Ghosts are one of the most chilling supernatural elements in all of fiction. But while these otherworldly specters may often bring fear and misery to those they encounter, sometimes they’re just lonely souls trying to move on into the afterlife. Mysterium is a board game that embraces the wackiness of psychic mediums by forcing ghosts and psychics to work together in a cooperative séance. This board game will have you sorting through your tarot cards and consulting your crystal ball to decipher the clues and unlock the mystery.
Deciphering Visions
In the board game Mysterium, one player is assigned the role of the ghost while everyone else is a friendly medium. The ghost has been tragically murdered at some point in the past, and it’s up to the mediums to help solve the crime and determine what happened. The twist is that the ghost can only communicate with the mediums through the form of cryptic visions that must be deciphered.
These visions are represented by beautifully illustrated cards that contain images that the mediums must try and interpret. The ghost will dole out one or more vision cards to each medium on every round, forcing the mediums to determine which suspect the vision corresponds to. The good news is that the different mediums are allowed to work together on their guesses, giving Mysterium a cooperative energy that makes the game more fun.
If you guess the correct suspect at the end of your round, you get to move on to the next round to guess the location of the crime, followed by the murder weapon on the round after that. If you guess wrong, however, you’ll keep your vision cards and be given new vision cards on the next round to try and guess again. You can earn clairvoyancy points by guessing correctly in fewer rounds as well as by placing bets on the guesses of other mediums.
Rest In Peace
The goal of the game is to make sure that everyone is able to guess the suspect, location, and murder weapon before the end of the seventh round. If one or more of the mediums has not identified each of the three things by the end of the seventh turn, then the ghost disappears, causing everyone to fail the game. If each medium has guessed all three correctly by this time, then the ghost will recover its memory enough to identify who the killer is.
The ghost will then choose which medium’s group of suspect, location, and weapon cards is the actual culprit and provide three vision cards as clues. Depending on how many clairvoyancy points each medium has earned, they’ll be able to see anywhere from one to three of these vision cards before they make their guess. If a majority of the mediums correctly identify the culprit, then the ghost is able to rest in peace for eternity!
Mysterium Park
Mysterium Park is a recently released board game that features the same core mechanics as the original Mysterium but with a few tweaks. Mysterium Park is set in a mysterious circus where the park’s former director has recently gone missing. Like the original, most players take on the role of psychics trying to interpret the visions of the circus’ ghost and find out what happened to the director. This board game is smaller and more simplified, allowing you to enjoy the fun of Mysterium in about half the time.
Mysterium: May the Best Psychic Win
Mysterium is playable by 2-7 players, although it’s generally best for large groups. It’s also suitable for ages 10 and up, which makes it a great game for family gatherings or game nights. Playing time lasts around 42 minutes, but it can go a bit longer depending on how long everyone takes to decipher the clues.
Mysterium requires you to try and get in the head of the ghost who’s giving the clues, following their train of thought in order to guess which direction they’re trying to lead you in. It’s an excellent and spooky board game whose illustrations will stay with you long after you finish the game. Buy Mysterium today and help put this ghost to rest!
