Sit Down, Magic Maze, Strategy Card Game, Ages 8+, 1-8 Players, 15+ Minutes Playing Time

Product Information

The rulebook contains tutorials which serve to teach the rules in a gradual way. It’s a clever way of helping children to understand the rules but it also means everyone can start playing sooner rather than later. This is a basic overview of some of the actions that should give you a good idea of what’s happening during a game. Place "Tile One" in the middle of the table. (1A side up is easy for beginners and 1B is for those who’ve played a game or two - Feel free to choose whichever). The real time mechanic mentioned earlier here works so well with the game. You’re all playing simultaneously and when you mix that with a timer and very minimal communication it can go pretty nuts. Intense staring at a player to invoke them to make a move is easier said than done, although you can use the do something big red pawn to give them a nudge. Like Magic Maze, Magic Maze on Mars has a “Do Something!” pawn. Essentially, this is a way to tell another player that there is something they should do. Pretty much, every game I have played, and I have played both games a lot, one player will slam this pawn down in front of another player, banging it repeatedly on the table. Now, there are multiple issues here! First, it’s very annoying, rude and “don’t scratch my table dude!” Second, the person on the end of the banging won’t know what you want them to do, just that something is required by one other player.

The scenarios are various aspects and rules of the game that are introduced. You will choose from the 17 available scenarios if they are applicable. This does add some variety and increases the difficulty level of the game after scenario 7. Actions I like that the game slowly teaches how everything works as you play through those early scenarios. Th rules are pretty basic in the early scenarios, but the game gets more interesting as you progress. Co-operative games can be a true joy but can also suffer from the problem of ‘alpha gamer’. That is where one more experienced gamer takes over and basically takes everyone's turns for them. Magic Maze is a co-op game that effectively neutralises this by having everyone play in really time and not allowing them to talk! Magic Maze truly is a unique experience, easy to play and incredibly addictive. After a few games you’ll be hooked to stealing swords, bows, wizard’s spells and Dwarf’s hammers; just don’t take this new-found love into real life.

Two aspects of Magic Maze that makes it what it is are the communication and time restrictions (during most parts of the game and having to play against a timer). Both of these aspects make it tense and it’s so hard not to break the communication rule as you’ll just want to tell another player what they need to do that will progress the game. Scenarios However, this does allow for some creativity and innovation. You may lightly place the pawn when you need someone to get to something but not necessarily immediately. Maybe you place the piece with a bit of force if you want them to do something they should have done 30 seconds ago. And maybe you rapidly bang the table as a last ditch effort to get them to earn us more time. Magic Maze was quite an extraordinary cooperative game that brought a lot of unexpected fun to the tabletop. The designer pulled off a great fast paced game here for the right crowd of players. Magic Maze is primarily a family game with a recommended age of 8 years and up, and from 1 – 8 players can play.

The fastpaced interaction between players while progressing through harder scenarios keeps players wanting to restart the next level of the game which gives it some points in the replayability department as well as player engagement. This expansion brings the mall guards to life, and you are able to customise your gaming experience by combining different modules. ‘Helpers’ that decrease the difficulty, and ‘challenges’ which increase the difficulty. Magic Maze had 17 scenarios in the box. It’s a great way to introduce the rules to new players and learn the game. It also adds a narrative story to the game in a campaign style that really was what intrigued me. Magic Maze has just five modules. This initially disappointed me. But there are plenty of other tiles in the box to create your own maps and mission. So, there is still a lot of replayability and more creativity with that. Creating your own missions is great fun! Co-op tension Oh, did I forget to mention that part? That’s right, you can’t talk. You do however receive a large red wooden pawn called the “Do Something” pawn. This is a fantastic tool for ruining relationships, frustrating your wife, or for looking like a fool. You can’t do anything else to communicate other than place this pawn in front of another player. Magic Maze was designed by Kasper Lapp and is punished by Dude Games. It was nominated for the 2017 Spiel des Jahres.

Same rules apply; the only difference is the setting up the Action Tiles. Shuffle the seven Action Tiles used for one-player games (number in bottom right corner) and place them face-down, ensuring the North Arrow on each is aligned with the Starting Maze Tile. Repeatedly banging the “Do Something Pawn” on the table in front of your friend is more distracting than useful. A simple placing of the pawn is enough to get them thinking. I usually don’t like when sand timers are used in games (see our Spaceteam review), but it is definitely necessary in this one and can’t be replaced by a digital timer. In fact, part of the fun of the game is keeping your eye on the timer so you can get as much time to talk as you can before continuing. Hand these to each player. The numbers in the bottom right corner of each Action Tile correspond to how many people are playing the game (for instance in a four-player game each player gets exactly one Action Tile, these are labelled 3.4.5.6.7.8.). Each player then places their Action Tile in front of them, ensuring everyone can see it and that the North Arrow is facing in the same direction as the North Arrow on the Starting Tile. MAKE SURE THEY STAY FACING THE SA