Mystery Garden

Mystery Garden - Guess the mystery tile before the traveler gets to the castle.

By asking questions and remembering clues, you will guess the secret mystery tile. The Mystery Garden game board is not as big as it appears, measuring 11.25" square, and is made of three pieces that interlock like a puzzle. As you can see from the picture above it is filled with images of characters, animals, toys and more. 

Around the board you see mystery (picture) tiles, each one showing one specific item from the game board. The pictures on the tiles are taken exactly from the board, no changes in coloring, orientation, etc. What you can't see from the image is that there are 15 numbered stones on a path that leads to the castle at the top of the board. There is one small wooden pawn that will travel this path on each round. 

Object:
Guess the mystery tile before the traveler gets to the castle to win the mystery tile. Be the first player to collect 3 mystery tiles.

Set up: 
Place the board in the middle of the players. Turn the 48 mystery tiles face down and mix them up. 

Play:
The first player draws one tile and looks at it without anyone else seeing it. It is up to the rest of the players to ask one yes or no question at a time, in turn, with the aim of guessing what is on the mystery tile. There are 15 numbered stones on the path to the castle. The pawn starts on number one, and with each question that is answered no, the pawn will move ahead one stone. If the pawn gets to the castle before anyone correctly guesses the mystery tile, the player who is answering the questions keeps the tile. If the mystery tile is guessed before the pawn reaches the castle, the player who guess correctly gets the tile. Here is an example of the questioning that I am taking from the instruction book:

1. Question: Is it a toy?  Answer: No
2. Question: Is it a plant? Answer: Yes
3. Question: Is it a flower? Answer: Yes
4. The next player points to a flower on the game board. Question: Is it this flower? Answer: No
5. The next player points to a different flower. Question: Is it this flower? Answer: Yes!

The player that correctly guessed will get the tile. The wooden pawn will go back to square one and the next player will choose a new mystery tile and the process will start again. 

Try this:

• Leave the pawn out of the game and let as many questions be asked as necessary to guess the mystery tiles.
• Forget the game, just use the tiles and look for the matching images on the game board.
• Forget the game. Match each tile to its image on the game board. Place the mystery tile in a different orientation such as upside down or sideways on the table. Keep the tile in that orientation while you look for it upright on the board.
• Place the tiles face-down by the board. Turn over one tile and everyone looks at the same time. The first one to find it gets the tile. Play until all tiles have been claimed.
• Start the wooden pawn on a higher number stone so that the mystery tile must be guessed in fewer clues.
• Place the tiles upside-down during set up so that individuals can turn them in-hand after picking up to correct the orientation.
• Pick the tiles up to put away by stacking them. Pick up one, put it on top of another. Now pick up both together and place them on top of another. Now pick up all three in the stack and place them on top of another. Keep going to see how many you can hold. 
• Work on visual discrimination, figure ground, visual scanning, spatial orientation, executive functioning skills, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation skills, process skills, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation.
  

In the box: 48 secret mystery tiles, 1 wooden playing figure, 1 wooden marker, 3-piece interlocking game board