Tag Archives: mysterium

Mysterium Reflection

The game we played in class was Mysterium. This has been my favorite game so far. I played as one of the psychics. I really enjoyed trying to figure out what the ghost was thinking about when they selected the vision cards. Often the things that stood out in the vision cards to me was not what they had intended to stand. This meant that I had the challenge of trying to think like the ghost. I think this game would be really fun with my family, as we all know each so well that I think it would be interesting to see if we can better understand what the ghost is trying to communicate.

There were two things I found to be the hardest parts of this game. One was since our group members did not know each other that well, it was hard for us to figure what the ghost was telling us. The other thing I found to be difficult was understanding the rules. For whatever reason, when I first read the rulebook, I was confused. However, after watching the video I found it to be easier to understand.

One of the leadership concepts that I feel this game exemplifies is “get off the dance floor and onto the balcony”. During the game, the ghost could not talk. This meant that once they handed out the vision cards, the outcome was out of their control. Once they stepped back after giving out the cards, they had to see if we choose what they meant for us to. If we did not they needed to re-evaluate how they were going about the situation and make changes for the next set of vision cards.

Mysterium Game Reflection

This past week we played Mysterium in class. In my opinion the hardest part of the game was deciphering the ghosts clues as they were very abstract. This pertains to leadership as we had to go outside of our own minds and imagine what someone else may be thinking. The first thing I would notice about a card was not the first thing my teammates would notice.

I think anyone who enjoys playing clue would enjoy Mysterium. They are very similar games but Mysterium is more detailed and the abstract cards are such a fun addition. This game also adds the element of teamwork which isn’t present in clue. Instead of working against each other to solve the murder and its details you are working against the clock.

The first play session my teammate and I didn’t choose the same answer as we interpreted the abstract cards differently. This caused us to lose the game. The second round I was the ghost, I consistently abstract cards that went with the color scheme or had a similar object as the other card. My teammates were able to figure out how I was thinking and what I was noticing about the cards. We won the second game and shared what we first noticed about each card. We quickly realized our eyes always went to very different aspects of the card.

Managing The Mysteries of Mysterium

This week we played the game Mysterium and generally, I really enjoyed this game. Two of my favorite games are Codenames and Clue, so I love how similar this game relates to both. The only thing I would change about this game to match those of the others is the cooperative aspect. I like that there’s collaborative elements about the game, like there is in Codenames, but I wish there were teams against each other in Mysterium, rather than everyone collectively winning or losing. I am not sure how this game could be switched out of being collaborative, but I would be interested to see someone try. I also disliked how some of the cards are extremely unrelated or up for too much interpretation, because it feels like you’re wasting a ton of time discussing a card that really doesn’t relate to anything, or relates to too many things to the point where you have to just take a wild guess.
The first time I played this game I thought it was a bit complicated to figure out because of all the pieces and things happening each turn, but it was extremely easy to figure out the second time around, I hardly had to pay attention to the instruction videos. Because I felt like I had more of a clue what was happening than my group members, I had anticipated that I would probably be the ghost in the game, since that’s such an important role that can’t be messed up. However, when I got to class someone else had already decided to be the ghost, but I think it worked out for the best. Because the ghost can’t talk, I think it was beneficial for me to be in a role that can actually help and guide my team members so they could understand the game better. Despite being brand new at the game, I think our ghost did well with the clues.
Some of my favorite things about the game are the artwork, and the guessing interpretation. l the artwork on the cards is very beautiful and it creates a dynamic where every game is not going to turn out the same each time. I like all the different options and possibilities. I also really enjoy the theme of the game, since I’ve always been into mysteries. I felt as if we were really a part of a novel or mystery movie, and I like the immersion effect. I also enjoy guessing and trying to analyze the cards, as well as trying to think like the ghost would. Playing with people who are 1. Experienced in playing this game and 2. Know each other very well, would totally change the dynamic of the game, and I think that would be fun to experience.
I think my friend Annie from back home would really enjoy this game. Growing up, we always played Clue together, specifically the Harry Potter version and we also watched the movie Clue every Halloween. We both really enjoy mysteries and spooky feeling things, so she would enjoy that aspect of this game. However, it would be hard to play with her though because we would basically have to have a decent sized group to play with, which I guess could be another negative to this game.
As for how this game relates to leadership, I feel like the ghost is somewhat the leader because they are guiding the rest of the team. The people who are doing well and are advancing to the next levels also somewhat act as leaders because they have figured out the ghosts way of giving clues and are mostly good at interpreting them, so they can help others interpret. Because of the element of agreeing or disagreeing with other people, it could possibly create conflict between group members, which also is an important part of leadership, since we won’t always agree with leaders or teams that we work with in general. It’s important to learn how to manage this conflict in a constructive way, and to not take things too personally, because at the end of the day, it’s just a game. This game has a lot of team building elements because we need to work together and are trying to help each other through the puzzle. I feel closer to the students that I played this game with, as a result of this activity. We all either were going to win together or lose together, and even though we lost, it was still very fun. I would love the opportunity to play this game again.

Game of the Week Reflection: Mysterium

Mysterium is my favorite cooperative game that I’ve played so far in this class.  After messing around with Ultimate Werewolf the first week and Pandemic the next one, there’s something different about mysterium, and the uniqueness is capitalized in the cooperative experience.  Players aren’t forced to communicate which is something I felt when playing Ultimate Werewolf because everyone is trying to help out each other so you yourself can win the game.  The themes and creativeness in the cards engages you to think critically about what the ghost is trying to tell you.  Everyone is playing against the actual board game itself which causes tight-knit discussions and communal problem-solving.  This is something I personally didn’t feel myself in the past few weeks and I’m grateful that I found “my” game.

The most difficult or hardest part of this game for me really boiled down to something as simple as correctly predicting who got their guesses right or wrong.  I enjoyed this one so much that the fundamental rules weren’t hard to follow or difficult to play with.  The way to play this game kept me occupied and immersed in the Mysterium and that’s exactly what I look for in tabletop games as well as videogames.  I enjoy the fact that it relies heavily on the player’s interpretation and imagination to keep things new and fresh.  With the introduction of extensions and add-ons to this board game, I want to experiment with this board game again. 

As I’ve clearly stated, this is my favorite game I’ve played in this class so far because of its cooperative or leadership function.  The ghost is without question the leader of everyone else because they are giving out cards to everyone else and trying to stimulate thought-provoking questions and guesses.  This game ties into that leadership because each player is not only trying to get themself to the end but also needs their teammates to reach the end as well.  This causes leaders to emerge and guide everyone else toward their people, locations, and weapons.  I personally liked the subject and theme of the cards because of the fantasy feel which definitely fits how the game is played in my opinion.  I’m confident that my family and friends would love this game and that it would work well with a full amount of people.  Overall, the class session went well and everyone did their part in assisting other players and doing their best to beat an inanimate object.

Mysterium: A Class Reflection

This week in Tabletop Games and Leadership, we played Mysterium. I had never played Mysterium before. However, I found it to remind me of Clue and Dixit. Both of which are games I have played before. I really enjoyed this game and think I will be buying it as a Christmas gift for at least one if not both of my brothers.

I sat down at the start of class at the first spot left of the ghost. At first, I was not doing so well. I was the last to guess my room and make it to the weapons step of the “7 hours” stage. However, we collaborated well and all made it to the end area before the last round. The cards I had were the mechanic person, the blue attic with the dress in the corner, and the hammer.

We discussed living and leading as if it is “Day 1” every day. This was interesting to me because as a Student Orientation Undergraduate Leader (SOUL) this past summer, we worked as if every day was a day one because for the incoming students it was. I also have seen this in my outlook on life. I had written in a gratitude journal every day for about three years, give or take some time. This helped me see the positive in things as I lived my life. I still think I am a positive person and look at more negative events as opportunities to learn and grow.

This came into the game as we had to assist each other in reaching the end before we ran out of “hours” on the clock. For example, it took me three turns to guess the room that I needed to, instead of shutting down and thinking the worst, I learned. I knew which rooms were not mine and I recognized that I would still have enough turns to figure out the weapon as well. This helped me remain calm. 

We discussed how you will not have a good day everyday, but living in this “Day 1” mentality does not mean you will. It is more about how you approach the situation as a whole. This applies to leadership because how you approach the work you do sets a tone for the team and can impact the team for better or worse. Having this specific mentality allows you to maintain a more positive outlook and perspective on whatever you are doing. This can help keep yourself and others motivated even on the hardest days, which is very important.

The hardest part of the in class game was knowing how to interpret the clues given by the ghost. I am sure it was hard from the ghost’s side as well. Because we are all still acquaintances and do not completely understand each other’s personalities or the way we think, it was difficult to always know what we should look at in terms of card details. Once we started getting the hang of how the game worked it went pretty smoothly.

Our group did well communicating and helping each other decipher clues. This helped us overcome the initial struggles with finding the hidden messages within the ghost’s clues. Overall, I would play this game and I would also recommend it to others. I look forward to playing this with my family eventually: I guess I will get a turn as the ghost.

Game of the Week Blog Reflection 3: Mysterium

In this class I played Mysterium for the first time. The hardest part of the game was trying to figure out the clues. There were times throughout the game where multiple people thought their clues were pointing to the same room or object. We knew someone had to be wrong, but it was hard to justify why someone could be more right than another. Another thing that was hard at first was getting used to being able to help people. I am used to games where you don’t want to show people your cards. It was hard for me at first to remember I could collaborate with the other players. 

In terms of leadership skills, I tried to make sure everyone was able to be heard. I think including everyone at the table is important, so I tried to make sure everyone felt included and had a chance to share their thoughts. 

I think my extended family would like to play this game because we like to play games together. I also think it would be good for them because my little cousins would be able to play and understand the rules, but also since it is a cooperative game they could get help when they got frustrated. 

I really liked this game and plan to buy it! It was fun to play a game where the best strategy was to work together. It was a new type of game that I haven’t really played before, and I really enjoyed it. 

Overall, the game session was fun, but we lost. We had two players not get through before the 7th hour ended. This I think was partially because their items were very similar so there was confusion amongst the players as to which it could be. Yet, it was still a lot of fun and well worth the play. 

Game of the Week Blog Reflection (For Class on 2/10/2022): Mysterium

    Recently, our class got together to play Mysterium, a cooperative social-deduction game where the players take on one of two different roles, with one player as the “Ghost” and the one to six other players as the Psychic Investigators. At its core, Mysterium is a game all about communication, as the Ghost attempts to inform the Investigators who the suspects of their murder are and which suspect killed them, without being able to speak. Instead, the Ghost must use the intricate artwork on the dream cards they draw to try and hint to the Investigators which specific suspect, location and weapon that they are trying to find. It is this particular aspect that, as the Ghost, I found the most difficult. There were many times where I felt as if the dreams I had drawn simply did not fit with any of the items I was trying to help the Investigators find, but I still needed to give them something. At other times though, I thought that I had found the perfect card to give to an Investigator, something that would point them directly to the object I wanted them to guess, but they would then notice all of the details in the picture that I had ignored. In both of these situations, the Investigators were ultimately led away from the suspect, location or weapon that I was trying to indicate.

    The session as a whole was very much like this example, as while we did have some successes as a group, there were still many players by the end of the game who were unable to complete their set. I still personally attribute this loss to my general lack of experience with the game and my poor use of the dreams I was given, as there were many dreams that I handed out that simply led the Investigators more astray, or that failed to communicate what I intended. Of course, not all dreams led to failures, as some of the Investigators were able to complete their set within the given number of rounds. There was even one particular round where I found a dream that was perfect for a particular location, allowing that Investigator to guess their location with only one dream. However, for every large success, my session featured a similarly large failure, as one suspect took a very large number of dreams for their Investigator to find them. 

    However, while our session may have ended in a loss, I still feel that we could draw some interesting parallels between Mysterium and leadership as a result of it. While communication was easily the most difficult part of this game, I also feel that it is the part that this game shares the most in common with leadership, as having good communication with your team is very important for successful leaders. If a leader is unable to communicate exactly what their vision is with their teammates, there could be a large amount of confusion in what exactly the leader is asking their team to do, or what their goal even is. Similarly, if the Ghost in Mysterium is unable to use their dreams to effectively communicate with the Investigators, the Investigators will have no idea what the Ghost is actually trying to indicate to them, and will be forced to simply go off of their best guess of what the Ghost intended rather than the actual answer.

    Overall, despite our session ending in failure, I did enjoy my time with Mysterium. Being forced to turn strange, abstract artwork into a clue with a very specific meaning is a very interesting and fun concept, and I imagine with practice I might be able to better communicate with my Investigators just what my dreams are supposed to indicate. I would also be interested in playing the game again, but as an Investigator instead, so I can see how I do at the game when I’m trying to interpret the dreams handed to me rather than handing out the dreams myself. Not only that, but the experience of playing Mysterium has also helped me to understand just how important it is to have strong communication as a leader.

The Murder Mystery at Mysterium Manor

I love cooperative games. Even within the genre “cooperative”, there is so much variety in games. There may be players working in a team against other players as in Codenames or all of the players working together against the game itself as in Pandemic. However, as is the case for this Game of the Week, there is no enemy or clear adversary. In Mysterium, the challenge lies in communication — or lack thereof. One player acts as the Ghost, trying to get a team of Psychics to correctly deduce combinations of suspects, locations, and weapons to solve their murder. The challenge? The Ghost can make no sounds, give no facial expressions nor gestures, and must only communicate to the Psychics using a limited supply of cards beautifully illustrated with abstract images. It is up to the Psychics to figure out what messages the Ghost is trying to convey with these cards to solve the crime.

During class, I played the role of the Ghost, and I can say with confidence that having such limited communication with your teammates makes it really difficult to win Mysterium. That is also illustrated by the fact that there was a 0% win rate in class among the 3 groups. The Psychics are dependent on the Ghost giving them clues about the sets of suspects-locations-weapons, but the art on those clue cards are so colorful and detailed! Having to match the 7 clues in my hand to the 5 cards that the 5 Psychics had to guess while also paying attention to the other 6 cards I had the steer the Psychics away from… Creating a connection between the clues and the cards was hard enough. Knowing the Psychics had to figure out what my thought processes were for each clue made me squirm in my seat and hide behind my screen for fear of giving away too much information with my reactions. I think the hardest part of the game for me was biting my tongue while listening to the Psychics discuss what their answers should be. I wanted desperately to praise the players who understood my line of thinking, warn the players who got attached to the wrong details, and hint to one side of the table to look at the clues I’d given out to the other side.

When thinking about this game in terms of leadership, my mind keeps coming back to all of the things I couldn’t do as the Ghost. I couldn’t encourage my players for doing a good job. I couldn’t explain my thinking with misinterpreted clues. I remember watching in horror as one of my players guessed literally every other suspect than the one I wanted him to pick because I couldn’t say, “Let’s forget that last clue I gave you because I definitely gave you the wrong idea with it.” Playing a game with no communication really goes to show how important communication is for succeeding. Being able to clear up confusion verbally would have made the game trivial, yes, but applying this game to the real world, open discussion and being able to clear up previous mistakes is so very, very important.

I think Mysterium is a fantastic game. I recommend, however, to play it with family or a group of close friends first. Anybody who loves a game of Charades, loves beautiful art and aesthetics, and doesn’t mind waiting patiently for the Ghost to set-up or disperse clues would love this game. I suggest to play with a group of people you know very well first as an “easy mode” introduction to the game. You’ll know the thought processes of family and friends, and can get a handle on the rules of the game. Then, give it a try with strangers or acquaintances for an added challenge.