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Game Info
Year
2023
Collection
Your Tier
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Description
The Tesseract appeared in our skies six days ago, over the exact magnetic north of the planet. It was the size of a city block. Since that time it has been condensing, collapsing upon itself. It can now fit into the palm of your hand.
Our world’s best minds must now find a way to contain and control the reactions of this alien artifact, or its exponentially increasing destructive power will remove our planet from existence, reconfiguring our space and time to the extra-dimensional needs of its creators. Can you and your team work together to shut down the Tesseract, or will humankind simply be a blip in the grand scheme of the universe? Time will tell.
Tesseract is a compelling, cooperative dice-manipulation game for 1 to 4 players. The focal point of the game is a block of 64 dice, the Tesseract, which sits at the center of the board on a raised platform. Players will remove cubes to place in their individual labs, transfer them as needed to others, adjust the cube's values and, importantly, isolate the cubes into the containment matrix, neutralizing them.
To Contain a cube a player must have in their lab 3 or more cubes all of one value (a Set) or in sequence (a Run), either all of one color or having none of the same colors. By filling the containment matrix completely (24 total unique dice) they will stop the reaction and win the game. But if the Tesseract has its last cube removed beforehand - or if 7 breaches occur, the game is lost and our world ceases to exist.
Asymetric character abilities include a passive, 'always on' ability and a unique action that is only available to that player. Research cards earned during play help give players an edge, as do the even more powerful Containment cards, unlocked from the matrix.
Tesseract is a very challenging co-op game, with lots of replay value built into the number of characters and various threat platforms which govern the difficulty. The game scales remarkably well and has a solo mode that is every bit as engaging. The tension mounts quickly as the Tesseract sheds cubes at the end of every player's turn, primes them and potentially causes Breaches to occur, bringing us closer to disaster.
-description from publisher
Featured Videos
Review
Tesseract - Quick Overview
Rules Teach
Tesseract - How To Play (Official Video)
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 10
This page: 10
Sentiment:
pos 9 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–10 of 10
Video SixLU18lU0Y
Rolling Dice & Taking Names Discussion at 1:05:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 93451 · mention_pk 252845
Click to watch at 1:05:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Great cooperative game
- Lots of discussion and player interaction
- Visually impressive
- Engaging puzzle
- Action cards can create cool combos
- Doesn't suffer from 'singularity' where players do their own thing
Cons
- Potential for knocking over the dice cube
- Care needed when removing dice from the stack
Thematic elements
- Preventing the world from going boom by organizing dice on a containment board.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Card Play — Players can use special cards for free actions or upgrade them to more powerful versions.
- cooperative play — Players work together to achieve the goal of filling the containment board with dice.
- dice manipulation — Players can remove dice, adjust their pip value up or down, or give dice to other players.
- Push Your Luck — Rolling a die at the end of the turn for the 'priming area' carries the risk of causing breaches.
- Set Collection — Players build runs or sets of colored or numbered dice to place on the containment board.
- variable difficulty — Comes with eight varying levels of play and challenges represented by discs.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- 10 years technology still bites Us in the ass
- Tony just goes just like uh oh yeah so yes unlike for the past 10 years that's two curse words you've heard on rdtm which you've never heard us you know I mean it's we're tired it's late and we got to recreate the magic
- it's like hey Tony you've only got two trees but one of them doesn't really count as a tree in Vanessa's world because it's got to be a six foot tree but you said yours is only two foot it's only two foot and it gets all the crappy ornaments
- oh I've got six pretty cool I mean you're like how can there be these perfect nature circles you know
- how to kill bugs to keep them from putting white circles around your trees you're you're a bug trying to create a perfect circle around a tree that I mean there you go Elizabeth Hargrave there's your next game there's a theme for you
- I don't know how people can do that
- The whole gameplay the logistics of it it's a logistics puzzle of how you accomplish things
- I am a problem child
- I don't know if you ever heard the Paper Mario series Paper Mario series was also an RPG so it's not a platformer there's no jumping or anything like that it is literally a role playing game which you honestly may like then
- The big knock of this game is don't knock over the Tesseract
- y'all there was some amazing things happening over November there was Black Friday sales there was one day where there was free shipping for orders $50 and over and you know what that wasn't in the daily email y'all nope nope you had to go over there and click on the miniaturemarket.com website to see this was going on
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 5skIHsJHSmE
kovray Discussion at 2:35 sentiment: positive
video_pk 89797 · mention_pk 239114
Click to watch at 2:35 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Great on the go
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Flowers
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Set Collection — Beautiful flowers you'll pick one and you'll place it face up and one face down and your opponent will choose which one they want to take and you get the other one.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- hello everybody my name is ilya my name is tyler together you make up cabre a couple that loves to play board games
- they're all portable games that we find that would be like easy to tuck away in our backpack and that we think everybody would enjoy
- The person that wins is the first it's a deck building game and the first person to draw five cards and have no artichokes wins.
- It's a little crunchy so I really like it.
- This is a really tough cooperative game yeah it is not easy to win.
- It's brain burner because you've got to place at least two of the dice down and it can be pretty brain crunchy.
- It's very clever it gets you there's silence no communication but there's a nice little communication mechanism within the game.
- There's so many laughs involved every single time.
- The group really determines how this game is played because if everyone's risky then you can be risky but if everyone's more conservative and really collecting all the cars then you kind of have to or else you're gonna fall behind.
- It can definitely hurt the brain because there are some rows that are actually like almost full 15 and there's only 15 like you're drawing from 1 to 15 and sometimes I can hurt.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video gENff6b5K-U
Hungry Gamer Top List at 9:05 sentiment: positive
video_pk 86797 · mention_pk 225954
Click to watch at 9:05 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Host loves this game.
- Played decently regularly.
- Relatively quick to play for the host and Original Don.
- Great crisis management.
- Host wishes there was an expansion.
Cons
- Lost a birthday game session.
- Metal dice are expensive (cost more than the game).
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- crisis management — A great crisis management game.
- Dice Rolling — Features metal dice.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is going to be the last monthly menu of the year
- all of us like that game and we got a four player game and oddly enough for as much as we all like the game for a couple of the players playing at 4 they actually liked it less and they felt like they were just behind the eightball and they couldn't get the dice that they wanted
- it is a hot mess of a game in regards to what what's on the table it sprawls it is huge there's constantly changing room abilities so there's a lot of stoping what does that do and there's a constantly changing Market it's like oh wait what does that do and there's all these spells they breaking the rules and all these things I adore it it is such a cool game
- this is one of those games that I will only play with the right people that's it and I truly don't care if I win or lose which is good cuz I keep losing but you play with the right people and it's just so much fun you have your little accusations flying around the table but it's just relaxed and it's fun and it's great and if you know the and if you know the TV show it is so very thematic
- it's a clever game it's a clever little game it's got these super cute little robots and super cute little animal assistance that you can get and use and it's a good light simple game I really do enjoy it's very clever I don't know that it reaches the heights of The Magnificent or revive for me but that's a real high bar and this is a game that I think is very much intended for more of a family audience bit simpler
- I love this game and Original Don and I we play it decently regularly when we're kind of at the end of the night and if it's just us we'll just pull it out we'll play it cuz it's now it's relatively quick for us to play and it's just delightful
- the metal dice for this thing are ridiculous there's they have no business existing and just the dice I think costs significantly more than the game but they're just amazing there are these awesome Dice
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video gosHlgIGp8U
Hungry Gamer Discussion at 3:14 sentiment: positive
video_pk 86632 · mention_pk 224802
Click to watch at 3:14 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Completed the 10x10 challenge.
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's one of the best games Don has randomly found like ever
- know your energy level and pick the games that fit it
- it's a lot of stuff but most importantly before you even tell me how you're doing today Don what is your brood beverage
- it's just a big chunky game that makes you think and sometimes you just want to play something light and and thoughtless
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video iO_xxLfWGZI
BoardGameCo Top List at 6:14 sentiment: negative
video_pk 80503 · mention_pk 195947
Click to watch at 6:14 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- A good game that was enjoyed by the host.
- Favorite game from the list of 10.
Cons
- Spent $130 specifically on the metal cube version.
- The decision to get the metal die version was made without knowing if the game was for them.
- Did not fit the usual criteria for spending extra on bling (historically similar games making sense, being pretty sure it's for them, or holding value).
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This has everything to do with should I have known better at the time? Should I have known better at the time and not backed it?
- I regret backing them more if the more they cost.
- I backed it not because I was interested in the game. I backed it because there was a really good price on the game. That's why I backed it.
- I convinced myself into wanting the things.
- I cannot believe for the life of me that I spent $130 on a bunch of metal cubes for a game system that I didn't know I love.
- It makes no sense to have done so.
- I back basically every Sean campaign. I can't skip one of them. Doesn't make sense that I'd skip one.
- After the experience I had with Casting Shadows, after knowing that I spent $400 on a game that I never really played and a bunch of plushies that made no sense, uh, Twisted Crypteds was a leaping down that same exact rabbit hole.
- The most money spent, the most money wasted.
- Regret should be saved for those things where you should have known better with the knowledge you had.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video EucfyKWBtKw
Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews Review at 0:07 sentiment: positive
video_pk 62349 · mention_pk 154861
Click to watch at 0:07 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong graphic design invoking Roman gods; theme comes through the visuals
- Tile-lane feel using overlapping cards creates a dynamic mosaic
- Rules are simple but decisions are tense and meaningful
- Replay value and uniqueness; players want to play again
- Scales with player count via the mount Olympus divider
Cons
- Theme doesn't strongly come through gameplay
- Initial confusion about board spaces and planning; space can feel tight
Thematic elements
- abstract mosaic puzzle with multipliers and scoring
- Mythology-inspired grid with Roman gods theme
- mythic, visuals-driven abstract theme
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Board division for higher player counts — mount Olympus divider creates more zones for higher player counts
- Card placement on grid — players place cards from hand onto a shared grid, overlapping and extending patterns
- Compound Scoring — final scoring multiplies categories by their multipliers and tallies points
- Decision tension — each turn chooses between scoring now vs increasing multipliers
- End-game scoring with multipliers — final scoring multiplies categories by their multipliers and tallies points
- multipliers — colored sections can be moved into multiplier columns or converted into points
- Overlap/covering cards — cards can be overlapped to form mosaic-like patterns across the board
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I really like the graphic design choices that they chose with this
- it's tile lane games... this game is cards
- the choices that you have are tense; they are fun
- this game was unique
- I just like wanted to play it again
- the simple game but the choices that you do have are really important
- we had a lot of fun playing tessera
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video rRVH5wEGdbI
Board Game Garden Top 10 List at 32:10 sentiment: positive
video_pk 32064 · mention_pk 94658
Click to watch at 32:10 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- highly puzzle-driven with satisfying color/dice interactions
- strong cooperative feel and challenge
Cons
- noted as challenging; solo mode not discussed (desire for official or fan mode)
Thematic elements
- cooperative puzzle fighting a space threat
- cosmic threat, cube of Tessar shrinking in scale
- puzzle-centric, with dramatic stakes
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Cooperative Game — players cooperate to place dice and solve color/shape objectives
- cooperative puzzle — players cooperate to place dice and solve color/shape objectives
- Dice Drafting — draft dice onto your board to form color/color combos
- Pattern Building — aim to assemble required symbol/color patterns to win
- Pattern completion / set collection — aim to assemble required symbol/color patterns to win
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- "I really enjoyed it and it really truly does prove that I need to not judge games by their cover"
- "I really need to not judge games by their cover"
- "oh my goodness such a fantastic game"
- "you are somebody's reason to smile"
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video KXaDX3_GRrM
Board Game Coffee Rules Teach at 0:06 sentiment: positive
video_pk 12809 · mention_pk 37381
Click to watch at 0:06 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Cooperative puzzle with multiple viable strategies
- Clear, approachable setup and rule explanations
- Dynamic tension with breach and threat phases
- Research and containment cards provide strategic variety
- Supports a range of player counts with lab setup
Cons
- Prototype components may differ from final product
- Rules can be dense and have a learning curve
- Component balance and quality may shift in final version
Thematic elements
- Cooperative puzzle-solving to contain a powerful cube before it breaches and collapses reality.
- A mysterious cubic artifact appears near the magnetic north and is contained on a rotating platform and containment board within a cooperative lab setting.
- Tutorial and setup-driven explanation delivered in a host-led walkthrough.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Adjustments — Increase or decrease a cube's value; primed area allows limited decreases to destroy it.
- Containment board placement — Add a contained cube to the matching color/value space on the containment board.
- Containment cards — A containment card is earned when a column is filled and can be activated by any player during their action phase.
- Re-roll and gain rewards — Reroll remaining cubes from a set/run to gain a level of research cards.
- Re-Rolling and Locking — Reroll remaining cubes from a set/run to gain a level of research cards.
- Research cards — Draw and play level-based cards for effects; can be played for free as a free action.
- Run/Set formation — Three or more cubes of the same value (set) or three or more consecutive values (run) must be assembled.
- Set Collection — Form sets or runs of cubes in your lab to contain them.
- Threat/Breach mechanics — Prime the lowest cube during the threat phase; breach occurs if the primed area fills or breach track reaches seven.
- Trading — Move a cube between players' labs with permission.
- Transfer — Move a cube between players' labs with permission.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- you and your friends will have to work together to contain the power of this cubic Menace
- there's only one way to win in Tesseract
- communication among players is vital to your success
- on your turn you could perform any three of these actions
- the containment is the most important action you can take because each time you contain a cube you're one step closer to winning the game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 9Zo_HBZhgCA
Board Game Coffee Discussion at 11:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 12353 · mention_pk 36026
Click to watch at 11:01 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong visual/production value
- Optimistic potential as a thoughtful puzzle game
Cons
- Prototype status; specifics uncertain
Thematic elements
- Tesseract, dimensional manipulation
- Sci-fi/abstract puzzle flavor
- Abstract strategy
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Abstract strategy/puzzle — Players navigate a planar puzzle with strategic placement and sequencing
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It's a blast; it's like Magic. I haven't played yet, but I'm going to teach him how to play.
- The ghost adds so many layers of strategy.
- You spend ink points to ready your character, and then you can either fight or quest.
- It's sold out at the show; 90 minutes sold out in the rush.
- Two clever cats—it's a thinking game for two clever cats.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video PLyh7cHQNio
Board Game Coffee Review at 0:09 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10459 · mention_pk 30805
Click to watch at 0:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- highly cooperative experience
- engaging dice manipulation puzzle
- variety of player powers through researchers, cards, and containment cards
- strong team coordination and planning
- replayability via random containment cards
Cons
- events can be unfriendly or detrimental depending on draw
- breach mechanism and RNG can lead to punishing outcomes
- a learning curve due to multiple card types and interactions
Thematic elements
- Cooperation under pressure to prevent catastrophic breaches while manipulating dice.
- A laboratory containment facility with a central Tesseract and a rotating containment board.
- Cooperative puzzle-solving with event-driven tension and variable setup.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- breach/timer pressure — Breaches are triggered when certain cube patterns form; seven breaches ends the game, creating urgency to manage the board.
- cards system — Research cards and containment cards grant a variety of useful, sometimes one-time, abilities.
- character abilities — Each researcher has a passive ability always on and an activated ability to use for additional effect.
- Deck Manipulation — Players move, adjust, or transfer dice between the Tesseract and their own labs, building sets or runs to progress on the containment board.
- dice manipulation — Players move, adjust, or transfer dice between the Tesseract and their own labs, building sets or runs to progress on the containment board.
- event tiles — Event tiles hidden beneath the Tesseract provide twists that can speed up or hinder progress.
- Set Collection — Sets or runs must be all the same color or all different colors; completing a set allows taking a cube to fill the containment board.
- turn-based action selection — On a turn, a player may perform three of six available actions in any order.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this has got to be one of the most Cooperative co-op games I have ever played
- these unique actions are very helpful
- the events hidden under the Tesseract aren't great for you
- remember all these character abilities research cards super power containment cards all of it is useful
- figuring is half the fun as you chip away at the Tesseract
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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