In Tapestry, you'll be guiding your civilization through time to write the story of their glorious civilization. In order to do that, you'll be advancing on various tracks representing their progress and knowledge in four key concepts - exploration, technology, military, and science - as they come up with new innovations. This will allow you to score points, expand and control the board, and gain other abilities. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins!

Game Anatomy

Each player has the following resources:

• Money, represented by a yellow money bag. This is mostly used to advance on the technology track.
• Workers, represented by a gray meeple. This is mostly used to advance on the science track.
• Food, represented by a brown mushroom. This is mostly used to advance on the exploration track.
• Culture, represented by a red star. This is mostly used to advance on the military track.
• Income buildings, which are the same colors as the above four items. These start the game on players' boards, but can later can be moved to each player's capital city to acquire the income bonuses underneath and to gain points or resources in your capital.
• Tapestry cards, which are green. These can be played at specific points in the game for a bonus effect or ability.
• Land tiles. This can be played onto the main board using an Explore action.
• Space tiles, which are deep blue. These give a specific ability once activated. Note that there are only 15 space tiles available and it is possible for them to run out during the game.
• Technology cards, which are yellow. These can be invented and upgraded for various abilities.
• Outposts, represented by columns of your player color. These are placed on the board to show you have control of a territory using a Conquer action.
• Tokens, represented by cubes. These track your progress on the different tracks. Your civilization may use these tokens for other things, and will describe how they are used in more detail.

All of the above items are public knowledge except for tapestry cards.

Each player has three boards:

• The left board is your civilization board. This describes the background of your civilization and any abilities or special actions they may have.
• The center board is your income board. This tracks how many resources you have, which tapestry cards you've played, which buildings you have yet to build, and the bonuses associated with any buildings already built.
• The right board is your capital city. Buildings that are already built go here.

The central board contains the following:

• The game score (not shown on the BGA interface - look at the player panels for this instead).
• The four primary tracks - technology, science, exploration, and military, as well as the actions for each step on the track.
• The game map. At the beginning of the game, this contains just a few islands, but can be added to as the game progresses.
• Achievements, which are to the lower left of the game map. These are extra accomplishments that award points if you are among the first to complete them.

Setup

At the beginning of the game, you are dealt two random civilization boards. Choose one of them and follow any setup instructions shown on them.

In a 2 or 3 player game, you are also dealt two capital city boards. Choose one of them. This board has a number on it - place two of your outposts on that numbered space on the game map. (In a 4 or 5 player game, you are only dealt one of these and claim it automatically.)

All other setup components are automated by BGA.

Game Flow / What To Do On Your Turn

Tapestry takes place over multiple rounds. In most rounds, you'll advance on one of the four tracks by paying a resource cost - the exact cost depends on the track and the position you are advancing to (each is broken into four tiers with increasing costs). Afterwards, you'll take the actions associated with your new position on that track. Some spaces have an optional bonus attached to it, which you can pay additional resources to activate.

On other turns, usually those in which you don't have enough resources to advance on a track, you'll instead take an income turn. On these turns, you'll apply any civilization abilities (if they exist), play tapestry cards, upgrade technologies, and gain income. Your first turn of the game will always be an income turn, and your fifth income turn will be your last action of the game.

The Exploration Track / Exploring Tiles

The exploration track specializes in adding new tiles to the map. Many of the spaces involve collecting or placing land tiles. When you explore new land, you place one of the land tiles onto the board and gain the resource or bonus pictured on it. You may freely rotate the tile before placing it. For each side of the tile that has at least one land type matching a space already on the board, gain 1 VP.

The end of the Exploration Track also allows you to get space tiles. Once you gain these, just follow the instructions on them for an immediate bonus. Again, note that there are a limited number (15) of space tiles available; once all have been claimed by other players, you cannot gain space tiles by taking those action spaces.

The Military Track / Conquering Tiles

The military track specializes in gaining control of the map. Many of the spaces involve conquering a tile. To do this, place one of your outposts on a space adjacent to one you already control, then roll both conquer dice. One of these gives you points, and another can give your resources - choose one of them as your bonus.

You can conquer territories controlled by an opponent this way - if you do, topple their outpost sideways. However, there is a specific tapestry card called a Trap that can reverse the effect of this, so be careful! (You still get the conquer bonus if this happens, you just don't gain control of the territory.) Also note that at no point can there ever be more than two pieces of any type on any space, so certain spaces will become "safe" as a result.

The Technology Track / Technologies

The technology track specializes in inventing and upgrading technologies. Many of the spaces involve the technology cards. When you first invent a technology, pick up one of the three face up technology cards next to the board, or the top card of that deck, and put one of them on the bottom row of your technology cards. Multiple cards can be in any given row.

At certain points, you'll be able to upgrade this technology by moving it to the next row. When you move it to the middle row, gain the benefit pictured within the circle of your card. Once there, it can be upgraded again to gain the benefit pictured in the square, but this upgrade can only be performed if you or the players next to you have reached a particular space on a track.

Note that certain technologies involve placing a landmark building - see the rules on landmarks for more details about how that works.

The Science Track / The Science Die

The science track specializes in assisting in advancing on other tracks. Many of the spaces involve the science die. When you activate these, roll this die - you may then advance on the indicated track. Early spaces on this just advance your position on this track without gaining any benefits from it, but later ones do gain the benefits as if you had occupied the space normally.

Later spaces on the track allow you to either repeat the effects of a specific track or change their position on it, which work the same way as above.

Buildings / Your Capital City

Buildings can be separated into two categories, income buildings and landmark buildings. Income buildings are usually gained from a track and will help gain income usable on that track or points that are easier to gain from actions on it; these always occupy just one unit of space. Landmark buildings are gained from being the first player on different tiers of the track or from specific technologies and occupy a larger amount of space on them (a 2x2 square at minimum).

When you place a building, it goes on any blank space on your capital city. Landmark buildings can be placed so they rest only partially on the board (as long as they occupy at least one space on it), but otherwise have the same rules for placement. Spaces with a red dot can't have a building on them, but for all other purposes are considered already filled in.

Once any 3x3 block within the capital is completely filled with buildings (and reserved space), gain any resource. Also, each completed row and column will award extra points during an income turn.

Income Turns

Income turns are typically taken when you have run out of resources to take advance turns. When you do these, the following things happen, in this order:

• Activate any civilization-based abilities on your civilization board (if any exist).
• Play a tapestry card. These can either be one-time effects or an ability that persists until the next time you take an income turn or play a new tapestry card that replaces it. (Skip this step on the first and last income turn of the game.)
• If you are the first player among you and your neighbors to play a tapestry card in this position, gain resources.
• Upgrade one of your technologies.
• Gain all points as shown from revealed income buildings. More specifically...

- Your yellow buildings (markets) will give you points for how many technology cards you have, in any position.

- Your gray buildings (houses) will give you points for each row and each column in your capital city that is complete.

- Your red buildings (armories) will give you points for each space you control on the map.

- Your brown buildings (farms) and the last space of each track will give you points with no extra conditions or variables.

• Gain resources as shown from revealed income buildings. (Skip this step on the last income turn of the game.)

Note that the first turn of the game will always be an income turn (but will usually require no interaction on your part), and you may not take any further actions after your fifth and final income turn.

End Of The Game

The game ends when all players have taken their fifth income turn. This can happen asynchronously and not all players will have the same number of turns or stop performing actions at the same time. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins!

Limitations of BGA Digital Adaptation

The following are known limitations (some of which unlikely to be fixed):

• There is no link between unsuccessful (void) benefit and subsequent bonus/benefit, i.e
  • Bonus will be offered independent if tech track space benefit resolution was successful or not;
  • Inventor will gain benefit independent if opponent (tech card owner) can complete theirs or not

BGA Game Options

no Adjustments

Play with original rules.

with Adjustments

Enable most recent official adjustments (version 8) for civilizations cards (for power balance). This is default option. Latest version of adjustment guide can be found here: https://stonemaiergames.com/games/tapestry/rules-translations-faq/

with Experimentl Adjustments

Enable new version of adjustments, not officially appoved yet:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2844384/tapestry-final-civilization-adjustments-open-call