Labyrinth: Pokemon

Every fan knows that Pokemons always hide in the tall grass and that is not easy to find them. In fact, every trainer knows that they will need to search carefully and leave no stone unturned if they want to find the one Pokemon they want. In some cases, this can be quite a challenge as in the new version of a very famous classic Ravensburger game.

Pokemon Labyrinth is a great reskin of the classic family game with the same name. As in the original game, a number of fixed and movable tiles are used to re-create a forest where many different Pokemons are hiding. Playing as Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander, players will need to find all the other Pokemons hiding in the ever-shifting forest. The aim is to catch all those you need in order to complete your challenge and be the first one to exit the forest.

Grab Some Poke-Balls And Potions

The components of this boardgame are very close to those of the classic games with two nice surprises. First, the cards with the objects to locate have been substituted by poke balls depicting the Pokemon to catch. The players markers have also been re-themed switching the wizard miniatures for standees of the four Pokemon classic starting characters. The changes are very thematic and a nice addition to the game although I would have loved to have plastic miniatures instead of the standees.

The gaming board and the tiles have not changed much from the original version. Instead of a labyrinth we have a forest theme and instead of objects we have Pokemon but overall the board look exactly as in the original game. Quality of the cardboard component is as good as expected and the graphic is nice and very thematic.

One aspect I would like to mention is that the game comes with a plastic insert to organize the components. Although the insert helps, it does not seems it was designed specifically for this version of the game thus some of the components just fit into it instead of having a comfortable and dedicated space. Nothing major but it would have been great to have a space for each standee and a rounded slot for all the poke-balls.

I’m Gonna Catch ‘Em All

Pokemon Labyrinth plays exactly as the classic game. The setup is quick and easy and requires each player to pick a standee and a few random poke-balls cards. Players have to catch one Pokemon at time thus they can only look at one card until they have captured the Pokemon depicted on it.

The central board is prepared by adding the tiles one by one between the ones fixed to the board. Tiles are added in a random orientation and one tile is left out. Once the players have placed their standees in the starting position, the first player start the hunt.

The game is played in turns with each player adding a tile to the end of a row or column and pushing it into the board to displace a tile at the other end. This action moves all tiles in the row or column allowing the player to create or disrupt a path in the forest. The aim is to create a way to reach the Pokemon you need while preventing the opponents to do the same. Players will not know

which little monster they will need to chase next or which one their opponents are after and that creates a nice player to player interaction and a good tension.

The game continues one turn after the other with no fixed duration. The first player collecting all their Pokemons wins.

Will This Game Be The Very Best

I mean, Pokemon Labyrinth merges one of everyone’s great childhood favourite boardgame together with an awesome brand of cute monsters. What else do we need in a board game?

Overall, this game is a great re-theme of the classic game of Labyrinth. The boardgame is obviously quite simple as it is designed to teach younger players about path-building and strategic decisions. At the same time, Labyrinth is still engaging enough to keep more experienced players interested and it manages to offer a lot of fun to the whole family.

Seeing this nice and well structured game themed around a great brand like Pokémon makes the game even more appealing. If you are a fan of the little monsters like me, I would definitely recommend trying Labyrinth: Pokemon as you would find the game really enjoyable.

Editors note: This post was originally published on March 28 2023. Updated on Feb 27 2024 to improve the information available.