling in jest when she appears. Ha! She’s shuffled in with 7 feather cards for a random stopping point.
In this way, managing the flow of the deck is important. Although new cards may be drawn, the game end is delayed if more is done with exchanging cards.
Once the peahen is drawn, play ends immediately, with no chance to place any more feather cards. She is the boss!
Since play time is so quick, though, this is actually a fun moment to carefully plan the expected last few rounds.
A Completed Plume
Even small plumes look beautiful when they’re finished! Each row may only use feather colors from the row above, although the exact placement of the cards doesn’t matter.
The final card is played face-down to mimic a plume, which looks lovely. It still must follow the placement rules, so this one was either a green or black feather.
Completed plumes score 1 victory point per feather, which can add a lot! Incomplete plumes only score partially.
A lot of rounds involve taking chances and hoping for some of the most valuable feather cards to appear.
The Joy of Finding an official Solo Mode
I always appreciate solo modes, whether released by the publisher, designer, or fan, yet it’s often a pleasant surprise when I discover an official release. There are a lot of games in my collection that appear to be for 2 or more players, but that’s not always the case! It also gives me a reason to keep checking the forums… You never know what might pop up!
There are times when I lament how a solo mode is missing from a published game, which often turns potential solo players away. Why think it’s solo-compatible when the box says 2+ players? Yet I also see these later releases as an opportunity to shed some light on hidden gems. I know I get excited when I learn about them!
Unofficial solo modes are also great, although I tread a little more carefully. I’ve found some of the best ones out there, along with some I would rather not have spent any time learning. Still, this can be the case with some official solo modes. Publishers and designers who take the time to recognize the solo community get a little tip of the hat from me!
Getting Too Ambitious
Did I call it? Ha ha! After having moderate success with small plumes, I decided to try for a huge score by working on what might be termed the world’s largest plume.
No surprise here… I didn’t come close to completing it before the game ended! I did well with bringing in a lot of colors for more options, yet it wasn’t enough.
Smaller plumes aren’t always worth that much, though, so I had to keep experimenting with the right plume sizes.
The order of the cards was also quite important. Note how the back row here had only 0 and 1 values: Very smart!
Close to Excellence
I adjusted the size of the world’s largest plume to work on a more modest option here. So close to completing it!
Unfortunately, my only options for the bottom row were purple feathers. I picked up the 3 value pink feather right after this placement, yet it couldn’t be added.
The 0 value purple feather was still in the deck, but alas… The peahen showed up to put a stop to my work!
This likely would have boded better for me had the pink and purple feathers calmed down a little bit. I didn’t have that many color options in the bottom rows. Next time!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-6
Solo Mode: Official Solo Variant
Outcome: 73, 69, 65, 68, 66, 71 (6 Losses)
Not surprisingly, I didn’t come close to pulling off a victory. There is a lot to learn here, yet it’s a very light sort of experience. Choices matter without requiring a ton of careful thought. This was exactly what I hoped to get out of the solo mode. Feathers made for a beautiful play area, while I clearly need to reevaluate my decision to get far too ambitious. Ha ha! Interesting and simple mechanics make this something I expect to keep playing for better scores!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
4
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
6
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the artwork is absolutely beautiful and stunning with bright colors and a very unique pattern to the plumes.
- Gameplay moves quickly with important choices that don’t take too long to work through during each round.
- The solo mode simply involves removing cards from the train or replacing it, which takes a matter of seconds.
- Even with multiple plumes in the works, the amount of required table space is very reasonable and compact.
- Working out the likely appearance of the peahen adds a little tension to the end game, though this is rather fun.
- High scores take time to work on, which rewards experience and better planning rather than simple luck.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Some of the feather colors are a little too similar, and without card edge icons, they can be tricky to tell apart.
- The card draw can sometimes make it very difficult to work on a plume since there is no bad luck mitigation.
- Many plays benefit from a somewhat static strategy of completing a few medium-sized or small plumes.
- Although the rulebook works in general, some of the wording is a little longer or more complex than it could be.
Victory Conditions
Score 96+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 50%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 70 points.
Score at least 80 points.
Score at least 90 points.
Win at least 1 game with a single plume.
Continue the Conversation
What do you like about Enchanted Plumes? If you’ve played, how high of a score have you achieved? I’m determined to improve… Only with the understanding that I don’t have to stuff all of the feathers into a single plume. Ha ha! There is a beautiful and quick little game here, and I’m thrilled that the designer released an official solo mode to enjoy it!
0 Comments