After having all their possessions taken from them, a mage, a warrior, an elf, and a dwarf are forced to loot the local Magic Maze Mall to acquire all the necessary gear for their next adventure. They have agreed to first map the labyrinth in its entirety, then find each individual's favorite store, and finally locate the exit. To avoid the surveillance of the guards who are suspiciously watching their arrival, all four will execute the heist simultaneously and then race toward the exit. That's the plan, anyway... but can they pull it off?
The board game The Magic Maze Tin Box is a cooperative, real-time game. Each player can control any hero to make that hero perform a very specific action to which the other players have no access: move North, explore a new area, ride the escalator... All of this requires rigorous cooperation among the players to successfully move the heroes with purpose. However, you are only allowed to communicate briefly during the game; the rest of the time, you must play without giving visual or audio signals to each other. If all heroes manage to leave the mall within the game's time limit, with each having stolen a very specific item, then they all win together.
At the beginning of the game, you only have three minutes for action. Hourglass spaces you encounter along the way give you more time. If the sand ever completely runs out, all players lose—your wandering has aroused suspicion, and the mall guards arrest you!