Gamehelpmagicmazesitdown

Overview

Magic Maze is a real-time cooperative game: all players act at the same time on a single shared board, and everyone wins or loses together. You control four fantasy heroes robbing a shopping mall:

• Elf (green)
• Dwarf (orange)
• Barbarian (yellow)
• Mage (purple)

Goal: explore the mall, find and steal the four items, then flee through the exits — all before the sand timer runs out.

Your Action Tile / abilities

Each player receives an Action tile showing a subset of these abilities. The exact letters depend on the player count (with fewer players you hold more of them):

• N / E / S / W — move any hero one space in that compass direction.
• H (Search) — a hero standing on its own coloured search space explores, adding

the next tile to the mall.

• P (Vortex) — send the hero matching a vortex's colour to that vortex space.
• R (Escalator) — ride an escalator.

Passing Action tiles. Each time the sand timer is flipped, pass your Action tile to the player on your left, so the ability letters rotate around the table. (On a turn-based table there is no running timer; triggering a Sand Timer space rotates the Action tiles instead.)

Core rules

Moving. Move heroes one space at a time; two pawns may never share a space. You may chain moves ("keep moving") in one direction.

Exploring. When a hero stands on its own coloured search space, the party may place the next tile from the deck, extending the mall. Only search spaces on the edge of the mall let you grow it.

Stealing. When all four heroes are standing on their own item (one item per colour), the items are stolen and the game enters the Escape phase.

Escaping. Each hero must now reach its own coloured exit. When a hero reaches its exit it escapes. The party wins once all four heroes have escaped.

The sand timer. The timer starts when a player performs the first action. Moving a hero onto a Sand Timer space flips the timer (the remaining time becomes the elapsed time — you may gain or lose time), and each Sand Timer space can be used only once.

Communication restriction. You may not talk, point, or signal — only stare intensely at another player, or place the "Do Something!" pawn in front of them. Whenever the sand timer is flipped, everyone may speak until the next action is performed. Staring and the "Do Something!" pawn may be used by any player at any time; the pawn is passed from player to player to prompt someone to act.

Vortexes and escalators let heroes cross the mall quickly, but vortexes are colour-specific and escalators are one-way links.

Player counts

1–8 players in the standard game. Fewer players hold more abilities; nobody ever controls every ability, so the table always depends on cooperation. Scenario 9 allows up to 9 players.

Scenario rules (the campaign)

Each scenario adds a rule to the base game. Scenarios 1–7 form the introductory campaign (each keeps all previous permanent rules); scenarios 8–17 are advanced challenges.

1. Discovery

The introductory scenario. The mall has a single shared exit (purple) that every hero must use. You may talk freely the whole game. Escaped heroes are removed from the board so they do not block the shared exit.

2. Several Exits

Exits now come in four colours. Each hero must escape through the exit of its own colour. No free talking.

3. Pass your Action tile

Every time the sand timer is flipped, pass your Action tile to the player on your left — your abilities move around the table.

4. Dwarf & Elf special abilities

The Dwarf is the only hero who can pass through the small orange rubble walls. When the Elf explores a new tile, all players may talk (as if the timer had flipped) until the next action.

5. Mage special ability

The Mage can use a Crystal Ball search space to explore, adding two extra tiles for free (any colour), then the Crystal Ball is used up. The starting tile switches to side 1b.

6. Barbarian special ability

Security Cameras appear. While 2 or more cameras are active, nobody may use Sand Timer spaces. The Barbarian switches a camera off by moving onto it.

7. Maximum Surveillance

The same mission but with four Security Cameras: keep at most one active, or the Sand Timer spaces are locked.

8. Divination

The mall tile deck is played face up, so everyone can always see the next tile that will be added. [BGA note: the upcoming tile is shown in the HUD card.]

9. Follow the leader!

Requires 3 or more players (up to 9). Play with the Action tiles for one player fewer: one player receives no Action tile and can only use the "Do Something!" pawn — they are the only player allowed to use it.

10. Trick the Guards

To fool the guards, heroes must steal an item that is not their own, then escape through an exit that is not their colour. Each exit may be used by only one hero, so escaped heroes remain on their exits and block them.

11. Rearrangement mode

The walls never stop moving. Before the items are stolen, every time the sand timer is flipped you must discard two already-placed tiles (they cannot contain a hero and cannot be the starting tile; the mall must still be traversable without Vortexes). Discarded tiles go under the deck. If two tiles cannot be removed, you lose.

12. Gestures only

When talking is allowed, you may only use gestures — never words. [BGA note: this is a communication rule; the platform cannot enforce it.]

13. Multidimensional mall

The mall exists on two planes. Orange and green start on one dimension, yellow and purple on the other; the two can never be connected by exploring. The four heroes can never all be in one dimension at the same time, and heroes cross dimensions only with the Use a Vortex action (colour to colour). The deck is face up, and the Vortex system shuts down after the theft.

14. No communication

No communication at all, ever — you may only stare intensely and use the "Do Something!" pawn. [BGA note: the platform provides staring and the pawn, but cannot enforce silence.]

15. You have beautiful eyes

Combine "No communication" with the removal of the "Do Something!" pawn — only intense staring remains. [BGA note: the pawn is disabled; the no-talking part is not platform-enforced.]

16. Vortex out of service

The entire Vortex system is offline for the whole game: you can never use the Use a Vortex action.

17. Groups forbidden

The guards distrust crowds: no two heroes may ever share a Mall tile (the starting tile is exempt). Additionally, escaped heroes are not removed — they stay on their exits and keep blocking them.

Winning and losing

You win when all four heroes have escaped the mall. You lose if the sand timer runs out before then (and in Scenario 11, if a required rearrangement is impossible).