What could be more Halloween than mysterious deaths following a tarot card reading? And what’s more the cards are curiously marked with clues that tell the tale of the poor unfortunates’ untimely demise. I was very grateful to receive a copy of this as a gift from Spiel Des Jahres and Tabletop Games Blog There are two difficulty levels so you can start off easy and make it harder as you get used to playing. If you identify the correct room you are rewarded with a treasure card – these are like a jigsaw and you need a complete picture to win.

The game is co-operative, you need to work together to win so you need to agree on what noise the ghost was making. The drum has a ribbed ribbon around it, a wooden side and a paper top – there are suggestions in the rules book of how to make a variety of noises with it. Each room contains a noisy object card and it is the ghost’s job to replicate the sound on the drum included. The Captain will give clues to anyone brave enough to venture in and will actually help them find the treasure so he’s not too scary at all. Legend has it that Captain Echo hid his treasure in a spooky, old mansion in the woods. If Mysterium for grown ups sounds a bit too scary then you need Mysterium Kids. You have just 7 hours to work together, crack the case and free the tormented spirit. You meet under cover of darkness and the clock counts down towards daybreak. The more clairvoyancy points you have amassed the more visions the ghost will show you at the end of the game when you have to work out which one of you has the cards showing the murderer, the weapon and the place of the dastardly deed. Each round you can earn clairvoyancy points by correctly identifying which other players psychic powers are working properly. Each psychic has a place, a weapon and a murderer of their own to figure out but only one of you has the correct set. (Perfect if you’ve got one gobby one in your group as they are not allowed to talk!). The visions depicted on the cards truly are things of beauty. Someone has been murdered and has returned as a ghost to communicate the weapon, the place and their murderer through visions alone. You are psychics who have got together for a seance. I know Cluedo and Dixit seem like they are on different ends of a spectrum but Mysterium has combined them into a fabulously spooky co-operative game.

Here are my favourite 5 games from the massive Halloween stack! And I have a sizeable collection of Halloween appropriate games for you to try. It’s the most wonderful time of the year – Halloween! A time of cosy fireside tales, hot chocolate and board games.

Spooky playing cards