Mysterium is an annual gathering of fans of the Myst series of games made by CyanWorlds, Inc. The first Mysterium was planned by fans and Cyantists alike, and it was hosted by Cyan, Inc, at their headquarters in Spokane, WA. Since then, Mysterium has continued to be planned by fans and has moved around the United States, being held in a different location every year in order to allow easier access. The idea of Mysterium is for online friends  to be able to meet each other in person. 

The first Mysterium was begun by a very small group of fans who saw each other every night in Cyan Chat and wanted to meet in person, so they opted to congregate in Spokane, home of Cyan.  That day they simply hoped for a few minutes inside the Cyan building while they were  in town. Their plans were simply to meet at a hotel and spend the weekend visiting with each other.  Later they decided it would be nice to invite other fans of the Myst games.   It snowballed from there. 

Mysterium was based on  meeting internet friends.  Cyan made Mysterium far more than just a simple gathering of fans when they opened up their doors to Mysterium attendees, gave them a tour of the building, and gave varied demonstrations about different aspects of Myst and the related games. The attendees still gathered in the evenings and got to know each other personally. Some of the Cyantists appeared at the evening gatherings because they wanted to meet the fans on an informal basis. The evenings were what Mysterium was always about, and everything that Cyan did was a fantastic contribution that was well above and beyond what they ever could have expected. 

Mysterium 2000 was far more successful than anticipated.  In order to ease the workload on Cyan and make the conference easier to reach, it was decided to hold Mysterium 2001 somewhere else.

Those who had read the Myst books remembered the heavy references to vast caverns in the Myst storyline. It was decided to hold Mysterium at Carlsbad, New Mexico because of the famous cave system there and the variety of family-oriented activities in the area. Everyone could enjoy a tour of the caves, the exploration of the museums, and other attractions in Carlsbad. They could also wander off to Roswell, White Sands, or even Santa Fe . Those who had been to New Mexico remembered it as a wonderful excursion, well worth a second trip, and those who hadn't were virtually guaranteed to enjoy themselves, Myst fans or not. 

Due to the remote location, Mysterium 2001 was a much smaller gathering than 2000 had realised. Because of this, it was far more intimate, and it was a fantastic opportunity not only to view the caverns and surrounding attractions, but also to meet more closely with other fans. The group was more tighly knit, and there was more opportunity to get to know each other better. And of course, there were always the evenings of socializing at the hotel, because that's what Mysterium is really all about. I hope you'll attend the next one. :)