Game: Tesserae

Thread: Seeking advocates

jvenezizn — 2008-03-11T18:22:08+00:00

As I slowly build my very own supply chain (woohoo the fund of being an indy game dev) I am looking for folks in major metro areas outside of the north-east who would be interested in being local folks-on-the-ground to help me find (and possibly get into) the cool small brick and mortar stores in your area.

Or if anyone knows of a place where one can get a listing/rating of indy game stores.....

So if you live in a big city and would be interested in helping me out, feel free to drop me a line with your favorite store(s) and if you'd be willing to help out in other ways.

Thanks,

Jonathan

Thread: Re: Are the rules online?

jvenezizn — 2008-03-07T19:34:36+00:00

Sorry for the slow reply. I've been away and offline for most of the last month.

Starting hand is three of each size. The shorthand for rules of play are basically correct and complete. You draw the same type that you played, always drawing 2 even if you play more. Tiles in your hand are face up for all to see.

The above rules work for 2-5 players. There are also solitaire and team variants, as well as scoring variants. I'll slap up the full set of rules this weekend when I have time.

Thread: Fun Fast Filler

dbucak — 2008-02-18T04:30:09+00:00

Tesserae is an abstract tile laying game played with colorful diamond shaped tiles. Players match the sides of the diamonds by color and attempt to create 'completed' areas that allow you to play an extra tile. You win by getting rid of all of your tiles. The interesting shapes of the tiles lend the game more strategic depth than the simplicity of the rules would suggest as you can block off areas or combine the tiles in unexpected ways. The playing area builds up in attractive cube-like patterns, as you can see in this picture of a completed game:

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In the interest of full disclosure I should say that the designer of the game is a friend of my college roommate and I received a free review copy of the game. However I've never actually met the designer and I don't feel obligated to give the game a good review. Which is what I'm going to give it anyway.

Let's start with the pieces. The game comes with 96 tiles in either thick or thin diamond shapes, a rulebook, a plastic bag which is entirely inadequate for containing the tiles and a reasonably sized box that can be toted around without much problem. The tiles are a thick cardboard, brightly colored and pretty good quality for a small startup's first game. I would however suggest separating them from the sprues with an exacto knife when you punch the pieces. The pieces can be prone to separating from their backing if you're not careful and the nubs that used to attach them together can interfere with play if not trimmed.

The rules are dead simple. You start with 4 tiles, 2 thick “chunk” tiles and 2 thin “sliver” tiles.

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Each turn you play two tiles, matching the already played tiles full side to full side and by color. You cannot play a tile in a way that overlaps any other tile. If you play a tile in a way that a color is “completed” (surrounded by other colors) you get an extra play. At the end of your turn you draw two tiles to replace the ones you played. Since you may have played more than two tiles if you completed a color, you get rid of your tiles as you play. This provides a nice catch-up mechanism as the players that are winning have fewer tiles and hence fewer options. To win you need to play your last tile and still have one more play to make. Another way to think of it is that you have to complete three colors to win. There are also rules for partnership games and no luck variants but I didn't try those.

The game is fun, requires thought to play and is over in 15 minutes. I found myself progressing from checking each tile in each possible spot to coming up with two or three tile combos as I learned how to play. I've played it as a filler with my game group and as a family game. The box says 10+ but my four year old had no problem understanding the rules and my seven year old even won a game. I've played with 2, 3 and 4 people and it worked well with each number.

Overall I gave this game an 8 out of 10. It's nicely strategic for a 15 minute game.

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dbucak — 2008-02-17T23:12:52+00:00

A typical Tesserae hand including the two types of pieces

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dbucak — 2008-02-17T21:13:18+00:00

Another completed game

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dbucak — 2008-02-17T21:12:36+00:00

A completed Tesserae game

Thread: Re: Are the rules online?

DougOrleans — 2008-02-13T16:27:17+00:00

Curiosity got the best of me and I broke down and bought a copy. Here's a brief summary:

You start with an open hand of 6 diamond-shaped tiles of two sizes ("slivers" and "chunks"), each with quadrants in 3 or 4 colors (out of 4 total). Your turn is basically play 2 then draw 2; each play must match existing tiles on all sides that touch. If you completely surround a point (which requires between 3 and 10 tiles, depending on the which tile corners are involved) then you get an extra play. The object is to empty your hand.

Thread: Are the rules online?

DougOrleans — 2008-02-05T21:03:02+00:00

Are the rules online?

Thread: Re: Where can it be purchased?

jvenezizn — 2008-01-29T14:42:20+00:00

Thank you for pointing that out. I actually push each and every store to have a demo copy.

Thread: Re: Where can it be got?

rseater — 2008-01-28T16:36:23+00:00

There are also demo copies at (at least some of) these stores for you to try out before buying. Pandemonium (at Central Square in Cambridge MA), for example, has a copy that is opened and available for trial play.

Thread: Where can it be purchased?

jvenezizn — 2008-01-18T17:04:14+00:00

Now available in many stores in the Boston area, including:

3 Trolls
Danger Planet
Eureka Puzzles and Games
MIT Museum Shop
Museum of Science Shop
Pandemonium
Stellabella
Your Move Games

And a few stores nationally

Seattle: Pacific Science Center Store
North Jersey: Liberty Science Center Store
NY: New York Hall of Science Store
Chicago: Museum of Science and Industry Store

Hopefully in FairPlayGames dot com soon... but until then ... drop me a line if you aren't in one of those areas, maybe let me know what store local to you you would like to see it in.

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jvenezizn — 2007-07-19T13:56:34+00:00

Game 2 almost done - Eureka Night

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jvenezizn — 2007-07-19T13:54:12+00:00

Game in Progress 1

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jvenezizn — 2007-07-19T13:52:04+00:00

Contents

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jvenezizn — 2007-07-19T13:51:14+00:00

The Basic Box