Labyrinth 1986 and Other Versions
By Asutosh Mishra
There are various versions of this game that exist in the market right now, but I am going to talk only about unique versions of this game and not all the versions because every non unique versions is same, with just characters changed according to the movie, series, anime or cartoon it's based on.
Box Art Analysis
In the very first box art, we can see that it's a pure 80s design and art, as in that time in Western countries, fantasy world was in trend among the children. Fantasy world includes dragons , castles , fairies , wizards, etc. A very popular game that magnified this experience was Dungeons & Dragons, also known as DnD. It was popular with kids and adults both of them. So this is a direct representation of the same style, with an abandoned castle in the windows in which we can see glimpses of the game also, we can see a happy family from the 80s enjoying the game.
In later versions, it was standardised to a fixed design style which is faithful to the game itself. We can see that it's a maze in which there are various rare mythological characters like a fairy, a dragon, a ghost out of a vase, treasure, a ghost, a skull, a bat and many more. This maze moves and changes every step, so getting lost is quite easy here, and we have to find these things and objects the fastest before our opponents. The one to find their treasure first escapes the maze with the items he collected. It's a moving maze and treasure hunt race game.
Unique Game Variations
Star Wars Version
This variant is different because of this Death Star…every character you have to rescue, if it has a symbol of the Galactic Empire, then that character can only be picked up by the Death Star and not normal spaceships. The main fun happens when multiple opponents have the Galactic Empire card symbols then one person tries to move the Death Star to their target, and the other opponent tries to move the Death Star to their target. It becomes a messy game, and it may also happen that no one can reach their target due to constant tug-of-war of the Death Star inside the space maze.
3D Labyrinth Version
This version is unique because it adds another dimension to the game, the third dimension, it adds layers. This time the pieces are not cardboard but solid plastic.
Chronicles Version
This version is very complicated to explain in short, but as you can see, it is 3D, but it does not have layers, only 3d walls and teleporting doors. It has specific game mechanics used in many strategic board games, so what I will do is include a video related to this at the end.
Glow in the Dark Version
So this one is simple, as it has the glow in the dark element to it, but other than that it's completely the same as the original one.
This Game’s Commercial
These commercials are very faithful to the concept of the game, this is how exactly feel while playing this race in the maze to escape game.
The Game Setup
The setup is simple, you just have to lay out the tiles in random order and then distribute the number of cards you want to play with and wallah, you are ready to play.
How to Play Rules
The game board has a set of tiles fixed solidly onto it; the remaining tiles that make up the labyrinth slide in and out of the rows created by the tiles that are locked in place. One tile always remains outside the labyrinth, and players take turns taking this extra tile and sliding it into a row of the labyrinth, moving all those tiles and pushing one out the other side of the board, this newly removed tile becomes the piece for the next player to add to the maze.
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Players move around the shifting paths of the labyrinth in a race to collect various treasures. Whoever collects all of their treasures first and returns to their home space wins!
Labyrinth is simple at first glance and an excellent puzzle-solving game for children; it can also be played by adults using more strategy and more of a cutthroat approach.
