Come hell or high water.

When I decided to resurrect The Paranormalist blog, I came up with a very do-able (I thought) schedule. One with only two requirements:

1. Post an on-topic, in-depth post on the 13th of each month.
2. Post a quick, paranormal-tinged, chatty note every Monday.

That it. No big deal, right?

If you’re a subscriber to this this blog, you know I haven’t managed to get it right for more than a couple of weeks in a row.

I’m giving it another shot, as of today. It’s 11:17 pm, so I’ve only got a few minutes to get something-anything down.

I almost didn’t come in (again) because I thought, “Well, you’ve been off-schedule for weeks now, what’s one more miss? Maybe you can write something decent between now and NEXT Monday.”

Yeah, that’s the kind of thinking that got me here, so screw the “decent” qualifier.

I promised that the content would be at least paranormal-tinged, so tonight I’ll just mention a couple of things that have been in my life lately, and offer my quick and dirty reviews.

MYSTERIUM:

For a better than decent review of this game, pop over to Shut Up & Sit Down.

For my quick and dirty review, read on.

I saw Mysterium on the games shelf at our local Alamo Cinema Drafthouse, when Ogre took me to a showing of Three Identical Strangers. (More on both the Alamo and the movie in a minute.) The name and the cover art drew me in.

The $50 price tag, however, put me off and we didn’t actually buy it that night.

I mentioned it when I next talked to my roommates / kids, though, because I couldn’t get it out of my mind. (Update for long-time readers: the kids are all grown up now, and we are sharing expenses as we settle into our “new” home state.)

We play board games at least once a week around here, so I wanted to see if there was any interest in Mysterium. My son took to the interwebs and found the review I linked to above. By the time he finished reading it to the rest of us, we’d decided it needed to become the next addition to our game collection.

SO HOW IS IT?

First, it’s a BEAUTIFUL game. The art for this American edition has been toned down to be more family-friendly, I guess, but it’s still evocative and gorgeous. There are multiple decks of illustrated cards, little plastic crystal balls, a timer with blue sand, and a stand-up screen that the ghost hides behind. From the unboxing to the reboxing (after we played) handling and playing with the pieces was a pleasure.

Here’s a 5-minute unboxing video I found if you want a closer look.

Second, the game is frustrating as hell, but in a very good way. My suspicion is that the most fun (and frustration) is had by the ghost. Ogre got first crack at the role and he says I’ll love doing it.

Third, Mysterium has several elements that make it a winner for me:

• it’s a true cooperative game, (though the ghost’s role sometimes feels adversarial)
• it’s a reasonably quick game to play, (first time out we played in a little more than an hour, buy it will be faster next time, now that we know how it works)
• it’s easy to learn and understand, (probably best to have someone read the instructions first and then just show everyone how to play)

Verdict: Pricey but worth it.

I have 2 minutes left so, in reference to my earlier references:

1) I LOVE the Alamo. (I actually do have a full post in progress about the newest addition to the Raleigh theater scene.)

2) Go see Three Identical Strangers if you have the opportunity. In a year of great documentaries, I think this has a good shot at taking home an Oscar.