Objective of the Game

Welcome, brave souls, to the haunted Mysterium Manor! You've dared to cross the threshold, and now it's time to awaken your sixth sense for an extraordinary séance. In Mysterium, you're not just playing a game; you're on a cooperative quest to lay a stranded soul to rest!

As psychics, your shared goal is to uncover the truth behind the ghost's tragic demise. The poor spirit, still in shock, can't speak directly, but it can send you visions. Your task is to reconstruct the events of that fateful evening: who was present, where the crime took place, and what objects were used as weapons. If all psychics successfully complete their investigations within seven hours, the ghost will be able to recall the culprit's identity, and you'll hold a final vote to free its soul. Succeed, and eternal peace awaits! Fail, and the ghost will continue to roam, and you'll have to wait another year to try again.

Preparation (Setup)

Alright, gather 'round the table! Setting up Mysterium is like preparing for a real séance, so let's get everything in its place. The game is asymmetric, meaning one player takes on the role of the Ghost, and the others are Psychics. Decide who will be the Ghost first, then the remaining players choose their Psychic characters (e.g., Alphonse de Belcour, Alma Salvador, Ardhashir, Jessalyn Smith, Madam Wang).

General Setup:

• Place the Clock Board in the center and set the hour hand to I (1h).
• Place the 4 Progress Boards (Character, Location, Object, Epilogue) in a line.
• Place the Game Screen so the Ghost can hide their cards and secrets from the Psychics.
• Place the Vision Cards pile behind the Game Screen. The Ghost draws a hand of 7 Vision Cards to start.
• Place the Sand Timer (2 minutes) within reach of the Ghost.

Psychic Setup (for each Psychic):

• Each Psychic receives 1 Intuition Token, 1 Sleeve, and 1 Clairvoyancy Level Marker. Place the marker on the "0" space of the Clairvoyancy Track.
• Psychics receive Clairvoyancy Tokens based on the number of players:
  • 2-3 players: 0 tokens (special rules apply, see page 12 of the manual)
  • 4-5 players: 4 tokens (numbered 1 to 4)
  • 6-7 players: 6 tokens (numbered 1 to 6)

Ghost Setup:

• The Ghost collects Crow Markers based on the chosen difficulty level (see below).
• The Ghost arranges the Ghost Tokens behind the Game Screen, colored side up at the bottom of the appropriate column for each Psychic.
• The Ghost collects the 6 Culprit Tokens and keeps them behind the Game Screen.

Card Setup (Difficulty Dependent):

First, choose your difficulty level: EASY, MEDIUM, or HARD. This determines the number of Character, Location, and Object cards used.

1. Character Cards:
   • Shuffle all Character Psychic Cards and draw (face down) the number indicated by your chosen difficulty and player count (e.g., for 5 players on MEDIUM, draw 7 cards).
   • Look through the Character Ghost Cards and select those matching the numbers of the drawn Psychic cards. Pass these Ghost Cards to the Ghost.
   • Set up the drawn Character Psychic Cards face up in the play area.
   • The Ghost then shuffles their Character Ghost Cards and places one (face down) in the character space on the inside of the Game Screen for each Psychic, in their respective colored columns. These are the Psychic's assigned suspects.
2. Location Cards: Repeat step 1 for the Location Psychic Cards and Location Ghost Cards.
3. Object Cards: Repeat step 1 for the Object Psychic Cards and Object Ghost Cards.

By the end of this setup, the Ghost has secretly generated a unique combination of three cards (a character, a location, and an object) for each Psychic. These are the clues each Psychic needs to discover!

The Turn of Play

The game unfolds in two main phases: Reconstruction of Events and Revealing the Culprit. Most of your game will be spent in the first phase, trying to piece together the mystery before time runs out!

Phase 1 - Reconstruction of Events

This phase lasts a maximum of 7 game turns, represented as hours on the clock (I to VII). During this phase, Psychics aim to identify their unique character, location, and object. Each investigation must follow this order: Character first, then Location, then Object.

This phase has two steps:

Step 1 - Vision Interpretation

1. Ghost Projects Visions: The Ghost's job is to help each Psychic guess their assigned card (character, then location, then object). The Ghost does this by projecting a vision, consisting of one or more Vision Cards, face up in front of a chosen Psychic.
2. Ghost Tracks Progress: After giving a vision, the Ghost pushes the Ghost Token matching that Psychic's color against the Game Screen to mark them as having received cards for the turn.
3. Ghost Draws Cards: The Ghost then draws Vision Cards to replenish their hand to 7. If the draw pile is empty, shuffle the discard pile to form a new one.
4. Repeat for All Psychics: The Ghost repeats this process until all Psychics have received at least one Vision Card.
5. Psychics Interpret & Discuss: Upon receiving their vision, Psychics examine their Vision Cards and the Psychic Cards on the table. They can freely discuss hypotheses with other Psychics. Remember, the Ghost can listen but should NEVER make comments or gestures that could serve as clues!
6. Sand Timer Starts: Once all Psychics have received visions, the Ghost starts the Sand Timer (2 minutes).
7. Psychics Vote with Intuition Tokens: Before the sand timer runs out, each Psychic must place their Intuition Token on the Psychic Card they believe the Ghost is guiding them towards. Psychics can change their minds and move their tokens until the timer expires.
8. Clairvoyancy Tokens (Optional): Psychics can also use their Clairvoyancy Tokens to agree () or disagree () with other Psychics' intuitions. Playing these successfully can help you progress on the Clairvoyancy Track. You can't play a token on your own intuition, but you can play as many as you want on others'.
9. Discarding Vision Cards (Ghost Action): The Ghost can discard any or all of their Vision Cards and draw new ones to make their hand up to 7, but this is limited by the difficulty level (e.g., EASY: once per turn; MEDIUM: up to three times per game; HARD: once per game). Place a Crow Marker on the Game Screen to track discards.

Step 2 - Spectral Manifestation

Once the sand timer runs out, the Ghost reveals whether the Psychics' intuitions were correct. The Ghost can reveal this information in any order they choose.

• If a Psychic picked the correct Psychic Card:
  • The Ghost flips the corresponding Ghost Card behind the Game Screen.
  • Any Psychics who played an Clairvoyancy Token on that correct guess move their marker forward one space on the Clairvoyancy Track.
  • The Psychic collects the correct Psychic Card and slides it into their Sleeve.
  • The Psychic discards all their Vision Cards.
  • The Psychic collects their Intuition Token and places it on the next Progress Board (e.g., from Character to Location).
• If a Psychic did NOT pick the correct Psychic Card:
  • Any Psychics who played an Clairvoyancy Token on that incorrect guess move their marker forward one space on the Clairvoyancy Track.
  • The Psychic returns their Intuition Token to the same Progress Board it was on.
  • The Psychic retains their Vision Cards. In subsequent turns, the Ghost will provide additional cards to enhance the vision until the correct card is picked or the game ends.
• If a Psychic obtains all three Psychic Cards (Character, Location, Object):
  • They place their Intuition Token on the Mission Accomplished space on the Epilogue Progress Board.
  • They move their Clairvoyancy Level Marker forward one space for each hour remaining on the clock.
  • They continue to participate by helping other Psychics and can still play Clairvoyancy Tokens.

After all Psychics have received their feedback, move the hour hand forward one hour on the Clock Board. If the clock was already showing the 7th hour (VII) and not all Psychics have completed their tasks, the game ends and all players lose. If all Psychics have successfully identified their combinations, you move on to the final phase!

Phase 2 - Revealing the Culprit

This phase only happens if all Psychics have successfully identified their character, location, and object combinations before the clock strikes 8.

The culprit's identity is revealed in three steps:

Step 1 - Suspect Line-up

1. Collect any Psychic Cards not in sleeves and the Progress Boards, returning them to the box.
2. Place one Ghost Token (numbered side up) per Psychic in the center of the table.
3. Psychics remove their three-card combinations (character, location, object) from their sleeves and associate them with the numbered Ghost Tokens, forming groups of suspects.
4. The Ghost collects the 6 Culprit Tokens and keeps them hidden.
5. Psychics collect all their Clairvoyancy Tokens.

Step 2 - Shared Vision

The Ghost now tries to guide the Psychics to the correct culprit group.

1. The Ghost secretly chooses one of the suspect groups as the true culprit.
2. The Ghost picks three Vision Cards from their hand. These cards form a Shared Vision and must all point to the chosen culprit group: one card for the character, one for the location, and one for the object.
3. The Ghost shuffles these three Shared Vision cards and places them face down in the middle of the table.
4. The Ghost secretly collects the Culprit Token with the number matching the chosen culprit group and places it face down in the Culprit Space on the Epilogue Progress Board.

Step 3 - Straw Poll

The Psychics now vote to identify the culprit, based on their clairvoyancy levels.

1. Voting by Psychics: Psychics vote in secret and cannot communicate during this step. They vote at different times, depending on their Clairvoyancy Level (determined by their marker's position on the Clairvoyancy Track):
   • Low Clairvoyancy Level: Sees only one card from the Shared Vision before voting.
   • Intermediate Clairvoyancy Level: Sees two cards from the Shared Vision before voting.
   • High Clairvoyancy Level: Sees all three cards from the Shared Vision before voting.
   Each Psychic takes a Clairvoyancy Token bearing the number of the group they think contains the culprit and slides it into their sleeve.
2. Reveal Votes and True Culprit:
   • When all Psychics have voted, the votes are revealed.
   • The Psychic with the highest score on the Clairvoyancy Track (or the eldest in case of a tie) reveals each Clairvoyancy Token, placing it on the corresponding card group.
   • If one group has a clear majority, it's chosen as the suspected culprit's group.
   • If there's a tie, the group chosen by the player who progressed furthest on the Clairvoyancy Track wins. If a tie still persists, the group chosen by the eldest player wins.
   • Finally, reveal the Culprit Token from the Culprit Space!

End of Game and Scoring

The game concludes after the Straw Poll in Phase 2, or if the Psychics fail to complete their investigations within seven hours.

• Victory! If the group chosen by the Psychics contains the true culprit, all players win the game together! The ghost's spirit is finally laid to rest.
• Defeat! Otherwise, the game is lost, and the ghost's spirit continues to roam. You'll have to wait until next Samhain to try and solve the mystery again.

Tips for Winning

Solving a murder mystery with a speechless ghost isn't easy, but here are a few pointers to help you and your fellow psychics succeed:

1. Psychics, Discuss Everything! Don't be shy about sharing your interpretations of the vision cards. Even if you think you have a strong lead, hearing other psychics' thoughts can reveal connections you missed or prevent you from going down the wrong path. Remember, the Ghost is listening, but cannot give clues!
2. Ghost, Think Symbolically and Broadly: When sending visions, don't just pick cards that literally match an element. Think about colors, shapes, emotions, or even abstract concepts related to the suspect, location, or object. Sometimes, a card that seems "off" at first glance might be the perfect subtle hint. Also, don't be afraid to use multiple vision cards to build a more complex, yet clearer, message.
3. Utilize Clairvoyancy Tokens Wisely: As a Psychic, using your Clairvoyancy Tokens to agree or disagree with others' choices is crucial. Not only does it help you progress on the Clairvoyancy Track for the final vote, but it also signals to the Ghost (and other Psychics) your level of confidence in a particular guess. This collective feedback can be invaluable for everyone.