About The Game

2 to 8 players, Ages 8 to Adult
It's A  Fun Family Game and a Great Adult Social Game!
Playing Time:  approx. 30 minutes times the number of players
(a 4 player game takes about 2 hours)

The Tower of Mystery is highly competitive and very interactive without being highly strategic!  Everyone's always involved in the game, even when it's not their turn to move their playing piece!  The game is completely different every time you play! 

Warning:  If a board game needs to be all about strategy, setup, and "the win" in order for you to enjoy it, then you should probably avoid The Tower of Mystery because you may just become frustrated by a rapidly changing game that's frequently outside of your complete control.  The Tower of Mystery tends to elicit a strong sense of dislike from some heavy-duty strategy and wargamers.

But if you enjoy a purely social game that's all about player interaction, fun, laughter, and "the journey", then chances are great that you'll love the Tower of Mystery!  The Tower of Mystery has been described by many as a crazy combination of Chutes and Ladders "on steroids" and the card game Munchkin!  Social gamers of all ages (adults, college students, teens) and Families simply love the game!  The Tower of Mystery has become the game of choice for many who enjoy an interactive social game that focuses on fun and lively competition! 

The Tower of Mystery contains no occult elements, magic, spells, or evil characters.

The Tower of Mystery!  It's a Hundred Dimensions of Fun!
The Tower of Mystery combines luck, unpredictability, and a dash of strategy make this an exciting, lively game for everyone. 
Because up to eight players can play, nobody is left out of the fun!  As we mentioned, The Tower of Mystery has been described as a crazy combination of Chutes and Ladders "on steroids" and the card game Munchkin!  It's competitive, interactive, rapidly changing, and fun!

Everyone starts in the Garden outside the Tower. Travel around the tower's seven levels, take secret passages, and use staircases, in an attempt to visit each of the four turrets in the tower (in no particular order) and collecting a turret token. Once you have all four turret tokens, and have collected Mystery Cards that spell the word "TOWER", declare your impending win to the other players and then head back to the Garden!  The first person to return to the Garden with Mystery Cards spelling "TOWER" and has a turret token from each of the four turrets, wins the game!

When playing The Tower of Mystery, you win by constantly adjusting your game-play based on unexpected events.
This is one of the main reasons that playing The Tower of Mystery is so much fun!  No matter how masterful you think your plan for winning the game is, it WILL be up-ended by your opponents, and the crazy events that occur within the tower. Your goal is to keep moving towards achieving the game objectives as best you can!  During the game, players move around the seven levels, up and down staircases, and into the four turrets, landing on board spaces where "things happen". Sometimes a player may get money or lose money, get or lose Mystery Cards, may get to roll the dice and see what happens, might have the chance to swap the location of their playing piece with another player's piece, steal cards or money from other players, or any of many different scenarios and possibilities.

Collecting and using Mystery Cards is a key component to the game.
In addition to the "TOWER" Mystery Cards, there are Mystery Cards that allow you to do nice things to yourself, or try to stop your opponents.  There are several ways to collect Mystery Cards. Some ways are free, others cost money. The fastest but most risky way to collect free Mystery Cards is to stay in a turrent for multiple turns. However, while in a turret, a player is vulnerable because they cannot play any Mystery Cards. Players can collect up to 3 free Mystery Cards per turn while in a turret so even though it's risky to stay in a turret for very long, there's definitely a benefit to visiting the turrets even though playing Mystery Cards there is a no-no.

In the Tower of Mystery, it's always your turn, even when it's not your turn to move your playing piece!
 Players can play any number of Mystery Cards on any other players (or themselves) even when it's not their turn! This can cause "mayhem" when several players suddenly jump into the action at the same time!  You will have to alter your plans over and over in order to stay ahead of your opponents!  Almost constant player interaction keeps everyone on their toes, all the while laughing and having fun every step of the way!

There is the added risk of the Turret Cards.
 At the end of each turn that a player's piece is in a turret, they must draw a Turret Card. Turret Cards might affect only the player drawing the card, might affect everyone in the game, or several players but not all.  One thing is for sure: Turret Cards often dramatically change the game for everyone in an instant! Some Turret Cards are helpful, but most of them cause unexpected, often funny events to happen to some or all of the players in the game!  This is what makes the game so unpredictable and lively, yet entertaining and extremely fun for all!

While money is a component of the game, it has no bearing on winning the game!
 Tower Bucks are used to buy Mystery Cards and pay penalties. Being broke is risky, because if a player is completely broke and they have to pay a fine to the bank or a penalty to another player, they lose three turns!  Hoarding money serves no purpose, however, so each player has to decide how much money is enough to keep and how much is safe to spend.

The Tower of Mystery is a great Party Game for all ages!
Adults young and old enjoy playing The Tower of Mystery when together for their regular social Game Night. Families enjoy it for Family Game Night because it's equally playable (and fair) to the kids and the parents. It is suitable for children as young as about eight as long as they are able to read the cards and know the best time to play their cards. Teens enjoy The Tower of Mystery because it's so unpredictable and lively.  Even retired yacht club ladies have been known to give up their Friday afternoon dominoes to play The Tower of Mystery!  If you enjoy great player interaction, surprises, laughter and fun, then the Tower of Mystery is the game for you!

All the Graphic Design for the game was done by Steven Strumpf, well-known as one of the best graphic designers in the board game industry.  Steven was one of the lead graphic designers for Hasbro in the 1990's before starting his own graphic design company.  We are thrilled that Steven did such a spectacular job (and he says this was one of the most fun projects he's ever worked on!)

Read what others have to say about The Tower of Mystery!
CLICK HERE to read some unsolicited reviews of the game!