
2023James Firnhaber
Mainly reviews. Tesseract is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 20 reviews, 5 how-to-play guides, 7 recorded sessions, 6 unboxings, and 2 other videos.
From BoardGameGeek
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
Tesseract has 40 videos from 27 creators: 20 reviews, 5 how-to-play guides, 7 playthroughs, 6 unboxings and 2 other videos. They date from 2022 to May 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Tesseract - How To Play (Official Video)" by Board Game Coffee, which runs 16 min. For a quicker teach, "Tesseract: HOW to PLAY" by Meepology runs 7 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Tesseract Review: Gleaming The Cube" by The Dice Tower. 14 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Tesseract Solo Tutorial and Playthrough | DaniCha" by DaniCha, one of 7 playthroughs.
If you like it, try The Spill, The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship, Yggdrasil or Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which share several of its mechanics. It appears in convention videos from Spiel Essen 2024, Gen Con 2023 and Gen Con 2022.
8 of 27
2025Matt Leacock
1 - 5 players60 - 150 minHeavy weight
2011Cédric Lefebvre, Fabrice Rabellino
1 - 6 players90 minMedium weight
2022Alexandar Ortloff-Tang
1 - 5 players60 minMedium weight
From BoardGameGeek:
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
Designer
James Firnhaber
Artist
Denis Freitas
Publisher
Smirk & Laughter Games
Categories
Mechanics