Author Archive: rayne

F is for Fall and Fun Festivities!

Posted on by | No Comments

Shorah and hello!
Fall is here, and we have some great stuff we want to share with you! (And a sneak peek at some room decorations that we’re working on.)

 

Portland Travel Page

The Location page on the website has been updated to reflect a pretty robust list of some really fun things to do when visiting Portland next year.

You’ll notice multiple lists, as things have been broken into categories. Sites you can easily access via public transportation, sites that require a car, and sites that require at least a full day.

We will be adding a list of restaurants and such to that page once we have the hotel contract signed.

Submission Reminders

Submissions are open! We are still accepting submissions for the following:

  • T-shirt designs both front and back
  • Enamel pins
  • Events
  • Activity book pages

Yes, we’ll be printing an activity book this year! So if you have some ideas for that, now’s the time to make it happen. Please head on over to the submissions hub for more detailed information and how to send in your entry for any of the categories.

Prompt Winners

We love the creativity from the community, and the stuff you guys submit is amazing.

August’s prompt winners are:

Written: Khrees (http://www.eldalamberon.com/dni_dict.htm) for 

D’ni Bubbles

.buhbeltee d’nee
treglahstahv
bahreleet zoo biv
k’tsee mot tsahv
.buhbeltee d’nee
bahreleet zoo tahmet
terthkahnradtahv roo dotsahr be
taygahn shem brezuh tso gor
.met kenen breseren pe
rebirahno khoyoo
gah kenen erthbigto b’rish
khe shem gah zoo
.buhbeltee d’nee
treglahstahv
bahreleet zoo biv
k’tsee mot tsahv
.buhbeltee d’nee
bahreleet zoo tahmet
terthkahnradtahv roo dotsahr be
taygahn shem brezuh tso gor

Translation:

D’ni bubbles in the wine (lit. ‘drink’)
make me all happy that I’m alive.
D’ni bubbles make me warm (lit. ‘full of fire’)
with a feeling (lit. ‘thought’) that I’m going to
love you till the end of time.
This is to the moon (lit. ‘light’) above the sea I invoke
and mostly this a toast (lit. ‘blessing’) for you and me.
D’ni bubbles in the wine
make me all happy that I’m alive.
D’ni bubbles make me warm
with a feeling that I’m going to
love you till the end of time.

Visual: Nina (https://bsky.app/profile/monkiinart.bsky.social) for

And September’s winner is:

Jet for

More updates will be posted soon. Have a great weekend!

Kelly & Drea

2026 Mysterium co-chairs

Keep Mysterium Weird

Posted on by | No Comments

Shorah and hello!

We are so excited to bring Mysterium to Portland, Oregon for 2026. We’re already rolling on the planning and are thrilled about some of the fun things we have planned for this coming year.


Credits: Local celebrity, the Unipiper, playing flaming bagpipes, shows the heart of Portland.

2026 Theme Announcement

The theme this year is Haven, the prison age from Myst IV: Revelation. It seemed appropriate, as Portland is a temperate rainforest.

MTA

The MTA will be returning to Mysterium this year! First launched in 2017, the MTA stands for Mysterium Travel Agency (or the Mysterium Transit Authority, depending on the day) and it focuses on a bit of a travel agency theme. So, while the theme is Haven, expect a bit of travel agency vibes to accompany it this year.

Submissions

Submissions are open! We are now accepting submissions for the following:

  • T-shirt designs for both front and back
  • Enamel pins
  • Events
  • Activity book pages
  • Writing and Art Table

Yes, we’ll be printing an activity book this year! So if you have some ideas for that, now’s the time to make it happen. Please head on over to the submissions hub for more detailed information and how to send in your entry for any of the categories.

Downloadables

We’ve added the puzzle packet from 2025 to the downloadables page on our website! Head on over if you’d like a challenge.

We’ve got so much fun stuff in store for you this year!

Have a great weekend!

Kelly & Drea
2026 Mysterium co-chairs

2024 Kick-off

Posted on by

Shorah!
It’s summertime and we’re already in full swing for planning 2024 Mysterium! Before we dive into that, however, we wanted to share some of the highlights from the 2023 survey that we sent out as well as some other goodies.

Survey Highlights

We work hard to improve Mysterium every year and appreciate the feedback you have been sending in. Some of our experiments work, and sometimes they don’t and need some tweaks, but we always strive to make the experience better. We had a lot of fantastic suggestions and we will definitely consider them for future years!

Some of the highlights of the results:

  • Swag: Pre-ordering the swag was a huge hit! This was a bit of an experiment this year. We were using a new system for registration that allowed us to print badge numbers, pre-order swag, print labels for the swag bags, and pack them in a super-efficient manner, and an all-around amazing system! We will definitely be using this again.
  • Paypal: We had quite a few people ask for Paypal support. Unfortunately, they are, how shall we put this politely, very unkind to organizations like Mysterium. We need to stick to using Square and Stripe for our credit card processing portals.
  • The noise level in the con room: Yep, we hear you. It was frustrating for us too and we’re looking into options on how to improve that.
  • Accessibility: We try to make Mysterium accessible and there were some great suggestions on some things we can tweak! Thank you so much for sending those in!
  • Covid policy: We strive to make Mysterium a safe environment for everyone and appreciate the feedback on our policy. It’s too early to anticipate what 2024’s policy will involve, but our hope is that we can find some solutions that will be more inclusive.
  • Newsletter: The newsletter got a surprising amount of support! Alright, we’ll take a look at doing that this year! We want you to get the information we send out. 🙂

June’s Prompt Winner

June’s creative prompt was “Scream!” as Mysterium drew closer. The winner was redwoodrroad, who submitted this little beauty:

Youtube videos

All of the videos from Mysterium 2023 are now available on our Youtube channel! Check it out here.

Downloadables

We promised, so here they are! The 3D model files for the maze boxes and cryptexes, puzzle packets, and other downloadable files are now available on the website. More items will be added in the future! Please feel free to check them out here: Downloadables

Planning for 2024

If you missed the announcement, Mysterium will be in Canada next year. As exciting as that is, it also means that you will need to plan ahead for international travel. If you do not have a passport, we recommend that you get an early jump on it, as the turnaround time is taking longer than ideal.

More information may be found on the Department of State website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply.html

2024 Kick-off

And without further ado, we’d like to introduce you to your con-chairs for 2024.

Dan Binder (Fused Shadow) –

Dan first attended Mysterium in Orlando in 2017, then after a night at a tiki bar apparently agreed to join staff the following year (details are still a little hazy).

You’ll most likely encounter him working on the Mysterium website and/or posting on the Discord server, the latter especially if someone happens to mention Twilight Princess.

If you’re seeking him out in person, you can find him on a hiking trail or ski slope, or petting the nearest dog.

Hannah Catherine Mills-Woolsey (Annacat) –

Annacat attended her first Mysterium in Philadelphia in 2002, has been part of the Mysterium Committee since 2019, and has become the con’s self-appointed expert on all things Narayan-related. For her day job, she is a supervisor and instructor at a Vocational Education program for people with disabilities.

Her hobbies include participating in community theater, coaching a Special Olympics dance team, hiking, camping, kayaking, and loving every single animal in the world.

2023 Wrap-Up

Posted on by | 1 Comment

Shorah!
Wow, y’all! That was quite a weekend!!
First of all, an enormous thank you to everyone who came to join us at Mysterium this year. We had a record year and the largest crowd Mysterium has ever seen! It was truly a pleasure to be able to celebrate 30 years of Myst with you all.

Survey

Every year we try to make Mysterium a little better. To that end, we’ve put together a survey to gather your thoughts and feedback. Please take a moment and fill it out! The Survey.

Photos with Rand

Did you have your photo taken with Rand? Great! We will have digital copies available until the end of July. The group photo we took at Cyan is also up here, so please snag your photo while they’re up! The Photos.

Friends of Mysterium

We’ve got a lot of great folks at Mysterium who make some pretty amazing things. And they need your help!

Dan’s Good Cookies

If you visited Cyan this year, you probably got to enjoy one (or three) of Dan’s amazing cookies! He has also put together a survey and would appreciate feedback from you! Dan’s Survey.
What was your favorite kind of cookie?

Unwritten

Did you participate in one of the Unwritten sessions over the weekend? Are you interested in playing more? Good news! They launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a sourcebook called Modern D’ni! This book expands beyond the initial core rulebook diving deeper into the present-day era of the Cavern! They even have an exclusive hardcover of the Core Rulebook as a reward for one of the tiers which was previously only available during the initial Unwritten kickstarter. Check it out over at Kickstarter.

Video Game History Foundation

Ok we have to admit, that was one of the coolest presentations we’ve ever seen! In case you missed it, the amazing folks over at the Video Game History Foundation are working directly with Cyan to restore, digitally archive, and preserve their entire video archive. Yes, this includes the old VHS tapes with original Riven footage. However, they need funding to achieve this remarkable goal. More information may be found here: Video Game History Foundation.

Whew! What a weekend!
Post-con blues are a thing, folks. Please be kind to yourself. Hydrate. We love you.

And hopefully, we’ll see you again next year in Montreal! Wait, Montreal? In case you missed it, yes! We will be in Montreal next year! Take a look at the announcement here!

Rayne & m13 signing off as
Mysterium 2023 co-chairs

2 Weeks Away

Posted on by

Shorah!

We have a few last things to cover before Mysterium, which brings us to our first point:

Mysterium is 2 weeks away!

Scream!! We can’t wait to see everyone, and we’re all hard at work getting last-minute details ironed out. The Committee has a few things to go over with everyone, and we’re all looking forward to our weekend with you.

Registration Closes Tomorrow

Huge reminder to everyone that registration closes tomorrow, Friday, June 16th. While we will have a limited number of standby tickets available to sell at the Registration table, those will be on a first-come, first-served basis on Friday, June 30th only. Stand-By tickets include admission for the weekend, and Mysterium 2023 Lanyard (while supplies last), but DOES NOT include admission to Cyan. Anyone buying a Stand-by ticket (either online, or at the registration table) will have their name placed on a standby list for any last-minute spots that may open up for the Cyan trip on Saturday morning. However, please be aware this does not guarantee a ticket to Cyan.

Bus ticket Deadlines

Bus ticket online sales will end when Registration closes tomorrow, Friday, June 16th. We will be selling the tickets at Mysterium until 8:30am on Saturday July 1st, before leaving for Cyan at 9:00am.

Meet & Greet Details

There will be a few Cyan staff for folks to meet during the Meet & Greet portion of the Cyan visit on Saturday.

For meeting Rand, folks may choose to have either one selfie with Rand or one autograph with Rand. If you choose to have an autograph, it should be a simple autograph without personalization. This is to keep the lines moving and not overwhelm Rand. Please be respectful of Rand’s time during the meet & greet and save your questions for the Q&A panel at 3:00 pm later in the day.

May Prompt Winner

Keith “Tweek” Lord  won the May Prompt! See the submission here:

Con Room Rules

Some reminders for the Convention Space Room as we are quickly approaching convention time.

  • NO food inside the Convention hotel space
  • All drinks must be in covered containers
  • Masks must be worn in the con room (surgical, N95, or equivalent). See COVID page for more information.

See our Policies page for a full list of policies related to Mysterium and the convention room.
Reminders of rules for inside con room (no food, drink etc)

See everyone in two weeks!
Rayne & m13
– Mysterium co-chairs