History

The labyrinth marble game is a game of physical skill with the goal of steering a ball through a maze by tilting the playing surface. In doing so, the player must prevent the ball from falling down any of the holes present in the maze. It is an ancient game that has existed for many years in many different variations, appearing in children’s playgrounds around the world. The game was popularized in 1946 by BRIO. The popularity of the labyrinth game has endured through generations, making it a timeless and iconic game. It has become a classic family game and is appreciated for its combination of skill, concentration, and hand-eye coordination. American singer and songwriter Paul Simon is only one of many to have dedicated countless hours to the game in order to master it, calling himself “the Bobby Fischer of this game” on the Dick Cavett show in 1972.

Records

Given its popularity and long presence, it has become the goal of many players to achieve the fastest time in solving the labyrinth from start to finish. The current record is held by Lars-Göran Danielsson achieving an impressive time of 15.41s which he achieved in 2022.

Variations

Due to the simplicity and great game-play of the labyrinth, many variations of the game have emerged. For example, Google built a giant version of the labyrinth where the maze can be tilted using a tablet.

MCKook, a popular DIY YouTube channel, showed how the game can be built using only cardboard as main material.