Devir Games

Mazescape A solo-mode puzzle-game perfect for 2021

By Matt Hyland, Devir Games

It will come as no surprise to many retailers in the specialty game industry to read that puzzle sales in times of COVID-19 have exploded, as people are forced to spend more time indoors and are looking for activities to do at home with friends and family. Some manufacturers have reported month-over-month and year-over-year increases in sales north of 300%, resulting in supply shortages and the need to ramp up production.

It will also come as no surprise to many retailers that, for the same reasons as stated above, there is a marked increase in demand for solo-gaming experiences. In fact, that trend pre-dated COVID-19 and continued to grow stronger through 2020 and 2021 - neither trend appears to be subsiding either. Market Watch, for example, projects that the puzzle market will continue to grow through 2026.

The increased demand for puzzles and solo-gaming is serendipitous for Devir Games, since a long-running project hits the shelves and tables in June of 2021, Mazescape. Mazescape is a unique blend of puzzles and gaming, where players guide themselves through a series of foldable mazes searching for not just a way out, but a way to collect all of the prizes hidden within.

Imagine an old-school foldable road map that does not unfold linearly, but sometimes horizontally, sometimes vertically, and sometimes back on itself, as the player traces their way through, using a wooden stylus that cannot leave the page. Because of the way the map folds, the player can’t see what lies ahead. The prime objective is to exit the maze and advance to the next map, but each map also contains secondary objectives of collecting objects that are found throughout the maze. The game contains a score sheet to keep track of the objects that have been collected, and since the progress is recorded with a wooden stylus (or your finger!), the mazes can be navigated many times.

Furthermore, there are two unique sets in the first wave of Mazescape, Labyrinthos and Ariadne. Labyrinthos consists of three well-defined territories: the dock, the graveyard, and the mountain. The first map introduces the concept of the game and upon completion you are rewarded with…another map! In fact, there are seven maps in each set that become increasingly more difficult.

The Ariadne set is based on the mythical labyrinth on the island of Crete, created by Daedalus. As in the other sets, Ariadne contains seven maps that will rack your brain as the challenges become tougher with each map. And how could it not include a Minotaur in the most difficult map?

Future sets are currently under development, incorporating different themes. There’s long-term potential for this product line, as the ability to create new mazes using various themes is nearly limitless. Each set contains seven maps, a wooden stylus, score trackers, basic rules, and comes in a hard case with a magnetic clasp.

Completing each maze can take up to 90 minutes, so with the number of maps, the re-playability, increasing difficulty, and the different objectives, Mazescape offers hours of solo-mode puzzle time for a retail price of just $10.

Look out for Mazescape in June of 2021 and offer your customers a unique, challenging activity that provides hours of play at a great value. Are you a Mazescaper?