Covid-19 & Mysterium 2020

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Shorah everyone. We hope you are all safe and healthy in these troubled times.

We’d been hoping to have a more comprehensive update for you by now, but unfortunately things have not gone to plan. We know that’s frustrating, and we apologize. We’re doing our best to get our Mysterium 2020 plans settled as soon as possible, but some things are out of our hands.

What we can tell you at this time is that we will NOT be having an in-person convention in August. Even if somehow restrictions were lifted enough to allow 50-100 people to be in a hotel ballroom (and there is no guarantee that will happen), it would not be safe to do so in our view – not to mention the risks associated with traveling to the convention.

While we can’t answer everything right now, we can answer a few things:

So is Mysterium 2020 cancelled?

No, it isn’t. We intend to hold some form of convention online at the beginning of August. It won’t be the same, but we think it can still be fun for everyone.

Why did you wait so long to announce this/why isn’t everything settled yet?

We were hoping to have everything settled with the Mysterium hotel, which unfortunately has not happened yet. We hope to have Mysterium at the same hotel in 2021, but we’re still in negotiations.

I already registered. Will I get a refund?

Refunds will be available, as will roll-overs to next year’s in-person convention. We expect to have more information about that in the next few weeks. We will email you directly using the email address you gave us when filling out your registration.

Please be patient and don’t start emailing us about either option just yet. Our normal refund policy deadlines will not apply.

What about t-shirts, pins, or other swag?

More on that in the coming weeks.

Should I cancel my hotel room?

No, you don’t have to cancel your room reservation. The hotel should do that in a few weeks. If somehow it looks like they aren’t going to do so, we will let you know with plenty of time to cancel.

What about the transportation I booked?

Most airlines, as well as Amtrak, are currently waiving cancellation fees. Contact your specific carrier for details.

How is Mysterium doing financially? Is this going to bankrupt the convention?

Again, more on that in a few weeks. Right now we are OK and we expect to be fine and able to hold conventions in the future. We are 100% able to refund anyone who requests a refund for this year (see above).

Can I host an event or otherwise help with planning for the online Mysterium?

Absolutely! We’re not ready to take in your ideas just yet, but we expect to get there soon.

How/where will the online Mysterium be hosted?

We will probably use a variety of online streaming and text platforms, depending on the event(s) we choose to hold. Stay tuned.

You don’t seem to have a lot of answers just yet…

That’s not a question, but you’re right. We wish we did, but we’re a small, all volunteer organization, and this is a tough time for even large companies to plan. We just wanted to get *some* news out there for folks to help plan their summer.

In the meantime, if you have a Nintendo Switch you may want to pre-order the Switch version of RealMyst to help brighten your days just a bit – https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/realmyst-masterpiece-edition-switch/

We’ll have more information for you as soon as we can. Stay safe out there, everyone!

-The Mysterium Committee

Location Bids

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Hello! We have some news to share regarding future Mysterium locations.

Location Bids

Have you ever wanted Mysterium to come to your city? Well read on, because we’re changing up how we handle bids.

In the past, we’ve opened bids one year at a time. We’ve decided to change that, and bids are now accepted year-round. Starting with Mysterium 2022, bids will be accepted at any time up to April 1st of the year before the convention. For 2022, that means bids will be due by April 1, 2021. You can find all the details on our Location Bidding page.

If this seems daunting, it shouldn’t. You are not expected to gather every possible piece of information at this point. The goal of a bid document is simply to explain why your city would be a good place to host – and why you would be a good person to lead – Mysterium for that year. In particular, your city should be relatively accessible and offer hotels at a reasonable rate. We’ve provided sample bid documents from Mysterium 2020 for you to use as a reference. Good luck, and we’d love to bring the event to your city!

Submission Reminder

We’re still accepting submissions for activity book pages, events, and writing & artwork for Mysterium 2020. The next deadline is for the activity book on April 19, so you still have a week for that! See the Submissions page for more information.

– Mysterium 2020 Triumvirate: Capella, Drew, and Dan

Pins!

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Happy Spring! We have a few items to share.

Pins

We’re pleased to announce we have selected three pin designs for this year. The first is a lamp by Xemylixa, based on the ones in Kirel and Serat. The second is a pinecone from Obduction by laughingpineapple, and finally, we have a bomb from Obduction by Rayne.


We plan to include these with early registration (register by May 31).

COVID-19

We have received several questions about the coronavirus and its impact on Mysterium. The truth is we do not currently know how this will play out. You may have heard some events this summer have already been cancelled, such as E3. However, those are predominantly large-scale events that require substantial advance notice of a cancellation. Fortunately, we are a bit more nimble and can wait a few more months before making a decision. We have no plans to cancel or postpone the event at this time and we hope that by August we will all be able to go to Mysterium. In the meantime the best thing you can do is follow the recommendations of the WHO, or your national or local health department.

Submission Reminder

We’re still accepting submissions for activity book pages, events, and writing & artwork. The next deadline is for the activity book on April 19. See the Submissions page for more information.

We’ll post another update soon. Everyone stay safe, avoid crowds, and wash your hands! Maybe use this time of social distancing to catch up on any Cyan games you haven’t played.

– Mysterium 2020 Triumvirate: Capella, Drew, and Dan

Mysterium 2020 Registration and Hotel Reservations Now Open!

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Happy March everyone!

We are excited to announce that registration and hotel reservations are now open! As is tradition, with registration also comes the announcement of this year’s t-shirt design. We’re so excited to share what the community created this year, so let’s get right to it.

T-Shirts

In the front of this year’s shirt, we have a depiction of the Jefferson Memorial superimposed on the Tomahna book vault. This eye-catching design was created by Katherine “Squee” White.

Shirt front logo closeup and photo of shirt with logo on model

On the back, we have a stunning depiction of Spire and Haven designed by none other than Claire “Shoom’lah” Hummel.

Closeup photo of the rear shirt design with photo of shirt and logo on model

We’re so excited to have both of these designs for our shirts this year. For more information, please see our T-Shirts page. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who submitted T-shirt artwork this year. Even if your design was not selected, we hope to feature your work elsewhere during Mysterium.

Hotel

This year, Mysterium will take place at the Westin Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, VA. Located just a few minutes walk from Alexandria and King Street stations, this hotel offers easy access to downtown Alexandria and Washington, D.C. proper. We’ve secured a rate of $100/night for both single and double rooms.

For more information about our hotel, including links to make your reservation, visit our updated Location page.

Registration

Mysterium 2020 registration is now open! From now until May 31st, you can purchase a weekend registration for $25, or a premium registration (weekend + shirt) for $40. That’s a $5 discount off of the individual items! Starting June 1st, the price will increase and shirts will not be available for pre-order.

We have once again included a space for you to indicate your pronouns on your badge, should you wish. Read more and register today over on our Registration page.

Reminders

As a reminder, we are still accepting submissions for events, enamel pins, activity book pages, as well as writing and artwork. The deadline for pin design submissions is right around the corner on March 15th, so be sure to send your ideas in. All information about submissions can be found on the Submissions page.

New Submission Rights Policy

With Cyan’s help, we have written a new licensing/copyright policy for all submitted works (logos, pin designs, etc). Previously, all works submitted to Mysterium became the property of Cyan Worlds Inc. Going forward you will retain copyright of your own work, but grant Cyan and FMG/Mysterium a perpetual license to it. For the complete details and legalese, see the Submissions section on our Policies page. This applies immediately to all future submissions, and retroactively to all pin design and activity book submissions for Mysterium 2020.

It’s hard to believe that Mysterium is just around the corner! We’ll have more updates for you all soon.

– Mysterium 2020 Triumvirate: Capella, Drew, and Dan

A Quick Update

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Hello everyone!

We wanted to get out a short update just to cover a couple topics.

T-Shirt Design Submissions

As a reminder, we’re still taking t-shirt design submissions through Sunday, February 16. You can submit either a front or back design (or both!), and if your design is selected you will receive a free Mysterium shirt. You are encouraged to incorporate this year’s theme (Sirrus vs Achenar/Red vs Blue/Haven and Spire) and/or the host city of Washington, DC into your design. For more information, please visit the T-Shirt Design Submissions page.

Registration

Some people have asked about registration and the hotel for Mysterium 2020. Barring any unforeseen issues, we plan to open registration March 1. At that time we will also provide information about this year’s hotel and a link to book your room, as well as transportation and parking details.

Expect to see another post from us in a month!

– Mysterium 2020 Triumvirate: Capella, Drew, and Dan