Telepathic

You and your partner must arrange the colored symbols so you both win. But neither of you knows what the other needs! Your only communication is a card that can mean four different things. You must read your partner’s mind to understand what they want. If you misread them, you will both lose. To win you must both be Telepathic!

Now Updated to Version 1.1!

Based on player testing we have revised the action cards for improved clarity. We have also updated the corresponding images in the rulebook and updated the text to address some frequently-asked questions. However, the gameplay is exactly the same as in the original release. You can download the version 1.1. rulebook here.

Gameplay

Telepathic is a cooperative two-player game in which you must communicate without speaking or gesturing. You and your partner each have one secret win condition and one secret lose condition. You must arrange a grid of tiles so that it simultaneously matches both partners’ win conditions. When you believe you have done so, you must each announce each other’s win condition. You lose if either of you announce the wrong win condition, or if the grid ever matches either partner’s lose condition.

Watch this four-minute demo video for a brief introduction to the game.

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Multiplayer Options

In addition to the two-player standard game, Telepathic supports the following multiplayer variants:

• Director Mode: Three (or more) players playing cooperatively
• Four Partners: Cooperative play for four players
• Team Mode: Two teams of two players

What Comes In the Box?

Here's what you get in the sturdy 3.5" x 5.5" x 1" small pro box:

• Rulebook - download the PDF here
• 16 grid tiles, printed as 8 custom punchouts
• 10 action cards
• 4 condition marker cards, to mark win and lose conditions for shapes and colors
• 8 condition cards, one for each shape and one for each color

Quotes

"A delightful dive into your partner's mind, this simple and approachable system has plenty of depth to explore!"

• Jordan Goddard, co-designer of Lotus, Death Note: Confrontation, and Gates of Delirium

"Telepathic is a game that lives up to its name. It's knowing the person across the table as much as deducing what they might have. Fun, smart, and leaving you wanting to play again and again."

• Travis R. Chance, designer of Path of Light and Shadow, Heroes Wanted, and Legendary: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"Telepathic is an amazing game. It packs a wonderful cooperative puzzle experience into small footprint, and it only gets better the more you play. I could see couples playing this together for years."

• Isaac Childres, designer of Gloomhaven and Forge War

"Telepathic is a tiny box of fun!"

• JT Smith, designer of The Captain is Dead and Gravesend Sanctuary

"Carl Klutzke specializes in showing us more than what games are. He explores what games can be. Telepathic surpasses his usual high mark by making its players communicate at every level--except speech."

• Kevin G. Nunn, designer of Rolling Freight, Zong Shi, and duck! duck! Go!

"If you like silent, brain burner games in the likes of Hanabi or The Mind, but want something that feels even more intimate and intense, be sure to check out Telepathic!"

• George Jaros of GJJ Games

Videos

Bower's Game Corner

Forrest Bower of Bower's Game Corner is doing videos of Telepathic as the Game Crafter Spotlight for July 2022!

Bower Unboxes Telepathic

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Bower Sets Up Telepathic

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Bower(S) Play Telepathic

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Telepathic Review

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Rahdo Runs Through

Rahdo reviewed Telepathic as part of his April 2020 Round Up.

GCRS Games

Gary Chavez of GCRS games chatted with Carl during Protospiel Indy 2018. (When the working title was Telepathy.)

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