Mysterium – Will You Give Up The Ghost?

You are a medium.

You and up to 5 others have been summoned to a mysterious manor to help solve a crime. A spirit wanders these halls, stuck in the mortal realm because they were brutally murdered. That spirit now speaks to you through esoteric and mysterious visions and dreams in a desperate bid to seek closure. And time is running out.

So, are you a good medium?

Or will you give up the ghost?

In Mysterium, one player sits behind a magnificently massive screen. Here he has a set of answers he needs to get the mediums to correctly deduce. Each player needs to solve: who dunnit, where dunnit, and how dunnit. To do this, they are given a hand of luxuriously drawn visions on massive tarot cards. This ghost player then gives each of the medium players any number of vision cards to help them piece together what happened.

Then, once (if) everyone’s managed to successfully solve their own riddles, there is a final vision. You see, out of all these possible crimes, only one is the true crime. 3 final vision cards are selected, one representing who, one representing where, and one representing the murder weapon. Depending on how well players did in the previous rounds, they get to see more or fewer of these final clues. Then, they secretly make their guesses as to what actually happened.

If most players correctly guessed correctly, everyone wins!

What we have here is an interesting mishmash of gorgeous party game Dixit and classic deduction game Cluedo. Mysterium adds more meat to the bones of Dixit, adding more structure to the game by adding a more concrete goal for players to strive towards, and dousing the game in a gorgeous theme.

The production for this game is fantastically phantasmal. The card art is mysterious, haunting, and eerie, which fit the theme perfectly. The ghost player hides behind a giant player screen, reminiscent of the empty, wailing manor that players find themselves in. An additional optional rule, which I think is absolutely brilliant, makes the ghost completely mute, unable to say anything – and they only communicate whether players were right or wrong by knocking on the table once or twice. Dim the lights (see, the game helps your energy bill!), light some candles, and the game really comes to life.

I love how it turns the abstract simplicity of Dixit into a sensible plot point in a murder mystery. The artwork is excellent, and they are abstract enough to muddy the waters when it comes to interpreting clues. The backstory gives you a reason to participate in weird art interpretation, and the idea of cooperatively solving a murder mystery gives players some stakes to play for.

The designers recommend that the most experienced player (or the one who read the rules) should be the ghost, as it allows them to guide players through the process, which can get confusing especially towards the end with the final guess. The final guess is the bit that I’m a little uncertain about. While it adds a lovely tension-filled finale to the game, the change in rules can break the flow of the game and is quite confusing during the first few plays. Furthermore, it can be frustrating if your other teammates tank your hard work – you can lose the game even though you had a good game.

Nonetheless, Mysterium is good fun. It’s a beautiful game to pull out for larger groups (up to 7!), and players can take turns as the spirit. With the spooky season upon us, it might be time to look for a game that fits the mood – why not Mysterium?