The Taverns of Tiefenthal: Open Doors Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review the Open Doors expansion for The Taverns of Tiefenthal from CMYK Games. This expansion adds in four different modules for you to use in your games of The Taverns of Tiefenthal.

Back in March of 2020 (wow does that feel like a lifetime ago), I reviewed a fun little dice drafting game called The Taverns of Tiefenthal. In it, you are running your own rustic tavern that will have you hiring staff, brewing beer, and attracting customers. While the game was pretty good, it wasn’t without its flaws.

Zip ahead to 2022, and publishers CMYK Games has released the first expansion for The Taverns of Tiefenthal, titled Open Doors. Does this expansion help polish out the core game or just add extra bloat? Let’s find out.

There are four modules that come in the Open Doors expansion and, unlike in the core game, you can mix and match any of these modules as you see fit. The four modules are:

Switching to Wine: This module added a wine cellar for each player, Sommelier cards that can be hired as staff, and Quack Doctor cards that you can recruit with beer. When drawn, the Sommelier gives you a wine token that basically acts as a wild die for placement. The Quack Doctor, when played, either gives you a coin or can be returned to the supply to duplicate an action you’ve taken this turn.

One Room Please: Probably the biggest module of this expansion, as it adds a guest room board for your tavern. When you first draw a Noble in the round, you can have her stay in one of your four guest rooms. If later, during dice drafting, you choose a die matching her room number, you gain a bonus. These range from upgrading cards, to gaining beer and coin, to moving on the monastery track. The module also comes with a priest card that you start