It’s like Clue meets Password, with a little Where’s Waldo thrown in, but with the addition of dreams, interpretations and séances. In Mysterium, a person was murdered in a house and their ghost now haunts the grounds. The ghost needs to communicate with psychics to solve its murder in an effort to be set free. The trick is, the spirit can only communicate through visions and dreams. These dreams are rather vivid and unique as you can see in the cards.
One player takes over as the spirit, and it is their job to communicate with the living through dreams, which are represented with a set of beautiful and imaginative illustrations. The spirit draws cards each turn and passes those dreams to the players in an effort to give them each clues. The other players play the role of spirit mediums who must deduce the following, using only the images on the dream cards:
- who killed the spirit’s mortal form
- what room the horrid event took place
- what foul instrument of destruction was used
While the spirit is not allowed to communicate with the mediums or give any clues beyond the cards, the other mediums may talk amongst themselves in an effort to deduce if that dream card about the Knight and the tower means that the Magician was the Killer, or does the dream card with the ship in the tub in the ocean signify poison was used? Trying look for the hidden clues that the Spirit is using to communicate with you gives the game the Where’s Waldo aspect.
The game is perfectly designed in 3 acts, and unlike Clue, every turn gives the players a chance to deduce one of the three mysteries. The inclusion of the sand glass timer and the 7 turns (via an imposing cardboard clock) ensures the game is fast paced, orderly despite the insane cards, and playable in 30-45 minutes. The game also includes a streaming sound track to add an extra layer of spookiness. The amazing diversity and quality of the illustrations and heavy stock of the cards and pieces reflect the care of the game design.
– John E. Williamson
Mysterium
Asmodee
Ages 10 and up, 2-7 players