The Mirroring Of Mary King

Categories: Card Game, Puzzle

Mechanics: Advantage Token, Card Play Conflict Resolution, Hand Management, Roles with Asymmetric Information, Turn Order: Role Order, Zone of Control

Players: 2

Ages: 13+

Playtime: 20–45 Min

The Mirroring of Mary King™ is a two-player game where one player takes on the role of Mary King, a mortal woman, while the other plays the ghost of her ancestor. Each player uses control and power cards to influence Mary King's psyche, represented by 12 tiles arranged in a 4 x 3 grid. These tiles shift between mortal and ghost control throughout the game. Over the course of five days, from Monday to Friday, each player takes one turn per day. After each turn, players suffer mental penalties based on the number and arrangement of psyche tiles controlled by their opponent. Victory is achieved if a player controls all 12 psyche tiles or if their opponent runs out of cards. If neither condition is met by Friday, the winner is determined by a scoring system that evaluates the remaining cards in each player's mind and their control over Mary's psyche. The game features a neoprene mat with glass bead markers and combines asymmetric card play with spatial puzzle elements and hand management.