Every October we look for a few games that capture the season — something a little eerie, a little silly, and great with a crowd. This week, there was only one spirit we wanted to channel: Mysterium.
Designed by Oleksandr Nevskiy and Oleg Sidorenko, Mysterium first appeared in Ukraine before French publisher Libellud (the folks behind Dixit) picked it up, refreshed the rules, and gave it the dreamlike artwork it’s famous for, courtesy of illustrators Xavier Collette and Igor Burlakov. It won the 2015 Golden Geek for Best Board Game Artwork/Presentation. It was also nominated that year for Board Game of the Year, Best Party Game, Best Family Game, Best Thematic Game, and Best Innovative Game.
The setup
A murder took place in the manor long ago, and the victim’s ghost is restless. One player takes on the role of that ghost. Everyone else plays a psychic medium who’s arrived for a séance. Over seven “hours” (rounds), each psychic needs to identify their own suspect, the room where they were, and the object they held. If every psychic solves their piece before dawn, the team moves on to the final reveal — figuring out which of those suspects is the true killer.
The ghost can’t talk (and that’s the whole point)
Mysterium’s big hook is its communication puzzle. The ghost knows every answer but can’t say a word. Instead, each round the ghost hands out vision cards — abstract, surreal illustrations full of clocks, keys, birds, staircases, and colors — and each psychic has to figure out how that vision points to a specific card on the table.
It’s an association game at heart, but the ghost-with-a-hand-of-dreams framing makes it feel genuinely spooky. Watching a ghost silently suffer while a psychic confidently picks the wrong room is one of the great joys in tabletop gaming. (There’s a reason people knock on the table when they play the ghost. It’s cathartic.)
Mechanics that keep everyone involved
- Fully cooperative: The ghost wins when the psychics win, so everyone at the table is rooting for the same ending.
- Clairvoyance tokens: Psychics can bet on whether their fellow mediums are reading their visions correctly. Good calls build clairvoyance, which earns more influence in the final vote.
- Crows: A limited number of crow tokens let the ghost discard and redraw visions when their hand is less “haunting clue” and more “haunting confusion.”
- The finale: Once everyone has solved their vision, the ghost gives one last shared set of visions pointing to the real killer — and the psychics vote in secret. It’s a great, tense close.
Why it’s a perfect pick for spooky season
Mysterium plays from two to seven, so it fits a full table. It teaches in minutes, and it rewards creativity over memorized strategy. It’s also one of the best-looking games in the hobby.. If your crew loves Dixit or Codenames, this one will feel right at home — just with more cobwebs.
Come conjure some answers with Goose Games this Monday at 2 Row Brewing in Midvale.
See you at the séance.