Life is like a labyrinth: a journey of choices of meandering paths.
Life is like a book: it has a beginning, an ending, and a plethora of experiences in-between.
LABYRINTHÓS is a conceptual art book created by the artist Maciek Jozefowicz that uses the metaphors of the labyrinth and the book to express life journey in the form of a maze puzzle game that extends over an entire book. The book game can be played by a single person like a traditional maze puzzle or by multiple players using dice like a board game. LABYRINTHÓS is available for a limited time for a $15 pledge via the Kickstarter website at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maciekjozefowicz/labyrinthos-a-book-game .
The player begins, appropriately, on the front cover and attempts to reach the back cover by taking various combinations of paths and “jump portals”. The paths continue over multiple pages and the “jump portals” allow the player to jump over pages. While on this journey, the player accumulates rewards or points in the form of various symbols that are distributed throughout the labyrinth. The points accumulated can be kept track of on the back cover of the book. A light grid on each page allows the puzzle game to be played by multiple players using dice. But the creator of the puzzle suggests that the best way to play multiple player game is for each player to have his or her own personal copy of the book in order to better keep track of the points and the unique journey path taken by each player.
What makes LABYRINTHÓS different from traditional board games and video games is that it is meant to be played only once. When completed using color pencils or pens each LABYRINTHÓS book becomes a unique record of that player’s “journey” through the game. Thus each LABYRINTHÓS book is an individual expression of the player. It is a work of art created in collaboration between the player and the creator of the 24 page puzzle book game.
What makes LABYRINTHÓS different from other maze puzzles is its complexity, density and length. In all, the maze puzzle measures more than 16 feet in length. In addition, an important aspect of the maze is that there are no dead-end paths in it. This is especially important to the artist’s expression and metaphor. “The puzzle game expresses my optimistic philosophy of life,” explains the creator. “That philosophy includes the belief that there are no dead-end paths. There are multiple ways of reaching one’s goals, some shorter and more direct than others. It also includes the belief that the journey is as important as the goals. Maybe even more so. After all, life is not about the covers of the book, it is about the pages in-between.”
In order to make the puzzle game available to the public, the creator of LABYRINTHÓS is conducting a campaign to fund the publication. The campaign will continue until Monday, July 29. If the artist’s goal of raising $3,000 is reached, the money will be used to cover the cost of printing copies of the puzzle book and the cost of shipping them to all who pledged at least $15. In addition to the standard copies of the book, limited signed, personalized and numbered copies are also available for a pledge of $30 or more. All copies will be shipped in September and pledgers will be charged only if the goal of $3,000 is reached by July 29. The campaign is being conducted via Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maciekjozefowicz/labyrinthos-a-book-game .
