LogFAQs > #967977778

13. Magic Maze

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/209778/magic-maze

Category: Cooperative
Key mechanics: Real-time, limited communication, map exploration
Rules complexity (0 to 7): 2
Game length: 5-10 minutes
First played: 2018
Experience: 30+ plays of 10+ scenarios with 2-5+ players

In Magic Maze, each player helps to control a party of four consisting of an elf, a dwarf, a barbarian, and a mage - represented by pawns - in a complex shopping mall. Each queste must discover their weapon, exploring the map by sending the appropriate quester to a respective edge of a tile, and then, once all weapons are secured, to send the questers each to their special exits.

The main catch is that you don't control just one pawn - you control all pawns, but you only get to move any pawn in one of the cardinal directions, and only one player gets to perform each special function such as exploring or going up escalators. Talking can only happen during special breaks, though you can shake a pawn to get someone's attention. Different scenarios slightly alter the rules and add further complexity or tiles.

Very few games can be as silently infuriating as Magic Maze. The game is deceptively difficult to play given how insanely simple each rule is. The game is visually noisy to the point that even without the pressure of a timer or playing without communicating, it's actually pretty difficult to decipher at times, giving a "Where's Waldo?" type of effect. And that red "ATTENTION" marker can be used hilariously passive-aggressively.

The game also very deliberately plays against natural player/human instincts. It feels really natural to want to control "your" character, but no matter where you're sitting, you're actually responsible for all of the characters. Because each revealed square mall tile contains so many walls, you may see a path for a pawn to go - but you're depending on other players to move that pawn like three times just to traverse half a tile! And sometimes you can get so fixated on what's going on with one pawn you forget about another, or you're so mesmerized by two players being in sync you forget that it's your responsibility to continue the motion. Or the ATTENTION marker gets thrown in your face and you have to frantically check all of the pawns to see which one you have to move... or if you're responsible for resetting the timer so you don't get a game over.

While 4p is the "canonical" MM experience, this is certainly one of those games that will be easier with 2p, and can arguably be as fun or more fun. As I said, there is a large component of unintuitiveness in Magic Maze's controls. But of course, when you touch the pawns often enough and your mind actually locks in... it's pretty amazing. And because it's easier to enter that zone with 2p, a lot of my most fun/least frustrating experiences have come at that count.