The Magic Labyrinth
WE PLAY 2 LEARN
Game Ratings
FAMILY
7
YOUNG KIDS
5
OLDER KIDS
7
ADULTS
7
Overview
| Players | Playing Time | Best Age | Educational |
| 2 - 4 | 10-20 minutes | 8 - Adult | Memory Spatial Perception |
| Skill | Luck | Strategy | Social | Game Type | Play Style |
| 85% | 15% | 70% | 30% | Board | Competitive |
The Magic Labyrinth is one of the most original games we've played. It uses an incredibly clever design to simulate a maze with invisible
walls. The magic behind this design is shown in our photos below. Each player's figure contains a magnet that holds a metal ball to the bottom
of the playing board. Beneath the playing board are wooden walls that will dislodge the ball if a player passes over the wall ("through an
invisible wall"). The result is gameplay that does feel a little like magic.
This is a game that will exercise every player's short term memory. Trying to remember the location of all the ways as you move back and forth
across the board is a great challenge. Due to this, very young players will likely struggle with The Magic Labyrinth so kids younger than six can
find it frustrating. However, kids even as young as 8 will be able to compete with and beat adults. And have a lot of fun doing it.
How to Play
Official Rules
The official rules are available here. The rules are well explained, including helpful illustrations.
Enhanced Rules
This game can be more fun when played with a minor rule change. You can see our suggested rule change in our Custom Rules section.
Fast Facts
How many players?
- Playable with 2-4
- Best with 3-4
What ages can play?
- Playable for ages 6 to Adult
- Best for ages 8 to Adult
This game is very memory intensive so young kids will have a difficult time playing it.
Can different skill levels or ages play together?
Those with better short term memory skills will have an advantage in this game. However, we have found that even some kids as young as six will remember the wall locations well enough to compete with adults and even beat them.
How long does it take to play?
10 - 20 minutes
Will we get bored after playing it a few times or does the game have good replayability?
This game has a lot of replay value. The underlying maze in this board can be easily customized using the extra walls provided or by simply moving walls around. However, we still have not moved or added any walls because it hasn't been necessary. It's difficult enough to remember the wall locations that rotating the the base (including walls) and then the board separately has been more than enough to change things up.
Setup/Cleanup
How much work is it?
Low. We do not disassemble the walls between games so it plays right out of the box.
Would kids be able to do it on their own?
Yes. The rules of this game are extremely simple and there is no scoring other than counting
your tokens at the end.
Will parents have fun too...
...when playing with the kids?
Yes, this will be just as much of a challenge for parents as kids.
...without the kids?
Yes. This presents a nice challenge for adults as well.
Educational Value
What skills will this game help develop?
Memory
Short term memory is the key to this game. Players must remember the location of as many hidden walls as
possible to navigate through this maze.
Spatial Perception
As players learn the location of walls, they will begin to develop a mental map to move around
the board.
But will my kids actually have fun playing it?
Yes, as long as they have the patience to keep trying once they have run into the walls a few times and must go back to the start.
Custom Rules
Speed up game pace and increase fun, especially for younger kids
Use two magic symbol chips instead of one.
The official rules have all player racing to a magic symbol somewhere on the board. The symbol players will race to
is picked by drawing a chip randomly from an included cloth bag. Once that symbol is collected by a player, a new one is drawn and players race to this next one. It can be frustrating,
especially for younger players, when the symbols are frequently far across the board from their starting position. So we like to always have two symbols in play that can be collected.
This always helps speed up gameplay, which can be helpful with younger players or when a shorter game is wanted.
Do you use custom rules we haven't thought of? If you have found some other ways to customize the rules, please share them with us through our Contact page. We're always interested in new ways to improve gameplay.
Where to Buy
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