Mystery Date board game

by Christian

(Pennsauken)

Game:
Mystery Date
Board game manufacturer:
Hasbro
Number of players:
2-4

Quick verdict

Here’s a game that’s almost as old as me which they still manufacture today and that scares me some nights. Mystery Date is by far not as complicated but just as silly as it sounds. I really believe this game was a product of a 1950s era of board game and family situations. I can’t see what time has added to this game, unless it comes with a birth control accessory?

The game

This game consists of a board with an electronic door in the center with four sides. Depending on the door knob, a different guy will appear. A number of cards come with the board game which are what the player is supposed to gather.

Four cards are needed to correspond with the ‘mystery’ date behind each door. The squares which a player moves on the board dictate their actions for that turn.

Mystery Date board game is rather rudimentary, with the only selling point being one of the more earlier unique electronic board games from Milton Bradley.

So the objective is to score the big date with your mystery dream boat. Right.Gameplay

Players try to collect a set of four cards. Each set of four cards corresponds to one of the ‘dates’ hidden behind the door. Apart from the infamous ‘dud’; I mean come on, there‘s always a loser in every game, like all the girls are going end up with their dream date?

Gameplay in Mystery Date board game is determined by the instructions on the square a particular player lands on. Cards may be taken from the draw or discard pile, or from other players. When a player holds a correct set of four cards and lands on an ‘open door’ square the door is opened, revealing the date.

BUT, if the cards do not correspond to the date, the player’s turn ends but their set of cards are retained. If the ‘dud’ date is revealed, all cards held by the player are lost and replaced with a fresh set from the draw pile.

If the correct date appears when the door is opened, the game is over and the player opening the door wins the game.

Pros and cons

I feel my mother in the back of my mind yelling at me, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all!” In all honesty, I can’t find a saving grace for Mystery Date board game. I’m trying here. Really I am.

Let’s see here, the game tells girls at a young age that it’s okay to run out and date. In a way (and only in a way I can perceive it) the game tells young girls it’s okay to run off with a stranger.

And I know what you’re thinking, “Christian, how can you say that? It’s just a game!” But even in my youth I’ve become influenced by the games I played as a child.

I find Mystery Date to be sexist and to speak down to the youth of today. I don’t know a single boy who will play this game: I only did as a youth to get with my neighbor.

The verdict

I seriously think I would have to give Mystery Date board game a single footprint. Just one footprint. If I was confident enough, I’d say it deserves a half a foot, but I’m being nice today.