Mysterium
Finally got a chance to play this and it is so cool.
The game is, basically, cooperative Clue. The players are psychics in a haunted house, trying to solve the murder mystery: who, where and how. One of the players is playing the ghost of the victim, and can communicate only through psychic visions. It is completely cooperative, meaning it’s in the ghost’s interest to help as much as possible.
The cards that show the psychic visions are dreamy and surreal and, honestly, quite beautiful. There are tons of them and none of them spell out anything very clearly. It’s on the psychic players to figure out if the ghost wants them to look at shapes, or objects, or colors, or even theme or composition. Reminds me of The Newlywed Game, actually.
There are some time pressures and a tiny bit of secrecy at the end. I really loved the vibe! My favorite bit is how actual personal sensitivity plays into the game: I played the ghost, and my wife consistently keyed into the things I was keying into on those cards better than the other players.
Anyway, I’m iffy on co-op games but this one is really strong.
http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-MYST01ASM-Mysterium/dp/B013TJ5P80
I agree, this is a game that survives entirely on its appearance and emotions and it’s great.
I also adore how you bet for/against the other players’ guesses and your skill at that tells you how clairvoyant you are at the end of the game. The whole thing really makes you feel psychic. Or like a ghost.
I kind of want to try it with the one knock/two knock rule next time. Ghost says nothing at all, just through knocks.
OHH!! Yeah. Behind a screen.
This game is fantastic! Being the ghost is so fun too!
Knocking rule is fun, my friends will say color or name then knock. Only thing ghost says. Such a blast.
My whole family liked that one! I feel like it could be streamlined a little, but on the whole it’s really fun. Dixit meets clue.
this sounds hella fun. Suitable for Mature Audiences Only i presume?
My kids hear me muttering about this that and the other dead thing and have seen my gaming stuff – they could handle that then.
This is on my want to play shortlist for board game stuff!
jeff fearnow it’s very G rated. I didn’t see anything in the vision cards more troubling than a dude running down a hall from a ghost/monster.
Andy Kitkowski it’s also extremely language neutral, other than the rulebook itself. There are some Arabic/western numbers, no words at all.
I’d kind of love to see what a Japanese audience would do with all the western references baked into the art.
I enjoyed this game a LOT more than I expected.
Same. Now I’m curious about Dixit with the right crowd.
Paul Beakley it’s actually super popular here recently in the BG circles (they released a version including a Japanese instruction manual here); between this and Pandemic Legacy, both have been flying off shelves, it’s just that I haven’t had a chance to sit down and play with friends who have it yet. 🙂
Andy Kitkowski I’m trying to imagine an equivalent game where the vision cards are done up in a Japanese-centric way.
Oh shit. I’d take out a second mortgage for a set of Miyazaki cards.