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

Product Information

You, and only you, have mastered teleportation and are able to send the Hero Pawns hurtling through a vortex. When a Hero Pawn is placed on a Vortex Space you can move the Hero Pawn on to any other Vortex Space of the same colour. This is a crucially useful way of covering long distances with speed. After years of arduous research, you alone have unearthed the complexities of using escalators. When a Hero Pawn is placed either at the foot or peak of an Escalator Space then you may move the Hero Pawn up or down accordingly. I hope that covers the basics of the main actions going on within the game. We found they all nicely fit into the gameplay especially as we progressed. Real Time & Cooperative As time of play is around 15 minutes this makes it a time filler game that doesn’t require a lengthy commitment of time from players. This can be advantageous for groups just wanting to enjoy a few rounds of a short game with friends or family.

Play through the beginner scenario first. It allows you to talk and introduces you to the game mechanics. Magic Maze is primarily a family game with a recommended age of 8 years and up, and from 1 – 8 players can play. As mentioned in the set-up for Magic Maze, each player is given an Action Tile; each tile displays what actions that player can take. E.G: When I say you play, I mean you play all those characters. Because no matter how many players there are you will all control the four characters. Oh, and your control of them is limited to direction tiles. Magic Maze Kids is a cooperative game that makes the original mechanisms of Magic Maze accessible to young players. Everyone controls all of the heroes, but only in one direction! Tutorials gradually teach you the rules, and several levels make the game evolve with the children.

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. 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 SAME DIRECTION. You’ve learned to walk! Amazing. However, you only practised walking in one direction? You can only walk either up, down, left or right depending on the Action Tile in front of you. Each Player can move a Hero Pawn any number of spaces and at any time in their designated direction. Heroes cannot pass through walls or through each other. (Remember to keep the north arrow on each Action Tile aligned with the Mall’s Starting Tile) The game’s brilliance is delivered through one simple rule; You can’t talk or communicate in anyway other than using the “Do Something Pawn.” That means no hand gestures, eye gestures, or even farting in Morse code! 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.

All players need to be ready to take the next action and be constantly aware of the ever changing situation on the board to work together to progress as thieves within the shopping mall. The limited movement mechanic is used in a new way, with the addition of animals dotted around the board that must be shifted out of the way for characters to get past. The creatures are limited to a specific area of colour-coded squares but can otherwise be moved like the characters. On a map with two bridges, there’s also a troll who can be shifted between the bridges with the right direction.Once the sand timer is flipped, everyone will work simultaneously to move the characters around the mall, but no one can talk. The only way you can communicate is by placing (or tapping) the large pawn in front of the person who you think needs to take the next action. 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 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). It is recommended to start out by reading about the guards and anti stress tokens and the details of each expansion module.

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. If your group loves real-time games, you will probably have a blast with this one. If you like games that allow all players to have an equal say in how the team plays, then this is a good one to get. You’ll want to pass on this one if you don’t like real-time games or you try to avoid games that ratchet up the tension. The game is set in a fantasy world where you play the usual tropes of mage, warrior, elf and dwarf. They have somehow lost their weapons and equipment, so, obviously, they decide to rob the local mall. It’s not entirely hopeless though as you do have ways to replenish lost time and communicate in a more civilised manner. There are spaces on some tiles that allow you to flip over the sand timer. These are one time uses and should be used sparingly; only when necessary! The great thing about using them (other than getting more time that is) is that you are allowed to talk. You can talk until someone takes an action.This brings me on to my final point. Why would you get this if you have Magic Maze already? Well, you already know if you liked that or not. If you do, you will love this. No question, although the reduced modules will annoy you! But have fun making your own with the extra tiles. If you didn’t like it, then you will probably prefer this, but I wouldn’t wager enough to make you want it in your collection as well. But then, if this was the case, I would imagine you wouldn’t have got this far into the review! Time for one more ridiculous analogy 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. Real time, timed games can do this to people. Removing the ability to talk adds a lot of frustration for some people. The “Do Something” pawn is a horrible way to let these players release their tension. Make sure the Action Tiles are aligned using the Starting Mall Tile’s north arrow. It saves a tonne of confusion. 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.

I’m of the opinion that children will learn skills and knowledge from most modern board games. However, what Magic Maze Kids brings to the table, which most other games don’t, is the opportunity for children to improve teamwork, communication and co-operation. Having a very competitive four-year-old son, it brings a refreshing change of approach for him in the world of gaming! Accessibility and Replay-abilityPlace “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).