Game Objective: The Great Magic Maze Heist!

Prepare for a cooperative, adrenaline-fueled adventure! In Magic Maze, you and your friends are a group of stripped-down heroes (a wizard, a barbarian, an elf, and a dwarf) who need to rob the local mall to reclaim your equipment. The objective is simple but challenging: all Hero pawns must steal an item (of their color, of course!) and escape the mall before the sand timer runs out.

If the sand in the sand timer runs out, it's game over for everyone! The mall security will have caught you. But if all heroes manage to get their items and escape, victory is yours!

Preparation (Setup): Setting the Scene for the Heist

Let's set up the table for the big escape! Follow these steps to begin your journey in Magic Maze:

1. Choose Your Scenario: Start with the initial campaign scenarios (1-7) to learn the rules gradually. The chosen scenario will indicate how to prepare the deck of mall tiles.
2. Starting Tile: Place the Starting Tile (Tile 1) in the center of the table, with side A facing up if you are new.
3. Heroes Ready: Position the 4 Hero pawns (yellow/barbarian, orange/dwarf, green/elf, purple/wizard) randomly on the 4 central spaces of the Starting Tile. If you wish, attach the stickers to the pawns to facilitate identification by symbol.
4. Support Tokens: Set aside the Robbery token (side A up) and the Out of Service tokens, ready to be used.
5. Actions Distributed: Take the Action tokens corresponding to the number of players (the number in the bottom right corner of the token). Give one Action token to each player.
6. Action Orientation: Place your Action token in front of you, visible to everyone, with the North arrow pointing in the same direction as the Starting Tile. Maintain this orientation throughout the game!
7. The "Do Something!" Pawn: Leave the "Do Something!" pawn in an accessible location for everyone.
8. Sand Timer and Silence: You can talk and plan freely during preparation. But as soon as everyone is ready, flip the sand timer! From that moment on, silence is crucial. No communication is allowed, except at specific times.

Setup Tip: If the table is cramped, play standing up! This way, everyone can reach the pawns and Action tokens.

The Game Turn: The Race Against Time

In Magic Maze, there are no traditional "turns." It's a real-time game! You act at any moment you perceive your action can be useful. Cooperation is essential, but communication is severely restricted. Here's how the game unfolds:

Available Actions (and Who Can Do Them)

Each player has an Action token that describes what they can do. You can perform the action(s) on your token as many times as you want, whenever you deem it appropriate. You cannot perform actions that are not on your token.

• Move: Allows you to move a Hero pawn as many spaces as you want in the direction indicated by the arrow on your token. Movement must end before hitting an obstacle (wall, another hero). Two pawns can never occupy the same space. Heroes only move in corridor spaces.
• Explore: If you have the Explore action, you are responsible for adding new mall tiles to the board. This can only be done when a Hero pawn is on an Exploration space of its own color, leading to an unexplored area.
  • The player with the Explore action reveals the top tile from the deck and places it so that the white arrow continues from the used Exploration space.
  • If multiple Hero pawns are in their respective Exploration spaces, the player with the Explore action draws a tile, observes it, and chooses in front of which Hero to place it. Only one tile is revealed and allocated at a time.
  • Once a passage is explored, any Hero pawn can move through it, in any direction.
• Use Escalator: Allows you to move a Hero pawn from one side of the escalator to the other, regardless of the escalator's direction. A pawn can never stop on an escalator.
• Use a Vortex: Allows you to move any Hero pawn from wherever it is to any Vortex space of its color. It's a quick way to travel long distances.

The Game Sequence

The game follows this general sequence, in real-time:

1. Explore the Mall: Heroes move to explore new areas, revealing mall tiles and expanding the map.
2. Grab the Items: Move each Hero pawn to the Item space of its color.
3. The Alarm is Activated! (The Robbery): When all four Hero pawns are simultaneously in their respective Item spaces, any player can activate the robbery by flipping the Robbery token to side B.
   • Important: After the robbery, the Vortex systems are deactivated! The "Use a Vortex" action can no longer be used.
   • If you leave the mall without flipping the Robbery token, you lose the game!
4. The Escape: The four Hero pawns must now reach the exits quickly, before the sand timer runs out.
5. Victory! When a Hero pawn reaches an Exit space it can use, it is removed from the board. Victory is achieved when all Hero pawns have exited the board.

Time and Communication Restrictions

• Sand Timer: If the sand in the sand timer runs out, everyone loses!
• Sand Timer Spaces: When moving a Hero pawn to an available Sand Timer space, you must immediately flip the sand timer, gaining more time. Each Sand Timer space can only be used once; after use, place an Out of Service token on it.
• Restricted Communication: For most of the game, communication is prohibited (no talking, pointing, gesturing, or making sounds). The only allowed forms are:
  • Aggressively staring at another player.
  • Picking up the "Do Something!" pawn and placing it in front of a player to indicate they should act. This player may disagree and pass the pawn to another.
• Discussion Moment: Every time the sand timer is flipped, players can talk freely for as long as they deem necessary, while the sand continues to run. No actions can be performed during this period. As soon as any player performs an action, communications must cease again.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends in two ways:

• Victory: All players win if all Hero pawns manage to steal their items and exit the mall before the sand timer runs out.
• Defeat: All players lose if the sand in the sand timer runs out at any point during the game.

There is no individual scoring system. In Magic Maze, you win or lose together!

Tips for Winning: The Secret of Coordinated Silence

Magic Maze is a challenge of coordination and observation. Here are some tips to help your group succeed:

• Focus on the Sand Timer: The sand timer is your enemy and your ally. Keep a constant eye on it and don't hesitate to move a hero to a Sand Timer space to flip it, even if it means deviating a bit from the main path. Time is everything!
• Observe and Anticipate: Since communication is limited, it's crucial to observe the board and other players' Action tokens. Try to anticipate your colleagues' movements and needs. If a hero needs to move north and you have the "Move North" action, be ready to act at the right moment.
• Use the "Do Something!" Wisely: The "Do Something!" pawn is your main non-verbal communication tool. Use it to draw the attention of a player who needs to act, but do so clearly and decisively. Remember that the player can pass the pawn to another, so the message must be evident.