In 2020 Cloud Puncher Games, maker of the BoxThrone board game shelving which I previously reviewed, launched a Kickstarter for a modular, transforming token holder. The Kickstarter fulfilled at the end of last year, and now regular customers can order Token Sesame directly. I was sent a copy of Token Sesame, as well as two different boxes of the interchangeable art plates and a velvet carrying bag.
What Is Token Sesame?
Token Sesame is an all-in-one, reconfigurable organizer to hold tokens and bits for your tabletop games. When you purchase a Token Sesame kit, you also choose one of several different Signature Art Plates to go along with your organizer. Each of the Art Plates feature original designs by different board game artists.
The retail cost for Token Sesame and one Signature Art Plate set is $79, but they are currently available for $59 as part of a launch sale on the Cloud Puncher Games webstore.
Token Sesame Components
As mentioned above, Token Sesame is really two items combined: The Token Sesame kit itself, and a box (or more) of Signature Art Plates.
Most of the pieces are made out of sturdy, thick plastic. The leg pieces, which can screw into the bottoms of the hexabases and chambers, are metal.
The Signature Art Plates come in boxes with a magnetic lid that flips up. The plate designs are visible through a picture window on the lid. The plates pictured below are “Forgotten World” by artist Matt Mizak, who did artwork on board games Tang Garden and others.
Each Signature Art Plate box contains enough plates to fully cover a Token Sesame kit, as well as a matching neoprene mat.
Assembling Token Sesame
There are multiple ways to configure Token Sesame. I started with the most iconic build, the Carousel.
The Carousel
Whenever assembling any configuration of the Token Sesame, you will be connecting different chambers together. The chambers have alternating pegs and slots, which allow you to easily pop the pieces together, and then click them into a locked state. Construction of the Carousel starts with connecting the six long chambers into a hexagonal shape.
Assembled into a hexagon, the chambers then fit perfectly on the large hexagonal base, clicking into place.
Similarly, the smaller chambers are combined into a smaller hexagon, and placed on the smaller hexagonal base. Then all the surfaces are decorated with the Signature Art Plates of your choice. The plates each have two tabs on the back, which slot into the surfaces of the chambers and you then slide them down to lock them into place.
Next, a metal bolt is inserted underneath the large hexagonal base, and one of the metal legs is screwed onto the bolt. The card deck holder is lowered over the leg, and locked into place into the small holes in the base.
The final steps add more leg pieces, to mount the smaller hexagon and top the Carousel off with the Knob of Holding.
Once assembled, the smaller hexagon spins, allowing for easy access. All of the chambers have curved interiors, making it easy to scoop any bits or meeples out. The card holders allow you to place up to three decks right inside of the Carousel, while the Knob of Holding allows you to easily pick up the entire Carousel and place it elsewhere on your table.
The Staircase
Arguably as striking as the Carousel, the Staircase was the next configuration I assembled. You begin by assembling three bars, made out of alternating short and long chambers.
You then add on the Signature Art Plates, and attach plastic levers between the bars. Legs are added to two of the bars, so that you ultimately end up with this:
The Staircase functions well as a large bank that resides in just one place on your gaming table. But it also has an important feature that separates it from all other Token Sesame configurations: portability. You can stack the Staircase and secure a lid on the top.
Small rubber bands are then used to secure the Staircase for travel, assuring that it doesn’t open up and spill any tokens you keep inside.
If you’re bringing a game to a friend’s house or to a game store, you can have all your tokens loaded up and ready to go. Then, you pack your Staircase into the optional Velvet Travel Pouch, and once you get to your destination, simply take off the rubber bands, extend the Staircase, and you’re ready to go.
Other Configurations
There are many ways to set up the Token Sesame. Here are a couple of additional options:
By adding a neoprene mat to that same large hexagonal base you use with the Carousel, you can create a token holder that also forms a dice roller.
You can combine small and large chambers and make individual mini-banks, one for each player at the table.
There are many more configurations possible, especially if you expand the basic Token Sesame kit. The Walker Expansion Pack provides you with more leg parts, so you can make elevated structures for your table. You can even add a second Token Sesame kit, allowing you to make a 5-layer Staircase.
Why You Should Get Token Sesame
A few games, like Dwellings of Eldervale, come with their own solutions which both store game components and allow you to use them as organizers on the table. But these games are in the minority, and you’ll find you’re paying a premium for the convenience. Often, it’s a struggle to organize the various tokens, chits, and meeples that come with many board games on your gaming table.
One of the benefits of using Token Sesame is that, within a few minutes time, you can configure the kit into whatever form will best work for the particular game you’re playing. Just toss in the components, and you’re organized and ready to play.
The size and curved design of the chambers ensure that it will be easy to scoop out tokens and pieces, even if you’ve got the kind of clumsy fingers that have you staying well away from dexterity games.
The Signature Art Plates really elevate Token Sesame, adding a welcome ambiance to your gaming table. It’s a good bet I will be decorating my kit with the Depths of Space plates next time I play Star Trek: Ascendancy. If you purchase additional plate sets, you can change them at will, depending on the game or your mood. And best of all, Cloud Puncher Games went with actual board game artists for the original art on the Signature Art Plates.
While there’s a lot to like with Token Sesame, I did encounter a small issue which is hopefully an isolated one. When building the Staircase, I found that a couple of the levers could pop out of their slots fairly easily. While not a dealbreaker, this did require a bit of extra care when opening and closing the Staircase. Additionally, you will want to be careful with those small rubber bands used to seal the Staircase, as you’ll have a hard time finding them again should one fly off. Cloud Puncher Games seems to have anticipated this, as the kit comes with an extra rubber band.
Overall, I really like Token Sesame and plan to use it a lot in the future. For now, it’s in Carousel form, but I anticipate taking it apart and reassembling as needed, depending on each board game I play.
For more information or to purchase a Token Sesame, head on over to Cloud Puncher Games’ webstore!
Click here to see all our tabletop game reviews.
To subscribe to GeekDad’s tabletop gaming coverage, please copy this link and add it to your RSS reader.
Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of Token Sesame for review purposes.
