A game about communication
Minotaur's Labyrinth
Two players, one maze. One sees the whole plan and gives directions; the other walks it nearly blind and must trust every word - a pure exercise in clear instruction and active listening.
What is the Minotaur's Labyrinth game?
Minotaur's Labyrinth is a two-person cooperative game. You generate one maze for the whole group - choosing its size, how many distinctive landmarks (a statue, an altar, a chest, a well, a skeleton…) to scatter and a time limit. Every pair plays the same maze from the same start.
Within each pair, Ariadne sees the entire plan - the walls, the exit, the landmarks and a slowly roaming Minotaur - but not where her partner is. Theseus sees only the cells immediately around him and moves one step per turn on Ariadne's spoken directions. Reach the exit to win; get caught by the Minotaur or run out of time and the pair is out.
Features
Key capabilities
Two complementary views
Ariadne gets the full top-down plan; Theseus gets a small fog-of-war window - they must talk to win.
Shared landmarks
Scattered objects give both players a common vocabulary: "head for the well, then left past the statue."
A roaming Minotaur
A slow beast wanders the corridors each turn - Ariadne has to steer Theseus around the danger she alone can see.
Live monitor and ranking
You watch every pair's maze, turn count and a ranking by escape time - and can set a time limit or end the round.
Coloured doors
Pairs of coloured doors teleport Theseus across the maze - the shortcut works only if Ariadne sends him through the right one.
Step by step
How it works
Create a session
Choose the maze size, the number of landmarks and a time limit; one maze is generated for everyone.
Participants pair up
They join with the code, then one starts a pair and shares its short code while the partner joins it in the other role.
They guide and walk
Ariadne describes the route by voice; Theseus moves one cell at a time, dodging the Minotaur toward the exit.
Debrief the communication
Compare escape times and discuss what the fastest pairs did - usually a shared reference system agreed up front.
Use cases
What it’s good for
- Training precise instruction-giving and active listening
- An icebreaker that forces a pair to build a shared vocabulary
- A debrief springboard on remote collaboration and briefing under pressure
- A pairs exercise in giving precise instructions
- Show how hard it is to describe something the other person cannot see
- An exercise in active listening
White label
Your brand for participants
On the paid plans you can add your company name, logo and colors, and during every session participants will see your brand instead of Verbalu.
Training by Octigo
Want this run as a full training?
You are free to run our games and simulations on your own. But if you would like us to deliver a complete training, with a professional debrief and the concepts behind the “Minotaur's Labyrinth” simulation explained in depth, get in touch. Octigo is a professional training company with 20 years of experience and many awards for its simulations.
- 20 years of experience in corporate training
- Award-winning training simulations
- A professional debrief and takeaways after the session
- A programme tailored to your goals and your team
Prefer to write to us directly? szkolenia@octigo.pl
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