Maze of the Minotaur
Long ago in the age of the Greeks tales of the great beast called the Minotaur instilled fear in the hearts of men. Imprisoned in a great labyrinth of rooms and tunnels, the Minotaur forever waited for its next round of tributes. Citizens were cast into the maze as offerings to the beast to keep it placated. There was slim chance of escape for these sacrifices, and if they failed to, it was certain they would never be seen again.
Maze of the Minotaur is a competitive explore and escape game. You begin the game in the center of the maze. Your goal is to find the exit of the maze in one of the four corners, and escape, before time runs out. The winner is the player who survived the maze, and escapes with the most victory points, before time runs out. Maze of the Minotaur features a modular tile board, unique player powers, and the ability to scale the level of competition in the game, making it an excellent choice for families and strategic gamers alike.
Set Up
Separate the decks of cards:
Fate Cards
Item Cards & Wound Cards
Laurel Cards
Place the decks in reach of all players.
Take the deck of Floor Tiles and place the Start Tile in the center of the play area. Remove the Stair Tile from the deck. Build out a 5 x 5 grid with the Floor Tiles face down, with the Start Tile in the center, leaving the corners empty for now.
Shuffle the Stair Tile with 3 other Floor Tiles and place one face down in each corner of the Maze.
Choose one of the 8 Citizens to play. Take their Character Mat, and 9 Tokens. Place Tokens on the circles for your Life & Luck points. The last Token will be for recording leaves (currency) you collect in the maze.
Place the Countdown Timer near the maze, and put a Token near it. The timer will start counting down once the Stairs Tile is revealed.
Object of the Game
Explore the Maze, moving toward the corners to reveal the Stair Tile, and exit to freedom. Along the way you will collect Items (Key, Shield, Sword, Torch) and Leaves to spend on upgrades, and bonuses. Beware the Minotaur, if it moves through your current Tile, you will be forfeit a Life point.
Game Play
On a turn all players (starting with the first player for the turn) will have the option to move to an adjacent Floor Tile. If the tile is face down, reveal it and place it according the the placement rules to build the maze. If you move into an area with a Leaf, record it on your Character Mat.
After all players have moved, the First Player draws Fate Cards from the deck. They will draw a number of cards equal to the number of players, plus one extra card. The first player chooses one of the available cards to play, and plays it immediately. The remaining cards are passed to the player to their left. That player chooses a card to play, and this continues until the first player receives the last card, and must play that card as well.
Fate Cards may provide Items or Victory Points, the Favor or Anger of a God, or cause the Minotaur to move around the Maze.
The First Player Marker passes to the left, and a new turn begins.
End of the Game
Once the Stair Tile is revealed, players will have 10 turns to make it to the Exit and leave the maze. If you are not out by the end of the last turn, your character is trapped, and you will not have a chance to win. The winner is the escaping player with the most Victory Points collected from Items, Laurel Cards, and remaining Life & Luck points.
SPECS
Conceived 2013
Competitive Play
3-8 Players
12 and older
Self Published / Available for Purchase