Mysterium Second Opinion

We’ve played Mysterium a dozen times, and each time the question of who should play as the ghost comes up. It doesn’t really matter which family members I’m playing with, they very hastily suggest that I play as the ghost – with the objective of, and I quote, “stopping you from talking!” It seems cruel, but it’s actually a win-win situation. You see, I enjoy playing the ghost in a game of Mysterium, whilst my family get a reprieve from my incessant talking.

There are two ways to play Mysterium. The first way is to play Mysterium just like any other boardgame: set up around the dining room table, in good light, with drinks and nibbles. Alternatively, you can embrace the ‘spirit’ of the story. As the ghost, try going full séance; throw a white sheet over your head, light some candles, put on some atmospheric music and then communicate with your companions using sinister knocks on the table and haunting “oohs” and “aahs”. The added bonus of getting totally immersed in the story is that, playing as the ghost in Mysterium, you can make the game as challenging as you want to, by minimising the communication between ghost and investigators.

Overview

One of the best things about Mysterium is the artwork. It’s exceptionally creative and intricate. Mysterium contains eighteen murder suspects, eighteen locations and eighteen weapons, all of which are excellently Tim Burton-esque. Then there are 70 vision cards, which at first you would assume were actual works of art, with elements of Salvador Dali, spliced with HR Giger and Neil Gaiman.

Mysterium very obviously represents a modern, updated and more complex version of Cluedo, with the added element of the supernatural. A ghost and a group of paranormal investigators attempt to solve the murder of said ghost, through the use of visions. Just like Cluedo, Mysterium has an array of murder suspects, murder locations and weapons, all of which need to be identified before the time runs out.

Set Up & Pack Down

As sad is this might sound, setting up and packing down Mysterium is a joy. Set up is fairly easy, since Mysterium is predominantly a card game; there’s no board and there are no dice. It’s a tiny bit faffy trying to randomly select, organise and hide the active cards, but otherwise it’s remarkably easy to set up. Packing down Mysterium is on a whole other level or pleasure. Mysterium not only has elaborate component sections and partitions inside the box, but it has a visual flow diagram of instructions for packing away every element. I shouldn’t say, so I won’t, that packing down Mysterium is almost as enjoyable as actually playing it.

Gameplay

In previous blogs, I’ve discussed my dad’s reluctance to join in with board games. However, once again, in Mysterium, we’ve found a game that succeeds in engaging him, to a level hitherto unanticipated. Mysterium sees players take on the role of paranormal investigators, attempting to solve a murder, with the help of the murder victim themselves. The murder victim issues Vision cards to the investigators, with clues as to the murderer, the murder location and their choice of weapon.

With that in mind, my dad became so wrapped up in this game that he fished out of his office, a magnifying glass and proceeded to assess the Vision cards at a microscopic level. The ironic thing is, I wasn’t using a magnifying glass to choose the Vision cards. You’ve got to respect and appreciate, firstly the commitment of my dad, but also the ability of Mysterium to invoke that level of commitment from a reluctant gamer.

Like many modern board games, Mysterium is a cooperative game, with the added difference that it attempts to put the team on the back foot from the offset. The player with all the information, with all the answers, has been silenced. It’s this aspect of Mysterium that gives it a unique appeal. I’m not saying that no other game does a similar thing, but a lot of games tend to start on a level playing field. One great thing about playing cooperatively, is that the likelihood of you falling out with your entire family on Boxing Day is greatly reduced.

The biggest issue with Mysterium is it’s lack of replayability. Despite the array of suspects, locations and weapons, as well as the seventy Vision cards, it’s surprising how quickly you get through those Vision cards. Vision cards become quite easily associated with particular characters, locations and weapons. Fortunately, there are at least two expansion packs, which can help to keep Mysterium fresh. But also, if you can find different friends or family members to play Mysterium with, then the paranormal encounter gains a whole new lease of life. You can, once again, don that white sheet and limber up those vocal chords, for another bout of ghoulish warbling.

Summary

Irrespective of the limited replayability of Mysterium, it’s still a highly enjoyable game, especially if you like immersing yourself in the story. Having said that, the easy setup, guided pack down and minimal components, make Mysterium very easy to launch in to without too much forward planning. More than once, we’ve started a spontaneous game of Mysterium with friends, instead of watching a movie. But I think the most impressive and appealing feature of Mysterium is the artwork. It is simply stunning and a huge amount of credit should be given to the designers involved in the artistic elements.