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After a wild heist in Magic Maze, our heroes are locked up in a tower nearly 100 floors high, packed with devious traps and clever puzzles. Now, it’s up to you and your team to help them escape!
👥 1-4 players, ages 9+
⌛ Playing time: 20-40 minutes
📝 Designer: Kasper Lapp
🎨 Artwork: Gyom & Anthony Moulins
🏢 Publisher: Sit Down! (review copy provided)
Gameplay Overview
In Magic Maze Tower, you’ll work together with your team to guide the heroes to freedom, one floor at a time. The twist? Each player holds arrow tiles that allow movement in a specific direction, and that’s the only way you can move the pawns—no free-roaming here! When playing with three players, one extra arrow tile is available to everyone, which gives a bit of shared control.
Your journey starts with six tutorial floors, which gradually introduce the game’s mechanics. The first two tutorials explain basic elements like armory spaces, ladders, doors, keys, and exits. Then, the next four tutorials show off the unique movement abilities of each hero. For example, some heroes can slip through small gaps, leap over pawns, toss teammates across traps, swap positions, or even teleport.
Once you’re comfortable with the tutorials, it’s time for the real thing! Each adventure has two stages: the Trial phase and the Epic phase. In the Trial phase, you’ll complete four to eight quest cards, using everything you learned in the tutorials to solve them. Once all quests are done, you’ll flip the cards over to reveal the Epic puzzle. This final challenge has special rotation and slide spaces that let you turn and shift the cards to create new paths, essential for guiding each hero to their exit.
Sounds straightforward, right? Not so fast! Here’s the real challenge: in Magic Maze Tower, communication is mostly off-limits. In the beginner levels, you can discuss strategies here and there, but in expert mode, communication is limited to meaningful eye contact and pointing at the help tile to suggest actions. If you want someone to make a specific move, all you can do is point at the action icon you think they should take. It’s all about teamwork, intuition, and a bit of mind-reading—no easy feat, even for the best teams!
Game Info
Magic Maze first hit the shelves in 2017, thanks to the Belgian publisher Sit Down! It became a hit with its real-time cooperative gameplay and spawned a couple of fun spinoffs: Magic Maze Kids in 2018 and Magic Maze on Mars in 2019. Now, the latest standalone entry, Magic Maze Tower, has joined the family, making its debut at Spiel in Essen just last month. Designed by the Danish creator Kasper Lapp, who you might recognize from titles like That’s Not a Hat, 5 Towers, or Gods Love Dinosaurs, this new twist is perfect for 1-4 players, ages 9 and up. With a playtime around 30 minutes (though stopping might be the real challenge—it’s highly addictive!), Magic Maze Tower has the classic Magic Maze feel with a few fresh surprises.
Components, Production, and Artwork
Inside the box, you’ll find three tutorial cards and a whopping 76 quest cards, which add up to 15 unique adventures to tackle. The game also includes those familiar sturdy wooden pawns in five vibrant colors, a few handy help tiles, and four direction tiles to keep things moving (or rather, keep you moving the pawns in the right directions). The component quality is solid, so the game can handle repeated play sessions without any trouble. With a range of difficulty levels, from the “easy-peasy” one-star challenges to the head-scratching four-star puzzles, there’s something for everyone—from newcomers to puzzle pros. The game’s difficulty progression keeps it engaging, no matter your skill level.
Gameplay and Accessibility
Being a cooperative game, Magic Maze Tower is great for players of all ages, especially families. It’s a wonderful way to get younger players into gaming, though it may require a little extra patience. Younger players sometimes need a moment to figure out the best moves to get their heroes to the exits. It’s worth the wait, though, and watching kids light up when they solve a puzzle is a big part of the game’s charm.
This game shares the classic cooperative vibe of Magic Maze, but with a more relaxed pace. Say goodbye to the sand timer and the “do something” pawn from the original game; Magic Maze Tower ditches the race-against-the-clock stress in favor of pure puzzle-solving fun. The entire level layout is visible from the start, so you can focus on strategizing rather than racing. Plus, the game offers a satisfying solo experience if you want to challenge yourself without a team.
A Fun Extra
As a fun bonus, Magic Maze Tower brings a new “little sister” pawn into the world of Magic Maze. This piece can be added to your other Magic Maze games, giving you even more gameplay variety. The box includes two tiles specifically for this purpose: one with her starting area and one with her exit. It’s a nice touch for fans of the series, letting you mix things up and keep the game fresh.
Final Thoughts
When we first played, the kids felt that familiar urge to hurry through the level. But after a quick reminder that solving the puzzle is more important than rushing, they settled into the pace and surprised us with their cooperation. I’ve honestly never seen a game with these three this quiet! The no-talking rule actually created an interesting twist that brought out everyone’s best problem-solving skills.
Magic Maze Tower is a game that requires patience, teamwork, and a good dose of silent communication (though there might be a few intense stares along the way!). If you’re ready to challenge your mind and share some laughs with friends or family, this game is a reliable go-to.
📝 We received a copy of the game from the publisher, Sit Down!
