Tesseract Workshop: The Missing Axis

About Tesseract Workshop: The Missing Axis

Tesseract Workshop: The Missing Axis is a network puzzle in a laboratory built into the crown of an old tree. Platforms hang in a lattice of branches, glass jars on some of them hold captured daylight, and paper lanterns on others are waiting to be lit. Between them you hang ropes. Glow runs along the ropes the way electric current does: at every platform it shares itself between the ropes that leave it, taking the easy way more than the hard way, so what one rope carries depends on every other rope in the room.

Every rope is fragile. It has a strain limit, and a rope that carries more than its limit turns red and will not hold. The puzzle is to find the fewest ropes that bring glow to every lantern while keeping every rope inside its limit.

The missing axis is what makes each room its own. One of the three axes of the lattice, east-west, front-back or up-down, is locked: its old ladders are already hung, cannot come down, and carry whatever glow the network sends them. You can only hang ropes along the other two axes, so you have to reason about the axis you cannot touch: where will the glow want to go, and how much can the ladders take?

When the last lantern is lit the canopy lights up: the glow runs along every rope in turn, the lanterns bloom and fireflies rise through the leaves. Thirteen hand-built rooms from a first rope to a lattice of three locked ladders, each with a par worked out by the game's own solver, then deeper rooms and a daily room that is the same for everyone. Undo, redo and hints are always there, nothing is timed, and your progress stays in this browser.

How to play

Light every lantern. Sun jars give out glow, and each lantern needs the amount written on it.
Tap a rope slot to hang a rope between two neighbouring platforms; tap it again to take it down.
Glow shares itself between the ropes at each platform. Watch each rope's bar: green is safe, red is past its limit.
One axis is locked: its old ladders stay hung. Light the room with par ropes and no hint for three stars.

Controls

Tap or click a rope slot — hang a rope, tap again to take it down
Arrow keys, WASD, D-pad or stick — move the cursor; Enter, Space or Ⓐ — hang or take down
Z, U or Undo — undo; Y — redo; H or Hint — a hint; C or Clear — take every rope down
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

What is the missing axis?

The lattice of platforms has three axes: east-west, front-back and up-down. In each room one of them is locked. Its old ladders are already hung, show a padlock and cannot come down. You can hang ropes only along the other two axes, so you must work out where the glow will want to go along the axis you cannot change.

How does the glow decide which rope to use?

Glow behaves like an electric current. At every platform it shares itself between the ropes that leave it, and the sharing depends on the whole network: two equal ropes side by side carry half each, while a longer way round carries less. The bar beside each rope shows what it carries now, so you can see the answer to every move at once.

What happens when a rope is over its limit?

It turns red and its bar passes the end. The room will not light until every rope and ladder is inside its limit, and every lantern is connected to enough sun.

How are stars and par worked out?

The game's own solver tries every set of ropes and finds the fewest that light the room: that is par. Par ropes with no hint earn three stars, one more two, any lit room one. Using a hint caps a room at two stars.

Can I make it calmer or clearer?

Yes. The strain numbers and the fireflies can be turned off, the glow speed has three settings, and the kit's own settings cover colour-blind palettes, reduced motion, fewer flashes, large text, sound and music.

Does the game save?

Yes, in this browser: lit rooms, stars, and the room you were working on with its ropes in place. Nothing is uploaded.