As a popular board game that is adaptable into many different beloved series, it is no surprise to see new versions of Ravensburger’s board game Labyrinth. Celebrating the launch of the Super Mario Bros Movie, they pushed out their Super Mario Labyrinth edition. This is a game that can’t even truly be mastered, is easy to learn, and can be played with 2-4 players while being equally entertaining. If you haven’t played Labyrinth yet, let’s dive into what it’s all about.

Gameplay

The setup for the game is simple. You pull out the board, place every square available on the board with only one remaining off the board, and shuffle the cards. Each player grabs their first card, revealing their first character that needs to be saved from the Labyrinth. The final step is to pick your color between Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green - this will mark your starting spot.

To play the game, whoever’s turn it is will slide the one remaining tile into the Labyrinth from any of the lines with a blue arrow. This gives a total of 9 pathways they can slide the tile piece into. This will cause that whole row of tiles to shift down, pushing out the next tile for the next player to place, and changing the layout of the Labyrinth. Each player can move as far as they want, as long as their pathway doesn’t reach a dead end.

The goal is to reach the character that is on your face-up card. Whichever player rescues the most characters, wins. If the game reaches a point where both players are on their last character, the first one to reach their final character is the winner. And keep in mind, just because someone might have a lead in the early game doesn’t mean they can’t get jammed up for others to catch up!

There is an element of luck and an element of strategy as the game changes with every passing turn. The more players there are, the more changes will take place within the Labyrinth before it comes back around to your turn. Be ready to plan your routes and watch them get messed up by others as you all attempt to achieve the same goal!

Artwork

They did a great job making the artwork of the entire game match the theme! Down to the minor details of having brick surrounding the path, given how big a role brick plays in the Mario games, it really makes sense. The character artwork seems to be taken from the more modern titles in the series, keeping the game as up-to-date as the series itself is.

Replayability

Since the game is able to be completely randomized every time and even utilizes randomization in the gameplay, this game has a ton of replayability! This is a board game you can pull out at little get-togethers and housewarming parties so friends can play a quick game or two together. It’s simple enough to understand in moments.

What It Could Have Done Better

When it comes to actually sliding the tiles, there are often times when they get a little jammed up. I’m not sure what they can do about it since both vertical and horizontal pathways slide, which is what causes them to get stuck on the pieces of the board that don’t move. But it was just an annoyance to deal with more than once every game.

Not sure this is a complaint, but perhaps a suggestion. I was hopeful to see some Retro Mario characters in the game, but they were all modernized versions. Perhaps we will see a Retro series from them in the future?

Verdict

Labyrinth is a wonderful little board game that is great in all forms it launches in! It is such a simple concept that is a lot of fun with only 2 players or the full game of 4 players. With simple instructions, easy setup, and an overall compact build, it doesn’t even take up much room on the table which is great when you are sharing snacks with your guests. Super Mario Labyrinth was a wonderful way to bring this game to the attention of gamers and collectors everywhere. I definitely recommend this board game in any form or theme that catches your interest the most!

Super Mario Labyrinth is available now on Amazon.

Quick surprise announcement for Disney fans - Ravensburger has recently released the Disney100 Labyrinth which is a celebration of 100 years of Disney! This version of the classic Labyrinth board game is full of Disney characters and references that will dazzle and delight Disney fans of all ages!

Disney100 Labyrinth is available now on Amazon.