Well we had another game night.
And we played Mysterium with me and my wife’s good friend Rich and Hannah.
It also the first time we had played with the Hidden Signs expansion to Mysterium. Steff bought it as a christmas present for me. And as a strange twist fate so did Rich and Hannah.
Mysterium is a game for three to seven players. Were one plays as a ghost who was badly murdered and one to six psychics who investigate the bad murder. The ghost can only communicate with the psychics through dreams. These dreams are given to the ghost in the form a hand of seven exquisitely drawn cards. The Ghost gives a number cards to each of the psychic each hour. The hours function as turns of the game and you get seven of these. The psychics each have to use the dreams to figure out who their individual murder suspect is. When you have got all of the individual murder suspects the ghost will give up three cards to psychics to guess as a group who the actually was the bad murderer was.
One the standout features is how beautiful the card arts is.
Now that brief description does not even come close to the joy of how great guessing the right is. Or the frustration of being given another card that confuses your thoughts rather than enlightening them. You work as a team to figure out what the dream and it is that discussion aspect that is the fun part of the game. And also to view as the ghost.
There was times when I was the ghost and I heard my friends talk to each other. One would have an idea but it not to be quite right. Another would have a light bulb moment and guess the right answer but the group discussion would lead to a totally different answer. You as the ghost can do nothing to set them on the correct path. The one instruction you have as the ghost is that you can under no circumstances talk or indicate that the psychics are right or wrong. And you can only confirm with a knock whether they are right or wrong.
It is in essence and excellent dinner party game. Because it is collective victory or nothing then you want others to succeed and have a vested interest in their success. If you want to win the game then everybody has to succeed. As opposed the to Cluedo which when I last played it devolved into a guess who blocking session because we all guessed at the answer at the same time and then spent of the game stopping other from succeeding.
The reason why I say dinner party game as apposed to party game. It is more relaxed and perfect with candle light. There are other games such as One Night Werewolf and Funemployed which function better with larger more bombastic groups.
[Update]
I have recently played this with my parents who enjoyed once they got the hand of it and my parents only really play Trivial Pursuit as a rule.
Thanks to Libellud as their website has excellent materials for press. Their sister company Asmodee Digital even have a Mysterium App for iOS, Android and Steam. Shame that Asmodee Digital’s Website is a bit simple.