Cavern Shuffle: Maze of the Minotaur

The Premise:

Based on the classic Solitaire, Cavern Shuffle is a solo-player dungeon delver game where the player must level up their party in order to uncover the dark twists and turns of the dungeon. Using familiar mechanics, players will uncover useful Items, overcome Obstacles and defeat the Boss Encounter to win!

Setup:

The setup is very similar to the Classic Solitaire with the seven piles ranging from 1 to 7 in front of you forming the Dungeon and the rest of the cards in the Explore (or Hand) pile. These will be introduced into the game by flipping up three at a time. The key difference in the setup is that the Minotaur will start face up in the first pile of the Dungeon, and the Short Rest will sit above it forming your inventory.

How it Works:

Play will be centered around forming sequences with your four (4) Adventurers and leveling them up into the Party piles at the top. Leveling up your Adventurers will in turn help you complete different Encounters in the Dungeon until you are strong enough to beat the Minotaur and win the game!

Adventurers:

Think suits in a standard deck of cards! There are four (4) Adventurers in the game that will make up your Party; Two (2) will be the Lawful alignment (“suits”), and two (2) will be Chaotic. Each Adventurer will have cards ranging from Level 1 to 10 that can be used in sequences and be leveled-up by being transferred to the top. Each sequence in the Dungeon will operate the same, alternating between Lawful and Chaotic.

As you transfer these Adventurer cards to the top (Party pile) the highest card will indicate the Adventurer’s Individual Level. The combined numbers are added together to determine the Party Level.

Items:

In every good dungeon crawl there is bound to be loot. In Maze of the Minotaur, players will begin with one starting item, and three found as you traverse through the Dungeon.As you find items, you may set them aside and wait to use them when the time is right. Each item may only be used once. You will begin the game with a Short Rest.

Encounters:

In Cavern Shuffle: Maze of the Minotaur, you’ll have two kinds of Encounters, Obstacle Encounters, and Enemy Encounters. Obstacle Encounters leverage the unique skills of each Party member, whereas Enemy Encounters affect the entire party.

Obstacle Encounters:

There are four (4) Obstacle Encounters tailored to one of the four (4) Adventurers. In order to move through the space, your party member must be a high enough level to pass. The difficulty is indicated based on how many times an Obstacle Encounter has been previously completed in order of Level 1/3/5/7. Once completed, place off to the side out-of-play.

Enemy Encounters:

On an Enemy Encounter, there will be a number located on the card that will indicate the Party Level sum needed in order to pass through. If your Party Level is equal to or greater than the Enemy Encounter, you are able to move through the Encounter uncovering the following card. Once completed, place off to the side out-of-play.

The Minotaur:

Beginning face up in the first pile of the Dungeon, the Minotaur will be this game’s Boss Enemy Encounter. The Minotaur has a unique mechanic whereby every time an Adventurer is leveled up, the Minotaur moves one pile over — blocking whatever space they occupy­ — until they reach the farthest corridor in the Dungeon.

When the Minotaur reaches the seventh corridor, it will flip over. On its next move, it will continue in the opposite direction until it reaches the other end. When your Party Level is equal to or greater than the Minotaur’s power of 30, you win the game.