Welcome to the Labyrinth 4 gameplay guide. This guide covers all of the basics of the game in an easy to follow format. It does this by presenting readers with an example game, and running through the different aspects of it as it unfolds. By following and reading this guide you will hopefully be ready for all aspects of the game as they happen.

If you find this confusing, don't worry too much. Feel free to ask me questions via the contact details provided at the bottom. Typically it seems like a lot at first, but once players are actually put into the game they pick it up very quickly. Most of these aspects won't come into play immediately, and the game will start off quite slowly, picking up complexity as it goes.

It's worth noting as well that not all the rules are the same this time around. Returning players may benefit from reading this guide too. We ask that all players at least read the Game Rules thread once posted, but this is a useful read for all players as well.




Labyrinth takes place over a number of game Phases. Each phase lasts approximately 24 hours in real-time, so in theory a new phase is created for each day the game runs. During the course of a phase, players will inhabit a room within the Labyrinth. Because players may be divided into different groups, there may be multiple phases occurring at the same time, each set in different rooms. Players can typically only ever see events taking place in the room they currently inhabit.

Players may then discuss the game with the rest of the group and perform any available actions. All players must choose an exit before the phase is up. If two phases pass and the players have not picked an exit, the Labyrinth will claim them and they will be killed. Once the phase is over, players will be moved through the exit they selected and given an entirely new room to explore for the next phase.




Scoring is a new feature in Labyrinth 4. All players will have a score count maintained. This will be hidden from players and not revealed until the end of the game. Points are awarded for various reasons, and these points and their causes will remain hidden from players throughout the duration of the game. Generally speaking, participating and investing more in the ongoing progress of the game, or making progress towards a win condition will earn players points. Points can also be deducted from players for various reasons.

Posting during a game phase just once will automatically earn a player 10 points for each phase this happens. Therefore merely posting once during each game day will earn a player points.




Labyrinth is a game that lasts a long time and in previous entries, the setup has allowed the game to continue indefinitely. It is plausible due to the freedom of actions in Labyrinth that a group of players could technically wander the maze with no restrictions forever.

In Labyrinth 4, the game will have a preset time limit of 100 phases. If the game reaches the 100 phase limit, it will end regardless of player status.




Traditionally, Labyrinth games have required a player to meet their win condition as given via their pre-determined role. Win conditions will operate differently in Labyrinth 4, as they are not assigned to players randomly and exist as a separate entity from player roles. Regardless, if a player meets a viable win condition, they will win the game. The game may still continue despite a player having met a win condition, depending on the terms of that condition.

If the game reaches the time limit and no player has met their win condition yet, the surviving player with the highest score will automatically win the game.

In addition, whichever player holds the highest score will earn an honourary win. This is regardless of their surviving the game. This will only occur if the player(s) meeting their win condition don't also hold the highest game score.

Win conditions are discussed in more detail under the heading "Win Conditions".




Each player is given a journal. This is a place for them to keep notes on the game as it unfolds, and to post their general musings and thoughts. No other players have access to player journals but the players themselves. As well as being a general place to keep notes, each journal contains four important threads.

1.) Role Thread: Contains the player's role information. Also used by the player to send in role actions each phase.
Roles are discussed in more detail under the heading "Roles".

2.) Inventory Thread: The player's stock of items. This is automatically updated by the hosts as and when required. The player does not need to edit this thread at all. Also used by the player to pick up items in the Labyrinth, send in item actions each phase, and to give items to another player.
Items and trading are discussed in more detail under the heading "Items".

3.) Game Update Thread: This thread will contain special information for the player, posted by the hosts. A player may post in here following the updates if they have any questions.

4.) Action Thread: All actions which are not item or role related must be posted by the player in their action thread. This includes any interaction within a room inside the Labyrinth.

PLEASE NOTE: In this version of Labyrinth, any actions which are posted in the wrong thread will not be performed. This will be strictly maintained, so please pay attention to these threads and their proper use. If you are killed as a result of posting an action in the wrong thread, I am not liable. Posting it here so that it is clearly understood.

This is due to hosting restrictions on my part. I simply won't have the time to check every possible thread for the actions this game, so anything not posted in the correct thread or clearly labelled as being an action will not be carried out.

During each game phase, every player will be granted access to a phase forum. This forum will have the name of the particular room that the player(s) with access to the forum are inside. Only players who are inside that room will have visibility of that particular phase forum.

Inside each phase forum, there will be three threads created at the beginning of each phase:

1.) Phase update thread: This thread is a pinned and locked thread entitled Update Thread. Throughout the course of the phase, as players perform actions, this thread will be updated to post the public results of various actions players perform. Players will be unable to post in this thread, it will purely be for host updates.

2.) Room Description: This thread is a flavourless description of the room. It will contain a brief description of the room, along with details of all items, exits and available challenges. A second post will give a list of all players currently in the room. This thread will remain locked and pinned, and will contain no additional posts during the phase. It will be updated if the room changes (e.g. if features change or items are taken). If an update happens which changes the room layout in a specific way (e.g. if a new item becomes available), a post will be made in the Phase update thread informing the players of the change, before the room description is updated.

3.) Phase discussion thread: An initial discussion thread will be created in the phase forum. This will be entitled Phase xx - Discussion, where xx is the number of the current phase. This thread will contain no posts from the host outside of the initial post, which will contain the flavour for players first entering the room. Players will be able to reply to this thread and discuss the phase.

In addition to these host created threads, players will be able to make their own threads inside phase forums. If the main discussion thread is becoming too long or players want to discuss a separate topic, they will be able to create additional discussion threads of their own.

Below in the quote is an example of a basic opening flavour for a phase discussion thread:

example flavour 1

The group entered the room. Willis walked across the floor and found there was a box in the middle of the floor along with a few trinkets scattered around. Castor and Pollux walked in behind him. They looked at the box which had the following message written across: "Open the box. I dare you." They looked at each other. Were they actually stupid enough to do it?

The main description for the room will be posted in the Room Description thread. In here, players will be given a summary of the appearance of the room. Beneath this description there may be additional instructions for the room (labelled as actions) which are self-explanatory and/or a series of items which may be picked up by the players. Finally there will be a list of the other players also in that room, and a list of exits the players can take out of the room.

Below in the quote is an example of the description thread for the room listed above.



Once the room description is posted, players will be able to interact with the room in their various journal threads.




Every player is given a specific role at the start of the game. Roles are handed out at random and posted in the Role Thread in each player's journal. Beneath each role is flavour text for the role, the type and when/how it can be used. There are three types of role: passive, active and neutral.

Passive: Passive roles do not need to be activated by the player. They will be updated automatically by the hosts as the player progresses.
Active: Active roles must be performed by the player during the course of the phase before they will have any effect. The role description explains how these are used.
Neutral: Neutral roles have no effect. They cannot be used and offer no distinct benefits.

Not all roles may offer positive benefits to the player. Some have negative side-effects too. Make sure you fully understand your role before playing, as some roles may impose restrictions on the players. It's also worth noting that roles are not fixed. Throughout the course of the game some roles may change for a variety of reasons.

Do not feel disheartened if you receive a neutral role. Labyrinth is a big game, and giving every player a passive or active role would make it unbalanced. You can still contribute just as meaningfully in the game discussion, interacting with the game environment and collecting items for your inventory. In many cases roles may come as more of a burden, as they make players into easy targets for others with ulterior motives.

Below is an example of a role in the role thread:



In our example game, Willis has this role. Once per phase he can post to use his role, which allows him to determine the location of the closest player or set of players in the Labyrinth. So he would post at any point during the phase in his role thread to use it, and before the end of the phase would get the following result:



This gives Willis an idea of where to go. For the rest of the phase, he can no longer use his role. He may use it again during the next phase.




Win conditions are objectives that if fulfilled, will allow a player to win the game. Throughout the course of the game, players will be presented with different optional win conditions. These can be presented in one of the following ways:

Globally: All players will have access to view a global game update forum, regardless of where they are in the Labyrinth and if they are alive or dead. If a new win condition is posted in here, it will become available to all players in the Labyrinth.

Publically: A win condition may be presented in a room forum for a particular phase. In this case it will be posted in the phase update thread for the room. The win condition will become available to all players present and conscious in the room at the time.

Privately: Players may be presented with additional win conditions in their private journals. If one of these is posted in a player's journal, that win condition will become available to the player in question.

A player can win the game by completing any of their available win conditions. However a win condition must be available to a player before they can win the game with it. This means that the win condition was either posted in the global update thread, a room forum that player had access to, or in their private journal. Players may discuss their available win conditions at any time, but this will not make that win condition available to the players they are discussing it with.

This is especially important, as a player may meet all of the criteria for a win condition they heard about from another player, but because it is not yet available to them, they will not actually win the game with it.

By the terms of a win condition, meeting the criteria may also allow other players to win alongside the player who meets the criteria.

Below is an example of a win condition.



In this example, "Willis" has been given a win condition in his private journal. There is already a public win condition available to all players which is "Escape the Labyrinth". Willis now has a choice to make, he can win the game via either of these two conditions. Ultimately he can make a decision to work towards either or both.

The win condition a player is working towards does not have to be announced or confirmed. A player will merely win if at any point they meet the criteria for any one of their available win conditions, or under the terms of another player's condition.




Items can be obtained by players during the course of the game. They may be given at the beginning of the game, given as a reward for completing a phase action or picked up in a room where they are available. Once a player has obtained an item, it will be posted in the "Inventory Thread" in their journal. This thread is updated by the hosts automatically as the game progresses.

Each item will come with a description of how/when it can be used. A player may use any item they have during any phase, provided the description of the item states they can and there are no other conditions preventing it. A player may also drop or trade an item. To use, drop or trade an item, a player must post that they wish to do so in the Inventory Thread. The results of this action will be updated before the end of the phase.

To pick up an item laying around in a room, a player must post ##Take: Item Name. This must be done privately in a player's Inventory Thread. It won't be revealed in the phase thread who picked up the item, only that the item has been removed. A message will be posted in the Phase Update thread informing players that the item has been taken.

Please Note that items cannot be picked up in bulk. Each item must be picked up in a separate post. Therefore if there are three items in the room, a player must make three posts picking up one item in each.

Please also note that any item pickup action NOT posted in a player's journal Inventory Thread will be discounted. In the case of item pickups, if multiple people post to take an item, the first player to post a VALID command will receive the item. If the command is posted in the wrong thread, this is invalid and the player will not receive the item.

Items may also be dropped and traded. To drop an item, a player must post ##Drop: Item Name. This must be done privately in a player's Inventory Thread. It won't be revealed in the phase thread who dropped the item, only that the item has been dropped.

To trade an item, a player must post ##Trade: Item Name. This must be posted in the player's Inventory Thread. A player may also follow this command with the word public or private. If the player posts "public" as part of the trade command, the person who receives the item will be informed of which player gave them the item. If the player posts "private" as part of the trade command, or posts neither of these words, the person who receives the item will not be informed where the item came from.

If a player is killed in a room, their items become available for all the other players to see and pick up. A list will be posted upon that players' death (See the section entitled "Death" for more).

In our example Phase, Willis has posted in his inventory thread to pick up the Hatchet, and Pollux has posted in his inventory thread to pick up the Adventurer's hat. Below are example descriptions for both.



In our example phase, Willis has seen an opening. His needs to kill the other players to win with his "Butcher" condition and he has a weapon in which to do it. Thus he posts an action in his inventory thread to use the hatchet on Pollux. In his own reasoning, this should kill Pollux and Castor won't be able to escape. What Willis doesn't know is that Pollux has obtained the Adventurer's Hat which will protect him.

Once Willis has posted to use his hatchet, the following flavour will be posted in the phase thread for all to see:


The result of this is that Pollux is still alive, although his Adventurer's Hat is destroyed in the process. This leaves Willis in a very compromised position, whereby he quickly needs to explain his dubious actions.

In our example Phase, Willis is lost for words. He was just witnessed by the group having attacked Pollux with a hatchet. Needless to say both players are very angry by this. They don't want to risk travelling with a player who will do such a thing, but neither has an item to attack back with.

This is where the element of Lynching can come into play. Lynching is a concept originated in the game Mafia, which Labyrinth derived its origins from. It serves as a way for players to be able to defend themselves as a measure of last resort.

During any phase, a player may vote to lynch another, using the following format ##Lynch: Player Name. This must be posted privately in a player's journal Action Thread. Lynch votes posted in any other thread will not count.

If more than half of the players in a room have all voted to Lynch another, the target will be immediately killed. Players may not retract a Lynch vote once there are more than half of the players who have voted. Lynch votes only carry over until the end of the phase. If more than half of the players don't vote to lynch the same target, the voting must start again during the next phase. On the successful lynching of a player, all players who voted to Lynch will be revealed, publicly

Lynching should only ever be done as a measure of last resort. It will be very easy for players to get Lynch-happy but once a majority is reached there is absolutely no going back. It's worth considering that there are a number of reasons a player may attack another, many of which are not malicious. While it may seem in the best interests of the group to lynch all suspicious people, this will in turn take its toll on the number of surviving players. Thus lynching should never come into play unless it absolutely has to.

In our example phase however, Willis is doing a poor job of explaining his actions to the other two. They have both decided he's a danger and that keeping him alive is a major risk. Both Castor and Pollux have posted to ##Lynch: Willis in their journal Action threads, and thus 2/3 players have voted the same. The following flavour is posted in the phase update thread:



Willis is now dead and his items are available. The group feels safe now.




Death is a tragic, but ultimately necessary part of the Labyrinth adventure. It's unfortunate when a player has put a tremendous effort into the game, only to be killed suddenly. Without this aspect however, the game would be risk free and it would take away from the intensity.

The maze in Labyrinth is a death-trap. It is filled to the brim with deadly traps, evil psychotic players and viscous beasts designed to slaughter anybody who comes near. Merely walking the Labyrinth is a danger in and of itself, but players must move around nonetheless.

When a player is killed, they will be locked out of the Phase thread and will no longer have access to any more whilst they are dead. They will still have access to their journal in which their death flavour will be posted, but to all intents and purposes they are out of the game and can no longer discuss anything with live players or see any of the ongoing game action.

Dying sucks, but it's important to still follow the game rules. Dead players must not discuss the game with anybody. It's very unfortunate to lose access while other players get to continue, but it keeps the integrity of the game intact. Discussing the game when dead makes it unfair to all those still alive.

It's also worth considering that death is not always necessarily the end of your game. There are items, room and roles in the Labyrinth which may serve to revive dead players. If a dead player is revived, a message will be posted in their journal informing them of the revival and they will be granted access to a new Phase thread.

Typically a dead player will wake up in the room they died. If there are other players in the room with them, a new Phase forum will be created for all players in the room. This is to avoid the revived player from reading what has already been discussed during the phase, as that player will not have been able to take in this information whilst dead.

There are no limits on how many times a player can be killed or revived. A lucky player may be revived over and over, or may never get revived at all. If dead players discuss the game with anybody, they will be permanently killed and unable to be revived again. I can't express how important this fact is. Typically on being killed, players will become emotional and this may lead to them lashing out angrily in some form. I advise all players to remember that this is only a game. It's more than likely your death wasn't personal, and it's in everybody's best interest that you calm down and be patient.

When a player is killed, no additional information will be revealed about that player.




Some rooms may have additional "actions" that can be performed. These may invite players to take part in some kind of challenge, or suggest that the players can interact with something in the room. When a room has the heading "Actions" beneath the room description, players may follow the given instructions to perform some kind of task. The nature of these tasks can vary from room to room. Sometimes the results will be posted publicly, other times they will be posted privately.

In our example phase, there is one action. That action is to open the box. A player must post ##Open: Box in their journal Action thread to attempt this. Let's presume that Castor does this. The following result will be posted in the phase update thread after he posts his action:



Pollux was sensible. He knew all too well that in the tricky depths of the Labyrinth, a box inviting itself to be opened had to be dangerous. However all was not lost, as Castor was knocked out but in doing so revealed the key to the maze exit. In our example Phase, Pollux has picked up the key.




In the example just posted, Castor got himself knocked out. To be knocked out is considered a status change. Status changes can be brought on by a variety of factors, often unexpectedly. When a player is afflicted with a status change, the results will be posted in their Game Update thread.

In being knocked out, Castor no longer has access to the phase forum. He may still see and post in his journal however. The effects of this will wear off at the end of the phase, and he will be restored access if he survives.

The different types of status change that may occur are a mystery! There are no lists given to the players at any point. Being knocked out is an example, but there are others. Let's hope you never have to find out what they are, since few are good for the players.




Every room has a list of exits at the bottom of the room description. During the phase, players will discuss these exits and agree on one to take. They do not all have to take the same exit, however. The group may decide to split up and each take their own exit, or some players may take an exit of their own accord for whatever reason.

To exit a room, a player must post ##Exit: Direction in that format. Each player must post this individually, in their journal action thread. Players must exit a room within 2 phases. If they don't, the maze will claim them and that player will be instantly killed. This is a necessary measure to keep players from staying put in a room.

Please Note: Any exit actions not posted in a player's action thread will not count. I am not liable for players becoming separated or going the wrong way because they failed to post their action in the correct place.

If multiple players are in the same room, players may elect to follow another player. This is done by posting ##Follow: Player Name privately in a player's journal Action Thread. If a player selects to follow another, they will continue to exit the same way as their leader each and every phase until either:
1.) The leader is killed
2.) The following player is the first to post to exit a room

By default, all players will automatically follow the first to exit during a phase. This means that if there are a group of five or six players in a room and only one posts to exit the room, all the other players will exit the room in the same way. To avoid this players may post to exit a different way, elect to follow a player, or post to stay in the room with the following format ##Exit: Stay. If the first person in a room to exit posts to stay, all other players who do not submit an exit action or are not following another player will stay too.

If any players do not exit a room, they will be given a warning at the beginning of the next phase that they must exit by the end of the phase. There are only three exceptions to this rule:

1.) A player has given a very valid, concise and clear reason to the hosts as to why they can't update in the game. If there are extenuating circumstances that are considered fair by the hosts, the player will be exempt.

2.) A new group of players, or a single enters the room where the players have waited. No phases have passed from the perspective of the new group, and so the timer is reset in order to allow the players the opportunity to better discuss things.

3.) A player has undergone a status change that prevents them from using actions. They will be granted a further two phases to plan once they regain the option to do so.

If none of these circumstances are present, and players spend more than two phases in a single room, they will be killed. Coming on after the fact to complain will not be tolerated. To avoid this, make sure to check in and post your exit action if you are not in a group.

In our example phase, Pollux has decided that the reckless Castor is a burden and plans to leave him unconscious on the floor. Pollux has posted to ##Exit: North in his journal Action thread. This is all that happens until the end of the phase.




Typically, once 24 hours have transpired, the phase will end. The following message will be posted in the phase update thread an hour before:



Once this message is posted, any player who has yet to exit may do so but players who have already posted to exit cannot change their exit. In addition, room/role/item actions will no longer be accepted. Changing the phase takes a long time from the host perspective, and late submissions will be rejected because there just isn't enough time to process them.

Approximately an hour after this message is posted (time may vary on busy days), the phase forum will be removed. This phase forum will no longer be visible to anybody but the host until the game ends. If players have opted to stay in the room and no new players are entering the room, the phase forum will not be removed. Those players will still have access to it for as long as they remain in the room.

Once the phase has been removed, players will be moved onto the room that is through the exit they each took. This may mean the group of players become separated. The next Phase will be posted shortly after this, and the process will start once again.

It's worth noting that if a player votes to exit a room and another group "passes" them, the lone player may be forced back into the room they were previously in. For instance: if in our example Pollux exits North and a group of 2 or more players are in the room to the North and opt to exit South, all of these players will pass one another.

To add to realism and to avoid situations wherein players pass one another unintentionally, the majority group will always perform their exit over the minority. So in the above example, The group of 2 or more would exit South into the room Pollux is in, and Pollux would not move at all. The new phase would take place in the room Pollux was previously in.

If the number of players "passing" one another is equal on both sides, the first player to have submitted an exit in either group will win out and the group who posted later will be forced back into their previous room.

In spite of the above, for the sake of our example game we're going to presume that Pollux successfully exited to the North.

To add to the danger of the Labyrinth, rooms are occasionally rigged with deadly traps. Some of these traps may be fatal, some may cause status changes and others may have mysterious side effects. Typically, the first player to enter the room will activate the trap, and the effects of that will be posted in the phase update thread.

Activating a trap almost certainly has dire consequences for the player. Think carefully before rushing to exit, it may be the last thing you ever do. There are different types of trap in addition to the different effects. These types of trap are each activated in a different way, and there are different items or roles which may prevent the effects of them altogether. How many different types of trap are there? Another mystery I'm afraid. You will find out soon enough.

Things are about to get interesting in our example game. Pollux exited north and the room above is rigged with a deadly trap. However this is not the end for our dashing hero. Remember when Willis used his role last phase? The result came back that a player was two rooms to the North. In actual fact there were two players in this room. These players are Curtis and Patterson. They had their own phase forum, invisible to Castor, Pollux and Willis.

During the course of their phase, they both decided to exit South. Curtis went first and his action to exit was posted Before Pollux. Since this pair were two rooms North of Pollux and Pollux went North whilst they went South, all three players will meet in the room. But Curtis will enter first and tragically hit the trap.






In our example game it's all over. The players have discovered a room containing the exit door. This door is noted as being "Locked" in the room description. If an exit has (Locked) at the end of it, it requires a player to use an item or some other device to open the door before the exit can be taken. Any exits through this door before the door is unlocked will not count.

Fortunately Pollux has the exit key. At this point if Patterson had an ulterior motive, he might attempt to kill Pollux if he has a role or item to do so. In this game Patterson is choosing to play the same win condition as Pollux though. Both want to exit the maze, and so Pollux uses the exit key and walks through.




The game is over at this point, because a player has met an available win condition, and it's a condition that terminates the game. Under the terms of this example win condition, all surviving players will win the game. Patterson, Pollux and Castor all survived and so will win the game together. All players who died will lose. Fortunately for Castor he's still alive and so wins with the group.

It is worth noting that the terms of the available win condition may also affect players who have played an "evil" or sinister game. It is at the discretion of the group as to whether or not to achieve their chosen win condition if it also means allowing these other players to win alongside them. Read the terms of a win condition carefully before choosing to complete it. It may result in some people winning who players may not have wished to take through to the end.

In our example, had Willis not been lynched and instead fled the group, he would also win at this point. Even though he had an available "butcher" win condition, he still wins under the terms of the win condition Pollux opted to choose. This means that Pollux would've allowed his attempted murderer to win the game alongside him, which may not be what he ultimately wants to happen.

Everybody wants to win, and the competition to do so makes things intense and exciting. There's a lot more at stake and it's fun to watch unfold. We do ask that players try not to take the winning and losing aspect too seriously though. Labyrinth is very much about taking part and the journey. It matters more in the end that a good story has been told than whoever wins or loses the game.

We haven't had much in the way of disappointment from any players when the game is over traditionally. Hopefully this will continue, as it's much more enjoyable for the players to put their in game differences aside and come together to discuss the game after.

Once over, the threads in the game will all become visible and the ending of the game will be posted for all to see. The end game discussion is usually very enjoyable, and all players and spectators will be invited to join in a special end of game Skype chat where we reflect on everything that has passed. It's typically a lot of fun and there are no hard feelings between anybody.




This about concludes the ins and outs of a typical game. All that's left now is for people to sign up, play and enjoy the game. In spite of this being a fairly hefty document, the game is very easy to pick up. There are typically few choices presented to players at the start, and the complexity of the game will increase with time. Provided people stay invested and follow it as it unfolds, this will hopefully be a very fun experience to all involved.

In addition to this we ask all players to read the Game Rules thread when it's available. This is a summary of all the main do's and dont's for the game and will just keep things fair.

If anything in this guide is confusing or misleading, please contact me at one of the locations listed in the contact details thread. I will do the best I can to answer all queries that I am able to respond to.

I will be posting additional updates in this guide as new game mechanics are revealed. Some of these will be revealed before the game starts, others will be revealed during. Watch this space for further updates and explanations as to how these additional mechanics will work.