Expanding Tapestry and Battling the Level 4 Solo Opponent
Explore many different paths ahead to advance a civilization throughout the eras in the game of Tapestry.
To dive deeply into a solo game takes some effort, particularly since it means not playing other games! Tapestry has dominated my table lately, and I have no complaints. I decided to keep discovering even more by adding in the previously untouched expansion, Tapestry: Plans and Ploys. Would I find even more reasons to keep playing?
Game Overview
Game Name: Tapestry
Publication Year: 2019
Designer: Jamey Stegmaier
Artists: Andrew Bosley and Rom Brown
Publisher: Stonemaier Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
The base game provides plenty of challenges with multiple difficulty levels for the solo opponent. So much to explore! Yet I felt ready to add in the expansion content, especially since a lot of it creates more options. No solo campaign just yet, although that’s certainly coming up soon!
First Play
November 4, 2019
Complexity
3
Latest Play
September 7, 2025
Expansions
3
Setup Time
15 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
22
Play Time
1 Hour
High Score
301
Game Area
38" x 30"
Low Score
108
Intriguing Infiltrators
I decided to go with the infiltrators when I chose from the starting civilization options. Long-term strategies were going to be in store right from the start!
If I could pull it off, another civilization card would be drawn before the end to offer more victory points.
There isn’t necessarily a thematic tie-in with the way each civilization plays, although each offers some sort of unique mechanical scoring opportunity. Very cool!
Perhaps the only thing missing from this artwork was the requisite Stealthy Elephant in the shadows. Ha ha!
A Struggle for Land
As I’ve pointed out before, the final map often tells a few stories. I’ve had a few plays where only a few hexes have been explored and conquered. Or… This situation!
My cubes on the far left were tied into the infiltrators and only tracked part of that ability. Nothing too special.
The solo opponent, represented in green, had a field day with me. So many toppled outposts! Maybe I should have given up on the middle island early on. Much safer!
Yet I still held onto a few territories and did what I needed to. Although… Just wait for it. This map told it all!
Zero Achievements
To clarify, I played as yellow and the achievements were all taken up by the solo opponent. The red cube was more of a blocker to prevent me from claiming victory points…
Oh, my goodness! With the level 4 solo opponent, I guess I fell apart utterly and completely. This was my worst play.
Things simply didn’t click for me, which was a bit of an oddity. Randomness plays a major role, yet it’s certainly not something that destroys a lot of plays. It was all me!
Honestly, I think I had a disjointed plan and tried some things that… Did not pan out. At all. Moving on. Ha ha!
Not Entertained
Some of the expansion content showed up here and there, including a tapestry card to entertain the masses!
I suppose my absolute failure managed to make the citizens happy in some comedic fashion… That’s it. I’ll say it was a complete success on that front with the stadium!
Collecting landmarks is a very interesting part of the game. Taking them from the solo opponent is even better, yet the expansion offers new ways to pick up even more.
Actually, this was an automatic loss because I didn’t reach the best red space: Tabletop games! How could I?!
Analyzing Level 4
The solo opponent was almost diabolically difficult for me, earning extra bonuses and adding a lot of cards to the deck. There was a clear difference from level 3 to level 4.
Besides the difficulty level, the solo opponent has a number of civilization types it might be. This is part of the setup and is typically randomized from all available.
As the conquerors, the solo opponent expanded quite a bit and earned extra victory points for its territories.
Hence why the map looked the way it did… I wasn’t too focused on conquering, so maybe I needed to be!
Turning the Corner
I really should have taken more photos of my next attempt! But suffice to say that I ended up with 4 unique civilization cards by the end to earn extra points.
How? The infiltrators paid off and gave me the familiar entertainers very late for a couple of nice bonuses.
The conquer strategy paid off, too, as I completed the military track… Then used the science ability to repeat the ability on another track. Hello, new civilizations!
I didn’t do particularly well with the isolationists, and the islanders were awesome! But… How did I actually do?
Session Overview
Play Number: 9 and 10
Expansion: Tapestry: Plans and Ploys
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Infiltrators / Wetland vs. Level 4
Outcome: 123-230 and 242-240 (1 Win and 1 Loss)
Despite being behind by something like 60 points before scoring began, I managed to just squeeze past the solo opponent for an awesome victory! Trap cards as tapestry cards seemed odd, yet I managed 20 victory points. What an exciting ending! The expansion content added just enough new elements to be excellent. Plus, I actually won!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the artwork is interesting to give tapestry cards some flavor, and the civilizations unique personalities.
- Advancing along the tracks is the main focus of gameplay, yet finding the optimal path is fun with every play.
- The solo opponent is easy to run but can change drastically based on its civilization type and difficulty level.
- Looking at the final map often tells a few quick stories, which is simply nice to summarize a play at the end.
- Although gameplay may be a little dry, it’s easy to understand and doesn’t include micromanagement.
- Each play feels rather distinct with the different ways things progress and a good amount of unpredictability.
– Cons (Negatives)
- A certain degree of bad luck can swing a play in the completely wrong direction and make it very difficult to win.
- Managing the landmarks improves with experience, yet it can be tricky to tell them apart without any labels.
- There isn’t necessarily a coherent theme to building up a civilization, as it’s more about advancing on tracks.
- It may still be an early observation, but the exploration track generally feels like the weakest option to pursue.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game against the level 1 solo opponent.
Win at least 1 game against the level 2 solo opponent.
Win at least 1 game against the level 3 solo opponent.
Win at least 1 game against the level 4 solo opponent.
Continue the Conversation
Do you enjoy playing Tapestry? If you’ve played with Tapestry: Plans and Ploys, what do you like the most about it? Part of me would love to stick with the level 4 solo opponent… Moving up is not my plan yet, although this might be a little outside my comfort zone for the solo campaign. Whatever I decide, this game continues to be lots of fun to play!
Hi, nice review. I love tapestry as a solo boardgamer. I just finished 4 of the 5 solo scenario’s. Did you played them yet? What are your thoughts about it? I really enjoyed playing the solo scenario’s!
Thanks! I haven’t played in a long time and hope to return someone soon. Sounds like you’re having a great time! This is definitely an enjoyable game that I need to explore some more… Haven’t even tried out the new expansion, which deserves some time. Hoping to get back to playing this one again in the near future!