How to Play

Mysterium

2-7 players 42-42 min 7.2 Board Game Geek Rating

In this cooperative mystery game, one player becomes a ghost trying to communicate how they were murdered, while others play mediums interpreting cryptic vision cards. The ghost provides illustrated clues to help mediums identify suspects, locations, and weapons within seven rounds. Success requires teamwork and deduction to solve the crime and bring peace to the spirit.

Published 2015

Mysterium

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Assign roles
One player becomes the murdered ghost, while up to 6 others play as psychics trying to identify suspects
2
Check player count
Games with only 1-2 psychics (2-3 players) use special rules found on the back of the rulebook
3
Distribute clairvoyancy tokens
Give zero tokens for 1-2 psychics, four tokens for 3-4 psychics, or six tokens for 5-6 psychics
4
Select clairvoyancy track side
Use the 1-4 psychics side or 5-6 psychics side based on player count
5
Set crow markers by difficulty
Easy mode gets 1 crow per round, Medium gets 3 per game, Hard gets 1 per game
6
Lay out suspect/room/weapon cards
Number depends on psychics and difficulty:
7
Prepare ghost's hand
The ghost draws 7 vision cards to start

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Ghost distributes vision cards
Give any number of vision cards to one psychic at a time, drawing back up to 7 afterward
2
Start the timer
Once all psychics have received their cards, flip the sand timer
3
Use crow markers
The ghost may discard any or all vision cards and draw back up to 7
4
Place clairvoyancy tokens
Each psychic places one token (checkmark or X) per card on other psychics' guesses only
5
Advance clairvoyancy track
Each correct token prediction advances that psychic's clairvoyancy by 1 level
6
Return tokens at round 4
Clairvoyancy tokens are returned to psychics at the start of round 4
7
Store correct guesses
Each psychic places correctly guessed character/room/weapon cards in their sleeve
8
Earn bonus for early completion
Psychics who guess all 3 cards before round 7 advance on the clairvoyancy track by remaining rounds
9
Display all collected cards
Psychics remove cards from sleeves and lay out each triad numbered with mantle-shaped tokens
10
Ghost selects the murderer
The ghost chooses the true culprit and places the corresponding numbered token face down
11
Ghost prepares final vision
Choose 3 vision cards (one each for culprit, room, weapon), shuffle them, and place face down
12
Reveal vision cards randomly
Cards are revealed one at a time in random order; psychics don't know which represents suspect, room, or weapon
13
Vote by clairvoyancy level
Level 1 psychics vote after 1 card, Level 2 after 2 cards, Level 3 after all 3 cards
14
Cast secret votes
Place a numbered clairvoyancy token secretly in your sleeve to indicate your suspect choice
15
Break ties
Ties are broken first by clairvoyancy level, then by oldest player if still tied

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Complete Phase I within 7 rounds
All psychics must correctly identify their assigned suspect's identity, location, and murder weapon before time runs out
2
Majority vote determines group guess
The suspect receiving the most votes becomes the group's final answer
3
Identify the true murderer
If the psychics' final vote matches the ghost's chosen culprit, everyone wins together
4
Free the ghost's soul
A correct group vote releases the ghost from torment and ends the game in victory
5
Lose if Phase I fails
If any psychic hasn't obtained all 3 cards by round 7, the game ends in defeat without proceeding to Phase II

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

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