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Game Info
Year
2022
Players
1-5
Age
14+
Playtime
90 min
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Vibe profile
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Description
Cellulose: A Plant Cell Biology Game is a worker placement game that puts 1-5 players inside a plant cell, where they will compete over limited resources in order to undergo photosynthesis, produce carbohydrates, and build the cell wall. With everyone vying for the same actions, players must time their use of proteins, hormones, and cell component cards in order to diversify their strategies and outplay the competition.
Cellulose is the standalone sequel to Cytosis (2017). It has some of the same DNA, but Cellulose expands familiar game systems, allowing players greater control over available resources, strategic paths, and even game length.
—description from the publisher
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 2
This page: 2
Sentiment:
pos 1 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–2 of 2
Video ZU9rwxFUww4
Meeple University Rules Teach at 0:12 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 63994 · mention_pk 157503
Click to watch at 0:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Plant cell biology
- Plant cell environment / classroom framing
- educational
Comparison games
- Cytosis
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action markers and spaces — Two types of spaces (large and small); placing markers can block spaces and gray markers are treated specially.
- Card play / hand management — Draw, hold, and play cell component cards with various effects; some cards enable chaining.
- Card types and chaining — Different card types (protein storage, starches, enzymes, pink specializations) with possible chaining of effects.
- Cell Wall building endgame — Progress along the cell wall track; the game ends when the track is completed.
- End of round scoring — Players score points from growth, wall progress, cards, and resources.
- Phase structure of rounds — Rounds consist of Sunrise (income), Daytime (actions), and Evening (resolution).
- Resource management — Players collect and spend resources (water, CO2, proteins, hormones, ATP, etc.) to take actions.
- Solo play variant — Solo play setup with helper cards.
- Themed action spaces around cell organelles — Actions are themed after plant cell parts (xylem, stomata, chloroplasts, mitochondria, ribosomes, cytoplasm, etc.).
- two-player variant — In two players, each gets four action markers (instead of three) and uses gray markers with special rules.
- Variable Phase Order — Rounds consist of Sunrise (income), Daytime (actions), and Evening (resolution).
- worker placement — Players place action markers on the board to resolve actions in each round.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Cellulose is played in rounds and each round is played in three phases: Sunrise, Daytime, and Evening.
- Standalone sequel to Cytosis which allows for more control over some elements of the game.
- Players are plant cell organelles trying to grow their plants as best they can to earn the most health points in this worker placement game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video FEYfW0ZpjOo
Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews Review at 0:07 sentiment: positive
video_pk 62320 · mention_pk 154826
Click to watch at 0:07 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Excellent production quality with chunky components and a thematic score tracker
- Strong engine-building and resource conversion feel; rewarding optimization
- Paced by sunrise/day/night loops, keeps game moving
- Deep card synergy via enzyme cards enabling complex combos
- Educational value; integrates science concepts; optional reading enhances understanding
- Accessible: can be played as a standard worker-placement game without focusing on science
Cons
- The science companion book The Science Behind Cellulose may add complexity and extend setup for some players
- Rulebook and science background might be overwhelming for casual players
Thematic elements
- cell wall construction and cellular processes
- Inside a plant cell; educational biology context
- educational with pragmatic explanations
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card-driven actions — enzyme and other cards provide actions and enable card-based combos
- End-of-round progression / end-game trigger — carbohydrate tokens on the cell wall push the game toward completion
- engine building — resources are converted and used to advance tracks and generate points
- Income track / phased play — sunrise/day/night phases; income and replenishment cycle drive pacing
- resource conversion / engine-building — resources are converted and used to advance tracks and generate points
- Resource management — manage water, CO2, carbohydrates, proteins, and hormones to progress
- worker placement — players place pawns on actions to gain resources and trigger effects
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the production quality of this game was exactly what i would expect from genius games
- i would play it again i'd play it right now
- it's just a really solid worker placement game
- i absolutely love that and how the player piece is because it's you know plant cell biology
References (from this video)
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Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–2 of 2