Create Domino Lines and Chain Reactions in Domino Maze, A New Puzzle Game by ThinkFun

The newest puzzler from ThinkFun is all about lining up dominoes and knocking them down, but in a specific order!

With targets to hit, spinners to turn, walls to block, and even stairs to climb, there are lots of different pieces in Domino Maze for players to work with as they solve the puzzles of logic and planning.

Gameplay

Domino Maze is a puzzle game played on a grid in which you can slot in dominoes and the additional pieces included. There is a deck of cards, with each card having a puzzle on one side and a solution on the other. The puzzles come in four levels of difficulty. Each puzzle shows where the start domino is placed on the board, and in some cases also additional pieces. The puzzle will show where one to three targets are placed. These targets can be flipped by falling dominoes from one side and can knock over another domino on the other as it flips. The puzzle cards show you the order in which you have to flip the targets. It also shows how many dominoes you must use to solve the puzzle and which additional pieces to use. The exact number of dominoes must be placed on the board and they must all be knocked over in order to successfully complete the challenge.

Once you have placed all your pieces, you knock over the starting domino, hopefully creating a chain reaction that will cause all your dominoes to knock over, hitting the targets in the correct order. If they do, you have solved the puzzle. If not, you can try again.

Additional pieces include a pivot, which will turn when it is hit on one side and knock over dominoes on its opposite side; a wall, which can help direct a falling domino that is at an angle; a blocker, which takes up a space and prevents additional pieces from being put there; stairs that dominoes can be slotted into; and a smaller second level of the board.

The second level is not used in all the puzzles. When it is used, the puzzle card may show pieces that need to be placed in it for set up. The player chooses where on the board to attach the second level but may not rotate it so as to change the orientation of the pieces placed on it by the puzzle card.

Review

Domino Maze is a fun combination of toy and puzzle. It’s fun to play with the dominoes and line them up and knock them down to see how they fall, while the puzzles themselves are actually quite tricky, particularly as you progress through the deck of puzzles. You’ll sometimes be splitting the dominoes more than one falling lane and the rulebook even informs you how much faster or slower the dominoes are when falling up and down the stairs, as that can affect the solution in some cases. There are often multiple factors to consider.

Because there are so many factors, learning how the game works and how the various pieces interact is a little less intuitive than some of ThinkFun’s other puzzle games, in which you usually understand how everything operates from just reading through the rulebook. In Domino Maze, you really need to play around with the pieces a little first and see how they interact.

The various pieces add some really fun variations to the puzzle, particularly the second level. The fact that you have to figure out the best place to put it is a clever mechanic and adds just one more layer to the puzzle you’re trying to solve.

In general, the components are well made. The dominoes can be a little finicky when placing them as they can be easily knocked over, but if you’re careful this is generally avoided and it does ensure easy toppling when required.

Domino Maze gives your brain a good workout, and gives you a great feeling of accomplishment when you solve one of the puzzles. While advertised as a solo game, players can easily work on the puzzles together, since after all, two heads are better than one! If you enjoy puzzles, Domino Maze offers plenty of challenge and satisfaction.

Pros: Challenging puzzles, lots of different pieces that interact in fun ways, players can work together to solve the puzzles, dominoes are fun to play with

Cons: Not as easy to learn as other puzzle games from ThinkFun, you have to be careful when placing the dominoes

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.