Create the civilization with the most storied history, starting at the beginning of humankind and reaching into the future. The paths you choose will vary greatly from real-world history-your civilization is unique!
In Tapestry, you will advance on 4 advancement tracks (science, technology, exploration, and military) to earn progressively better benefits. Along the way, you will also improve your income, build your capital city, leverage your unique abilities, earn victory points, and gain tapestry cards that will tell the story of your civilization.
Components
- 1 individually numbered box
- 1 game board
- 18 landmark miniatures
- 100 income building miniatures
- 16 asymmetric civilization mats
- 6 unique capital city mats
- 5 income mats
- 43 different tapestry cards
- 7 trap cards
- 48 unique territory tiles
- 15 unique space tiles
- 33 tech cards
- 3 custom dice
- 65 player tokens (cubes)
- 50 outpost tokens
- 1 custom insert
- 28 Automa cards (solo mode)
- 1 Automa mat
- 6 reference cards
- 2 reference guides
- 1 Automa rulebook
- Rulebook
Setup
Global Setup
1 Board: Place the board on the table (big map for 4-5 players; small map for 1-3).
2 Tech cards (x33): Shuffle the tech cards. Place the deck face down next to the board and reveal 3 cards.
3 Tapestry cards (x50): Shuffle the tapestry cards and place the deck face down next to the board.
4 Territory (x48) and SPACE TILES (x15): Shuffle the territory tiles and place them in face-down stacks next to the board. Do the same with the space tiles.
5 Landmarks (x18): Place landmark miniatures on top of the matching slots on the landmark board. The extra landmarks go near the tech card deck.
6 Dice (one 12-sided & two 6-sided): Place the science die (green) near the science track and the conquer dice (red and black) near the military track.
Player Setup
1 Capital city mat (x6): Claim a random capital city mat (*) and sit near it. Place 2 outpost tokens (hexagonal tokens in your player color) on the territory on the map matching the number of your capital city. Your other 8 outpost tokens are kept off to the side of your income mat.
(*) In a 1-3 player game, pair up the capital city mats based on the numbers on the board. Gain a random pair. Choose 1 and discard the other.
2 Income mat (x5): Seed each resource track on your income mat with the corresponding building (5 brown farms, 5 grey houses, 5 yellow markets, and 5 red armories). The far left space of each row is exposed. Place 1 token for each resource on the 0 space of the resource tracker at the bottom of your mat.
3 Civilization mat (x16): Gain 2 random civilization mats. Choose 1 and discard the other. Shuffle all unused and discarded civilization mats into a deck.
4 Player tokens (x13): Place 1 player token on each of the 4 advancement track starting spaces (far-left circles on the board) and 1 token on 0 VP. Keep the extras off to the side.
Randomly select the 1st player and begin. Each player's first turn is an income turn (see Income).
Game Play
On your turn, you may either collect INCOME to begin a new era or ADVANCE your player token once on an advancement track (the 4 tracks along the sides of the board) by paying the cost and gaining the resulting benefit. Then play proceeds clockwise.
Income
When you use your turn to collect income, you are beginning a new era for your civilization. Other than the first income turn to begin the game, players will end up taking income turns at different times.
Follow these steps in order (the chart on your income mat shows which of these apply to income turns 1-5):
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Activate civilization abilities (if applicable).
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Play a tapestry card onto the leftmost blank space on your income mat (if applicable to the current era). You must play a tapestry card from hand.
In the rare case that you do not have a tapestry card in hand, place the top card of the tapestry deck face down on your income mat.
Important: If you are the first of your neighbors to start a new era, gain resources as shown underneath the newly covered space.
If the tapestry card has a "when played" ability, use it now. If it has a "this era" ability, it applies from now until the beginning of your next income turn.
If you are the first of your neighbors to take a second income turn, before ♦tf play a tapestry card on top of this icon, gain any 1 resource.
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Upgrade 1 tech card (optional; see Technology) and gain victory points (j •' from all exposed VP icons on your income mat tracks.
Gain 1 VP for each tech card next to your capital city mat.
Gain 1 VP for each completed row and column in your capital city (see Buildings & Capital City).
Gain VP equal to the number shown.
Gain 1 VP for each territory on the map you currently control.
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Gain income from all exposed icons for resources, territory tiles, and tapestry cards on your resource tracks. You can have at most 8 of each resource (coins, workers, food, and culture are resources).
Advance
Most turns in Tapestry will be used to advance on an advancement track. Follow these steps in order:
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Pay the cost (the resources indicated under the tier of the track into which you're advancing).
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Move your player token 1 space forward on the track, then gain the benefit.
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If available, you may pay to gain the bonus once.
(e.g. means "pay any 1 resource to gain 1 tapestry card")
Pay any 1 resource and advance your player token. Gain an explore benefit, then you may pay any 1 resource to gain 1 tapestry card.
Each advancement track is divided into tiers. If you are the first player to advance into a new tier (II-IV) by any means, gain the corresponding landmark and place it in your capital city (see Buildings & Capital City).
The core benefits associated with each track are explained on page 3, and all benefits are explained in detail on the reference guide. We recommend teaching new players the core benefits before starting the game, but not the other specific benefits until they're reached.
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Exploration
First, select 1 territory tile from your supply and place it on an unexplored hex adjacent to a territory you control, oriented in any direction:
Second, gain 1 VP for each side of the explored territory with at least 1 aligned terrain (water, mountains, desert, etc; max 6 VP). Ignore the "rivers" between land terrain and the tile edge-that's just an aesthetic touch.
In this example, 2 sides of the newly explored territory have at least 1 aligning terrain, so you gain 2 VP.
Third, gain the benefit on the territory tile (e.g., 1 culture).
When you reach Tier IV of the exploration track, you will venture beyond the Earth.
Space tiles offer more powerful benefits than territory tiles. When you explore a space tile, simply place it next to your income mat and gain the benefits on the tile (it doesn't align with other space tiles). There are a limited number of space tiles, so it's possible to run out.
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Science
First, roll the science die, which will result in an icon that represents an advancement track:
Second, you may advance your player token on the corresponding advancement track for free (you may choose not to advance after seeing the results of the die roll). If you are the first player to advance into a new tier (ll-IV), gain the landmark.
If researching would push your player token off the end of a track (beyond the 12th space), nothing happens.
Third, if the research icon has an X on it (), do not gain the benefit or the bonus (if any).
If the research icon doesn't have an X on it (), gain the benefit and you may pay to gain the bonus (if any).
Similar to research, there are benefits that allow you to advance on a specific track:
When you gain one of these benefits, advance for free on the corresponding track and then- if there is no X-gain the benefit and you may pay to gain the bonus (if any).
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Technology
First, gain a tech card, selecting from the face- up cards or the top of the deck. Replenish a face-up card immediately after you gain it. If the deck is empty, reshuffle discarded cards to form a new deck.
Second, place the card to the right of your capital city mat in the bottom row. There is no limit to the number of tech cards in each row, and there is no immediate benefit from the tech card.
Tech cards provide benefits when they're upgraded (). When upgrading, select a tech card in the bottom or middle row and shift it upwards to the next row. Cards in the top row can't be upgraded.
The benefit gained from upgrading a tech card to the middle row is shown in the circle (e.g., advance on the exploration track without gaining the benefit or the bonus).
The benefit gained from upgrading a tech card to the top row is shown in the square. To upgrade to the top row, you or one of your neighbors must meet the prerequisite noted on the card (e.g., must currently be in or beyond Tier II on the exploration track).
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Military
First, place an outpost from your supply onto a territory that has no more than 1 token on it and is adjacent to a territory you control.
Control refers to a territory on which your outpost is the only upright outpost. You can't conquer territories you already control.
Second, roll the 2 conquer dice and gain the benefit shown on 1 of them. The red die includes an icon () that means "1 VP for each territory you control", and the black die includes an icon () that means "the benefit on the territory tile (if any)".
If you conquer an opponent's territory, "topple" their outpost token (tip it over on its side). Because there are now 2 tokens on the territory, it cannot be conquered again.
If you attempt to conquer a territory controlled by an opponent, beware of trap cards! Trap cards are disguised as tapestry cards, but if the opponent discards one from their hand, they will retain control of the territory (you still gain a benefit from the conquer dice).
You may make and break deals with opponents ("I won't conquer you if you won't conquer me"), but you can't exchange anything tangible. Once all of your outposts are on the map, you may not conquer any further.
Buildings & Capital Cities
Buildings are permanently placed in your capital city to help you (1) complete districts to gain instant resources and (2) complete rows and columns to score victory points. You can place buildings on any open plot in your capital city.
Certain plots of land are impassable () - you cannot build there, but they contribute toward the completion of districts, rows, and columns.
There are 2 categories of buildings:
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Income Buildings ()
When you gain a farm, house, market, or armory, pick up the leftmost building of that type from your income mat (revealing improvements to your income) and place it in your capital city.
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Landmark Buildings:
Landmarks show which civilization is the first to advance to a new tier on an advancement track or the first to invent something (i.e., certain tech cards).
Each landmark is a specific building miniature with a unique shape that you place in your capital city, aligned with the grid. There is exactly 1 of each landmark, so even if one of you finds a way to gain the same landmark again, you cannot.
Other notes about buildings:
When you complete a district by filling all plots in one of the nine indicated 3x3 areas, immediately gain any 1 resource.
When scoring your capital city (), gain 1 VP for every completed row and column.
You may gain and place buildings even if they extend outside of your city grid, as they may not always fit in an increasingly crowded city.
This capital city has 3 complete rows and columns, so each time you score it, you will gain 3 VP.
Other Important Notes
Civilizations: It is possible to gain additional civilizations (end of military track, tech cards, etc). If you do, add them to the left of your current civilization mat. If you run out of player tokens, use spare cubes.
Overlapping Turns: If your turn isn't impacted by decisions being made by the previous player, you may proceed to take your turn. This is particularly important during a player's income turn after they've played their tapestry card.
Optional Vs Mandatory Rewards: All bonuses in the game are optional. Benefits and landmarks are mandatory rewards.
Neighbors (): few elements of the game have you consider your neighbors. This refers to the players sitting to your immediate left and right.
Achievements: There are 3 achievements on the board. When you earn each of them for the first time, place a player token on the highest available VP space under that achievement. You cannot lose achievements or earn the same achievement twice.
Victory Point Track: If you exceed 100 VP, place your VP token on the 100 space, and place a second player token at 0. If you exceed 200 VP, shift the token over (and so on for 300 and 400).
Variable length: While each player will take the same number of income turns (5), the number of advance turns will vary.
AI Singularity: This technology track benefit may result in you having multiple player tokens on the same track. Either is eligible for advance turns. When considering the relative position on a track, only look at your most advanced token.
You cannot earn the same achievement twice. For the middle achievement, the 2 outposts you topple (from conquering or trapping) may be those of the same or different opponents. For the rightmost achievement, if an opponent plays a trap card as you attempt to conquer the middle island, you do not gain this achievement.
End of the Game
The game ends at different times for each player. Your game ends when you finish your final (5th) income turn. Gain benefits from your civilization, 1 upgrade, and victory points as shown on your income mat, but you cannot play a tapestry card or gain income.
If other players still have turns after your game has ended, you may still gain victory points from passive civilization abilities, but you cannot gain anything else.
When all players have taken their final income turns, the winner is the player with the most victory points.
In case of a tie, the player with the most total resources remaining is the winner. Otherwise, players share the victory. A great final score is 300 VP.
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