A few days ago my 3 munchkins were sat watching kids TV. All with bored miserable looks on their faces. Then came the advert for the new Labyrinth game from Ravensburger and as per usual, Ryan perked up and said “Mum can I have that for Christmas”. Well little did they know that mom already had it waiting for a rainy day and a spare hour to play. So down it instantly came and their faces a picture. Almost like mom had magically made the game come out of the television.
Race to find the treasure hidden in the maze with the Labyrinth Game. Set up the wall and treasure cards on the game board, and take it in turns to move through the Labyrinth. Navigate the twisting turns looking for the magical objects and treasures. The first person to collect all their treasures wins the game! As you progress through the Labyrinth, you can rotate sections of the maze to create new paths. It is up to you to strategically move the walls so you can collect your treasures and block the way for the other players. This a-maze-ing game is great for two to four players aged eight and up. Average play time is 45 minutes. Includes: Game board 34 x Maze cards 24 x Treasure cards 4 x Playing pieces
Labyrinth seems to combine a board game with elements of fantasy. Scattered across the board are images of treasure and all sorts if strange creatures and beings just waiting to be found.
Inside the box to begin with is a basic board which does not look like much at all.
Two sets if cards are supplied. First the maze cards which are used to build the board maze up. They fit inbetween the pre fitted squares to make a bigger twisted maze. The best way to place the maze cards is to give them a good shuffle, keep them face down and randomly place them anywhere. It does not matter if the pathways don’t connect as that’s half the fun of this game. On e the maze is completed there should always be one maze card remaining which is used to play the game. It’s therefore important not to lose any of these cards.
Next comes the treasure cards and 24 in total. Each one will have a mythical image on which can also be found somewhere on the maze board. These cards are to be dealt out to all the players face down. As there were only 3 of us playing and my children are quite young and new to the game, we started by just dealing out 4 cards each to get us used to it and gradually getting more and more cards the more we play.
Labyrinth has no dice and no shaker. Players play with their wizard playing pieces which stay on the board and the one remaining maze piece. On each turn the player will look at one of their treasure cards and attempt to find a pathway to the matching treasure image on the board. Obviously the paths aren’t all connected and players will hit dead ends multiple times. This is where the game gets fun and a little twist. Using the spare maze piece the player can move the maze by pushing the piece onto one of the arrows located all around the board and thus pushing a whole line of maze pieces to the other end of the board. This then results in a new maze piece falling off the other end and this piece is then passed to the next player to have their turn. Once the maze is moved, new pathways are created making it either easier or more difficult for players to reach their goal.
For the younger players there is a set of rules to make it slightly easier. Younger ones can look at all their treasure cards straight away and decide which one they want to aim for whereas older players can only take the top card and must get the treasure before playing another one.
Once the treasure spot is reached the player keeps their card face up and attempts and second one and so on. The winner being the player to get all the treasure and make it back to their starting space first.
It’s enjoyable for a rainy day and my kids seem to enjoy playing it. It does not take too long to complete and can be frustrating as the paths constantly change but lots of fun and very different to the standard board games out there. It involves strategy and a lot of thinking to work out the best route through.
The maze cards to tend to move about a little too much when moving the paths so we have to try to move them as gentle as possible. It can be a bit fiddle and definatly best played on a smooth flat surface rather than a carpet.
Labyrinth will beable to buy in many good toy stores and also here on Amazon for £14.99. See more information over at Ravensburger
