Library Labyrinth

Library Labyrinth Rulebook

Table of Contents

Objective

You and your companions must work as a team to defeat the Bookwyrm before time runs out or the library is overrun with Terrors.

You will each gather a team of inspirational fictional and historical Book Characters who will help you to capture the escaped literary Terrors and return them to the right Shelves, before it's too late!

How To Win

You win the game together when you return one captured literary Terror to each of the six Shelf genres.

You lose the game if:

the Disturbance Deck runs out of cards, or
there are ever six Terrors on the grid of Floor tiles.

What's In The Box

30 octagonal Floor tiles
- 1 double sided centre tile
- 4 blank crossroads
- 15 Terror (8 T-junction, 7 corner)
- 7 Shelf (3 T-junction, 4 corner)
- 3 Reward (1 T-junction, 2 corner)
- Backs of 29 tiles are dark.
60 Book cards
- 9 red Children's Fiction
- 9 pink Classic Fiction
- 11 orange Legends
- 7 green Science
- 12 blue Historical Leaders
- 12 purple Amazing Lives
- Also included are 6 additional blank cards to create your own characters.
24 square Terror tokens (uniform back)
6 square Shelf tokens (uniform back)
1 Current Player token
1 Pass-An-Action token
5 colourful player meeples
1 white Trolley meeple
1 grey Bookwyrm meeple
15 Reward cards
- 6 magical items
- 9 boosters for actions
31 Disturbance cards

How To Set Up

Start with the octagonal Floor tiles. Choose 25 tiles based on the desired difficulty level below, and put the remaining five tiles back in the box. (See the Floor tile descriptions for more information about the five different types of Floor tiles. Some tiles have both corner and T-junction versions, which are counted as the same during set up.)

Difficulty Centre (compass) Blank crossroads Shelf Reward Terror
Novice/Solo 1 4 7 3 10
Standard 1 3 6 3 12
Advanced 1 2 6 3 13
Expert 1

Difficulty	Centre (compass)	Blank crossroads	Shelf	Reward	Terror
Novice/Solo	1	4	7	3	10
Standard	1	3	6	3	12
Advanced	1	2	6	3	13
Expert	1

How To Play: Turn Order

The person who most recently read part of a book goes first. Audio books and e-books count too - this rulebook does not.

Each player's turn consists of three phases.

1. Action Phase

Carry out up to three actions. The actions you can take are explained in detail in the Actions section. Throughout the rulebook, actions are in bold.

You may carry out the same action more than once during a turn. For example, you may decide to use your three actions to flip three Floor tiles.

You may give one of your actions to the next player, using the Pass-An-Action token to keep track. You can only pass on one action.

Because this is a cooperative game, it's a good idea to discuss your actions! However, the final decision belongs to the person taking the action.

The solo game has one extra action, and a few different rules. See the Solo Game section.

2. Disturbance Phase

Reveal the top card from the Disturbance deck and carry out the action as directed on the card.

The Disturbance card shows you which of the four Floor tiles around the Bookwyrm has been cursed (ie disturbed) this turn. To identify the correct tile, align the compass on the card with the compass in the centre of the library and the Bookwyrm on the card with the Bookwyrm meeple. The chosen tile is highlighted in pink.

Once you've taken the action which is appropriate for that specific Floor tile, discard the Disturbance card. The final card in the Disturbance deck is the "Out of Time" card, which ends the game immediately when revealed.

3. Bookwyrm Phase

Move the Bookwyrm piece clockwise to the next outer junction between the octagonal Floor tiles. In the example on the Disturbance Phase example page that means moving one space to the right, which is marked with a star.

Beware! The Bookwyrm is likely to make more than one circuit of the grid during your game...

Activation

Floor tiles containing Terrors or Shelves are activated as soon as they are flipped - regardless of whether this was caused by a player or a Disturbance card. This means that a Terror or Shelf token is taken from the stack and placed face up on that Floor tile.

Reward and Crossroad tiles do not have tokens, so they do not activate.

Actions

You can do any of the actions in any order, and you may do the same action more than once in a turn.

Take a Book card from any of the six genre decks. You must have space in your hand for this card. (Your hand limit is six, and you can discard cards at any time for free.)

Flip an adjacent (not diagonal) dark (face down) Floor tile to its lit side. If a red Terror or green Shelf icon is revealed, immediately activate it by placing a Terror or Shelf token face up on that location; whichever is specified by the icon.

You do not need to have a clear pathway leading from your current tile to the adjacent tile in order to flip it. (You can look through the bookcases on the edges of the Floor tiles, but not walk through them!)

Whether you flip vertically or horizontally, be careful not to rotate the tile as you do so, as this could change the direction of the pathways. Looking at the Floor tile and then deliberately choosing its orientation is not allowed.

Rotate your own or an adjacent (not diagonal) lit tile 90 degrees in either direction. You do not need a clear path from your location to rotate a Floor tile.

Pass a card or cards between yourself and another player on your Floor tile. You may give one card, or receive one card, or swap one card for one card.

Both Book cards and Reward cards may be passed. In the multiplayer game you cannot pass captured Terrors, but you may do so in the solo game.

Move as far as you wish along an unblocked and lit pathway. You may move around corners. Terrors and Shelf tokens block your path. You also cannot move through the bookcases on the edges of the Floor tiles or through dark (face down) Floor tiles.

Move actions may also contain a second, automatic part. This does NOT cost an additional action, but is included in your move action. In the multiplayer game, the three possibilities are:

Move and capture. To capture a Terror, you must have the cards to defeat it in your hand. This means that you must be able to match all the symbols on the Terror with symbols on your cards. See the Capturing & Returning example.
Move and return a Terror. To win the game, you must return six captured Terrors to the six Shelves. One of the symbols on the Terror must match the Shelf symbol. When you return a Terror, you draw a Reward card. See the Capturing & Returning example.
If you land (finish your move) on a purple Reward tile, you may draw a Reward card.

Example of Capturing and Returning

In this example, you'll be taken step by step through how to capture the Basilisk and then return it to the purple shelf. This takes two actions: first move and capture, and then move and return.

The Book cards, Terrors, and Shelf tokens feature combinations of colourful symbols, which you need to match in order to capture and return Terrors. See the Symbols section for details.

To capture the Basilisk you need one blue hourglass, one purple fist, and one orange athlete. Combining the Book cards for Jo March and Nzinga gives you the required symbols. (You don't have enough to capture the Kraken, as it requires two of each type.)

First, move and capture.

Move on to the Basilisk's Floor tile by following Arrow 1, from the purple meeple to the Terror token.
Gather all the cards used in a pile. (As if Nzinga and Jo are now guarding the Basilisk.)
Remove the Terror token (the Basilisk) from the library, and place it on top of the gathered cards. The Basilisk is now captured, and it and the cards used to capture it together take up one of the six slots in your hand. (See the FAQs for why.)

The Floor tile is now empty and safe to move through or finish a move on. Your first action is complete.

Then, move and return.

Move to the purple Shelf token following Arrow 2. (The Basilisk could be returned to the blue Shelf, but the paths are blocked.)
Take the captured Terror from your hand and the Shelf token from the library, and place them together beside their corresponding Book genre deck ("Amazing Lives" in this case). The Shelf space on that Floor tile is now empty and safe to move through or finish a move on.
Discard the cards used to capture the Terror and draw a card from the Reward deck. You have now completed your second action.

Example of Disturbance Cards

Once you have identified the Floor tile chosen by checking the compass and the location of the Bookwyrm, then the specific disturbance depends on the current state of that tile.

Only one of these disturbances will ever be relevant to any Floor tile, and so you only carry out that one. Don't attempt to do all four!

IF the highlighted tile is currently dark (such as the tile south west of the Bookwyrm), THEN you must flip it to its lit side. If it is a Terror or Shelf, it automatically activates. (See Activation.)
IF the highlighted tile is currently occupied by either a Terror token, Shelf token or a player (such as the tile south east of the Bookwyrm), THEN you must rotate it 90 degrees clockwise.
IF the highlighted tile is an empty Terror space (such as the tile north west of the Bookwyrm, where the original Terror has been captured), THEN you must re-activate it by taking a new Terror token and placing it on the Floor tile.
IF the highlighted tile is an empty Floor tile which is NOT a Terror space (such as the tile north east of the Bookwyrm where the original Shelf has already been filled with a captured Terror), THEN you must flip it back to its dark side. This applies to empty Crossroad tiles and Reward tiles as well as Shelf tiles.

The Disturbance card summarises this: "How the curse strikes depends on where it chooses... If the tile is dark: Then flip and activate. or If the tile is occupied: Then rotate 90 degrees clockwise. or If it is an empty terror tile: Then fill with a new terror. or If it is a different empty tile: Then flip back to dark."

This game includes two extra "double curse" cards, which are for those players who wish to add more tension! If you use these, then make sure you apply a disturbance to both tiles highlighted.

Two Example Turns

In this game, there are two players. They have set up the game as in the Set Up section with 18 Disturbance cards and with the Floor tiles for a standard game. They are a few moves in, and now it is the Blue Player's turn.

This example shows two turns, step by step. These aren't the only choices these players could make, but it does demonstrate how turns might work in practice.

This example also shows the Disturbance and Bookwyrm phases, which happen after each player has taken their actions.

The example's hands are shown as pictures: the Blue Player holds the Ichiyo Higuchi (Resilience, Storytelling, Insight) and Zenobia (Wisdom, Stamina, Curiosity) Book cards. The Red Player holds the Amanirenas (Judgement, Leadership, Speed) and Ada Lovelace (Science, Logic, Precision) Book cards, a captured Basilisk, and a double Reward card (Secret Passage / Useful Map).

Action Phase - Blue Player

Action 1. The Blue Player cannot capture any of the Terrors with the cards currently in their hand. They decide to use their first action to flip over a dark Floor tile to explore the library further. They flip the Floor tile to the south of them (note the compass symbol on the central tile).

The flipped Floor tile reveals a Terror icon and so the Blue Player activates the tile by taking a new Terror from the stack. In this example, that Terror is the Chupacabra. They place it face up on the Floor tile revealed.

Action 2. For their second action the Blue Player chooses to take a Book card. They could capture the Chupacabra if they added a red empathy symbol to their hand. So, the Blue Player takes a Children's Fiction Book card, as this is guaranteed to provide at least one heart symbol. The Blue Player's new card is Anne Shirley (Creativity, Storytelling, Resourceful).

Action 3. For their third action the Blue Player can capture the Chupacabra. They need one each of the red, green, and blue symbols. They can combine their Anne Shirley and Zenobia cards to get these symbols and capture the Chupacabra.

They move their player meeple to the Floor tile with the Chupacabra token. They must automatically capture it as part of the move action. They gather the two cards (Anne and Zenobia) and the Chupacabra token in one pile. This pile now goes into their hand and fills one slot, just as if it was a single object. The Blue Player's meeple stays on the empty Floor tile.

Disturbance Phase

The Blue Player reveals the top card of the Disturbance deck. It highlights the north west tile.

The Blue Player identifies the Floor tile by noting where the Bookwyrm is and the direction of the compass in the centre of the library.

As this tile is occupied by a Terror token, it is rotated 90 degrees clockwise.

Bookwyrm Phase

The Bookwyrm moves one space clockwise to the next outer junction.

That is the end of the Blue Player's turn. It is now the Red Player's turn.

Action Phase - Red Player

The Red Player has two cards and one captured Terror (the Basilisk) in their hand. They would like to return the Basilisk to a Shelf, as filling all six Shelves will win the game.

There are three Shelves on the library grid at the moment - purple, blue, and red. The Basilisk doesn't have a red symbol, so it can't be returned to the red Shelf. The blue Shelf is blocked by the Minotaur on one side and the purple Shelf on the other. (Even though the Shelf tokens are "friendly", they still block the path.)

Action 1. For their first action, the Red Player rotates the tile they are occupying. This creates a path.

Action 2. For their second action, the Red Player moves and returns.

There is a bookcase in the way, but they discard their Secret Passage card in order to move through it. (This card only allows you to pass through one bookcase, which is why they needed to rotate their Floor tile earlier.) They finish their move action on the purple Shelf token.

They take the purple Shelf token and the Basilisk token and place them together next to the deck of purple cards. They discard the cards which were used to capture the Basilisk (ie the ones which were part of the combined pile). Finally, they take a Reward card into their hand.

Action 3. For their third action, they move to the same Floor tile as the Blue Player. Perhaps the Blue Player could use some of their cards next turn?

Disturbance Phase

The Red Player reveals the top card of the Disturbance deck. It highlights the north east tile. The Red Player identifies the Floor tile.

As this tile is currently dark, it is flipped to lit. It is revealed to be a Shelf. The Red Player takes the next Shelf token from the stack and places it face up on the new Floor tile.

Bookwyrm Phase

The Bookwyrm moves on one outer junction.

Remember that the Disturbance and Bookwyrm phases happen after each player's turn.

Reward Cards

There are two types of cards in the Reward deck - Magical Item cards and Booster cards.

Magical Item cards. These objects have fallen out of books. Each card has two symbols in the bottom right corner. Use these alongside the symbols on the Book cards in order to capture Terrors. There is one Magical Item card per genre. (Example: "The Spear of Minerva" - this card may be used in place of two blue wisdom symbols. Discard after use.)

Booster cards. These are played on your turn and enhance your action in the way specified on the card. Each card has two options and you choose which option to use when you play the card. (Each Booster card reads: "Choose only one action, and discard this card after use." Example: Useful Map / Library Ladder.)

Boosters enhance your action as follows:

Time Machine - Take an additional action during your Action phase.
Trolley Service - When using the pass cards action, the two players (or solo player and Trolley) may be on different Floor tiles.
Library Ladder - When using the move action (including move and capture or move and return), you may move sneakily past an active Terror tile or Shelf token if the route would otherwise be accessible.
Secret Passage - When using the move action (including move and capture or move and return), you may move through ONE bookcase on the edge of a Floor tile that would otherwise be blocking your path. To move through two bookcases, you would need two Secret Passage cards.
Useful Map - When using the flip action, you may flip a tile to lit side from anywhere: you do not need to be adjacent.
Library Card - When using the take a Book action, take one additional card from any of the genre decks.

Each Reward card can only be used once, and is then discarded. You may use multiple Reward cards at the same time on the same action.

Hand Management

As suggested in the Set Up section, we recommend that you show your fellow players what you hold in your hand by playing with your cards face up in front of you where all players can see.

Each player has space for six card slots in their hand at any time. This could be any combination of Book cards, Reward cards, or Terrors - they all count towards the hand limit.

All your cards must be placed into your hand in front of you as soon as you draw them. You may not keep any cards or captured Terrors elsewhere.

You may discard cards from your hand for free at any time. This doesn't cost an action, and can be done even when it's not your turn. You may not draw or receive any additional cards if you don't have space for them.

A captured Terror fills one "slot" in your hand and counts towards your six card limit. The cards you used to capture the Terror cannot be used again, so place them under the Terror token in your hand and discard them when you return the Terror.

You may not discard a captured Terror, even if you cannot return it. You cannot pass a Terror to another player in the multiplayer game. You can pass Terrors to the Trolley in the solo game.

Example: a hand with two Book cards, two Reward cards, and one captured Terror has five slots, with one slot empty. (Other Reward cards shown: "Drink Me" - this card may be used in place of two green logic symbols. Discard after use. Library Card and Photocopier appear as a double Booster card.)

Adjusting The Difficulty

The most effective way to make the game harder or easier is by using different combinations of Floor tiles.

There are 30 Floor tiles in the box. Each game uses 25 tiles, in these quantities:

Difficulty	Centre (compass)	Blank crossroads	Shelf	Reward	Terror
Solo	1	4	7	3	10
Novice	1	4	7	3	10
Standard	1	3	6	3	12
Advanced	1	2	6	3	13
Expert

Different Floor tiles also have different pathways - gold tiles are crossroads, while the Shelf, Terror, and Reward tiles are corners or T-junctions.

When choosing your Shelf, Terror, and Reward Floor tiles, pick a random combination of corners and T-junctions. However, if you wish to tweak the difficulty even more precisely, choose mainly corners for a slightly harder game!

It is also possible to make the game harder or more tense by substituting some of the Disturbance cards for the "double curse" cards, as these mean that it's possible for the Bookwyrm to reveal two Terrors at once.

You can also make the game easier by increasing the number of cards in the Disturbance deck. This increases the number of turns for each player.

Symbols & Colours

Six colourful symbols appear on the Book cards, as well as on the Terrors and Shelf tokens.

Red heart - Empathy (Children's Fiction)
Pink quill - Expertise (Classic Fiction)
Orange athlete - Athletics (Legends)
Green tree - Logic (Science)
Blue hourglass - Wisdom (Historical Leaders)
Purple fist - Courage (Amazing Lives)

Each Book card has three or four symbols, and the first symbol always matches the cover of the card. (The accompanying words simply tell you about the character.)

Each Terror has three different symbols, or two pairs, or three pairs. To capture, you must match every symbol and can combine any number of cards to do so. To return, one of the many symbols on the Terror must match the symbol on the Shelf token.

Solo Game

So, you got trapped in the library alone? Never fear, your semi-sentient Trolley companion is here!

Yes, really. Your Trolley acts like a cross between a second player and an overflow hand. It can move independently to you and you can pass cards and Terrors to it.

During your turn (which is every turn!) you can move either your player piece or your Trolley, or a combination of the two. You still have three actions per turn. Remember the Disturbance and Bookwyrm phases after you take your three actions.

Solo Set Up

The set up is the same as in the main Set Up section, using the solo mode ratio of different Floor tiles and starting both Trolley and player meeple on the central compass. Use more corner shaped Terror Floor tiles for a harder game and more T-junctions to make the game easier.

Solo Actions

There are four key differences when playing solo:

You may pass captured Terrors.
It does NOT cost an action to pass cards or captured Terrors (on the same Floor tile).
The Trolley cannot capture or return Terrors without your player meeple.
You can use the special move and ride action, where your Trolley and player meeple move together.

The solo actions are:

Flip an adjacent (not diagonal) Floor tile from dark to lit.
Rotate your own or an adjacent Floor tile.
Pass cards or captured Terrors between you and the Trolley when on the same Floor tile. (This is free, so does not count towards your three actions per turn.)
Take a Book card from any genre deck.
Move along a lit, unblocked pathway. Depending on where you finish your move and what you have in your hand, you may also carry out the automatic, bonus parts detailed below.
- Move and take a Reward card by ending your move on a Reward Floor tile.
- Move and capture a Terror. Example in the Capturing & Returning example. Only your player can do this: the Trolley may not capture alone.
- Move and return a captured Terror. See the Capturing & Returning example. Only your player can do this: the Trolley may not return alone.
- Move and ride, moving both your player meeple and the Trolley meeple at the same time. If the two meeples start on the same Floor tile then they may be moved together. You may combine move actions to create a single action where some or all of the cards used to the Terror come from the Trolley. You may also with a Terror held by the Trolley.

(Note: the Turn Order section states "The solo game has one extra action"; the Solo Game section states you still have three actions per turn. Both are as printed in the rulebook.)

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as 'adjacent'? In Library Labyrinth the Floor tiles diagonal from your tile do not count as adjacent. Only the orthogonal Floor tiles are adjacent.

Can I land on a Terror token without capturing it? No. You may only move on to a Floor tile containing a Terror if you are immediately capturing it. You may only move on to a Floor tile containing a Shelf if you are immediately returning a captured Terror.

Do all Floor tiles activate when revealed? All Terror and Shelf Floor tiles get a face up Terror/Shelf token when flipped from dark to lit side. Floor tiles depicting the Reward icon do nothing until you end your move on one.

Can I still take Book cards from a deck which has had its Shelf filled with a Terror? Yes. When returning a Terror, you place the Terror and Shelf tokens next to the corresponding deck of Book cards simply for convenience. It does not impact your ability to take Book cards of that genre.

Can I move past another player? Yes. Your path is not blocked by other players. It is only blocked by Terror or Shelf tokens, or by dark (face down) Floor tiles. There's also no pathway through the bookcases on the edges of Floor tiles.

What if a deck runs out? That depends on the deck.

If a Book genre deck runs out and there are Book cards of that genre in the discard pile, then these can be reshuffled to form a new deck for that genre.
If the Reward deck runs out, and there are Reward cards in a discard pile, these can be reshuffled to form a new Rewards deck.
If the Disturbance deck runs out, you'll draw the Out of Time card, and the game ends.

Does the Bookwyrm ever help players? Occasionally, yes. For example, if an empty Floor tile depicting a Shelf icon is flipped to dark by a Disturbance card, it will re-activate with a new Shelf tile when flipped back to its lit side!

Why keep cards used to capture a Terror in my hand? Keeping the cards helps you to remember that one of the slots in your hand is a captured Terror.

What happens if all Floor tiles around the centre are Shelves? There is a very, very slim chance that the first four tiles will be Shelves. If this happens, reshuffle the Floor tiles and start again.

Who has the final say? If there's ever any disagreement about strategy, the current player has the final decision about what happens on their turn.

Where can I find out more? There is a background book included which provides more detail, particularly about the literary Terrors. There is also a website, www.librarylabyrinth.com, which contains workshop materials for those who want to play Library Labyrinth in schools and youth clubs.

Where are the Book characters and Terrors from? All fictional works are in the public domain: either by virtue of the author having been dead for 70 years, or the works having been made into films which are out of copyright, or because the story is a folktale.

All historical figures have been dead for at least 50 years, with the majority having died more than 100 years ago.

Quick Rules

Action phase. Take three actions. Actions are listed below.
Disturbance phase. Reveal the top card from the Disturbance deck and follow the instructions on the card. Discard the card afterwards.
Bookwyrm phase. Move the Bookwyrm one junction clockwise.

Actions:

Flip an adjacent (not diagonal) dark (face down) Floor tile.
Rotate your own or adjacent Floor tile 90 degrees in either direction.
Pass card/s between two players on the same Floor tile.
Take a Book card of any colour from the top of any of the different genre decks.
Move as far as you choose along an unblocked, lit path. (Including round corners.) Depending on where you choose to land, there may be a second, bonus part included in your move action.
- You can end a move on a Terror only if you use cards in your hand to capture it. Capturing a Terror is automatic and doesn't cost an additional action. The Terror and the cards you used to capture it go into your hand and take up one of your six slots.
- You can end a move on a Shelf only if you immediately return a captured Terror. Those Terror and Shelf tokens are placed together next to the relevant genre deck. The cards used to capture are discarded. This is automatic, not an additional action. Take a Reward card when you return a Terror.
- You may choose to take a Reward card if you finish a move on a Floor tile with a Reward icon. It is not an additional action.

How To Win (Quick Reference)

You win the game when you return one captured literary Terror to each of the six Shelf genres on the tokens.

You lose the game if either the Disturbance deck runs out of cards, or if there are ever six Terrors on the grid of Floor tiles.