UNBOXED: LABYRINTH

Max Kobbert, Labyrinth’s creator, discusses clever kids and canny collabs as the game celebrates its 40th anniversary!

Interview by Rob Burman

DIVES

A mong the games that many people associate with their childhood – such as Monopoly or Game of Life – is the really rather excellent Labyrinth. Unlike some other family games, Labyrinth isn’t just about rolling dice and hoping you land on the right property. Oh no! This is an experience that rewards planning and can be quite a cut-throat experience with the right (or wrong, depending on your view) players. Testament to Labyrinth’s quality is the fact that 2026 marks an incredible 40 years since it was first published!

HOW TO PLAY

If you’ve never experienced this excellent family game, let’s have a quick rundown of how Labyrinth works. Originally released as The aMAZEing Labyrinth, the game challenges two to four players to navigate a mystical maze in search of hidden treasures, mythical creatures and secret items. The board itself consists of 16 fixed tiles and 34 loose ones that fill the gaps to create a 7x7 square of winding corridors. Each player is given a secret stack of cards depicting the goals they must reach, but the catch is that the path to victory is never permanent. Labyrinth is a game of constant flux, where the shortest route to your prize can vanish in a single turn, requiring both foresight and a bit of mischievous planning to outsmart your opponents.

On your turn, you take the one extra maze tile not currently on the board and slide it into any row or column marked with an arrow. This action physically shifts the entire line of tiles, often opening new pathways while simultaneously blocking others or even pushing an opponent’s character off the board and onto the opposite side. Once the maze has been rearranged, you move your character as far as you wish along any connected path to reach your target treasure. The moving maze was incredibly innovative when it was first released and even today that mechanic means you’re always trying to stay one step ahead of your opponents.