Mysterium

MYSTERIUM is a COOPERATIVE DEDUCTION PARTY GAME (2015) designed by ORIEL MAXIM + OLEG SIDORENKO, published by LIBELLUD (France, also DIXIT + SEASONS publisher). The game is a REDESIGN of the earlier Ukrainian game TAJEMNICZE DOMOSTWO (2013), refined + polished with LIBELLUD's characteristic ART DIRECTION. Widely praised as one of the MOST VISUALLY STUNNING + ATMOSPHERIC PARTY GAMES OF THE 2010s. GAMEPLAY: 2-7 players (best at 4-6) — one player is the GHOST (silent game master); the rest are PSYCHICS attempting to solve a MURDER MYSTERY set in a haunted mansion where a spirit is trying to communicate. Similar setup to CLUEDO but with atmospheric art + deduction. SETUP: The Ghost secretly assigns each Psychic a unique SUSPECT (character card), a LOCATION card, + a WEAPON card. Each Psychic must identify THEIR ASSIGNED suspect + location + weapon (which the Ghost knows). GAMEPLAY: The Ghost draws a HAND OF ~7 DREAM CARDS (~90 total in the deck) — each is a large, dreamy, evocatively illustrated card. Each round, the Ghost secretly picks 1-3 dream cards + PASSES them to a specific psychic — the cards are supposed to give clues about that psychic's SUSPECT (or later LOCATION or WEAPON). Psychics discuss what the dream cards mean. Each psychic then makes a GUESS from the available suspects. If correct, that psychic advances to the LOCATION phase (next round); wrong = same suspect next round. If all psychics correctly identify their suspects, they proceed to LOCATIONS phase, then WEAPONS phase. TIMER: 7 ROUNDS TOTAL. Once all psychics complete all 3 categories, the game reaches THE FINAL PHASE — the Ghost has identified WHICH of the 7 psychics' complete suspect/location/weapon combinations is the TRUE MURDERER. Psychics vote which combination is the truth; majority (or clairvoyant-weighted) vote correct = cooperative win. GAME LENGTH: ~42 min. WEIGHT: BGG ~1.9/5 — light party game. RECEPTION: AS D'OR 2016 WINNER (French game of year); KENNERSPIEL DES JAHRES 2016 NOMINEE (German advanced game of year); BGG top-300 (peaked ~#100-200); universally acclaimed for ART + IMAGINATION + accessible cooperative gameplay. Perfect for MIXED-EXPERIENCE groups (casual + hobbyist). EXPANSIONS + VARIANTS: MYSTERIUM: HIDDEN SIGNS (2016) — additional dream cards + variants. MYSTERIUM: SECRETS & LIES (2017) — new locations + weapons. MYSTERIUM PARK (2020) — SEQUEL/STANDALONE with amusement-park theme + streamlined ~30-min play. MYSTERIUM: LIBELLUD REPRINT (2023) with updated art. NOTE: Some dream cards deliberately intentionally AMBIGUOUS (a card could mean many things) — this ambiguity IS the game.

Cooperative team win if all psychics solve their assignments + correct final vote.

Win condition · Team correctly identifies the murderer via final vote within 7 rounds.

Central board with mystery elements; Ghost has screen with dream card hand; psychics arrange evidence.

• Mysterium base box ($50)

  84 dream cards + 100+ suspects/locations/weapons

• Dream cards (~90 unique illustrated cards)

  Ghost's clue tools

• Suspect cards (~18)

  Character options

• Location + weapon cards (~18 each)

  Setting + method options

• Ghost screen + intuition tokens

  Ghost's private area

• Clairvoyance chips (score/final voting)

  Weight later votes

• Ghost: pick cards with strongest thematic + visual connection

  Multiple weak clues > 1 strong clue.

• Psychics: discuss possibilities out loud; groupthink helps

  Consensus deduction.

• Consider what OTHER psychics' cards suggest by contrast

  Elimination via others' info.

• Final vote: use clairvoyance chips wisely for weighted voting

  Higher clairvoyance = more vote weight.

Ghost

Silent game master player.

Psychic

Player attempting to solve the mystery.

Dream card

Illustrated clue card the Ghost sends.

Clairvoyance chip

Earned by correct guesses; weight votes in final phase.

Suspect / Location / Weapon

The 3 categories each psychic must solve.

Ghost screen

Ghost's private info display.

• As d'Or 2016 WINNER (French game of year)

  annual · France · since 1988

• Kennerspiel des Jahres 2016 NOMINEE

  annual · Germany · since 2011

• 🇫🇷France
• 🇺🇸United States
• 🇬🇧United Kingdom
• 🇩🇪Germany
• 🇮🇹Italy
• 🇪🇸Spain
• 🇵🇱Poland
• 🇺🇦Ukraine
• 🇨🇦Canada
• 🇦🇺Australia
• 🇧🇷Brazil

• Libellud (publisher)

  Founded 2009 · France

• Asmodee (distribution)

  Founded 1995 · France

• IGT Multi-Man Publishing

  Founded 1998 · USA

• Libellud — Mysterium— Libellud
• BoardGameGeek — Mysterium— BGG