Masters of the Maze

Three teams of three kids compete in the video game of the future.

Broadcast
FAM - August 29, 1994 – September 22, 1996

Packagers
Kline & Friends/Image Entertainment/Fenton Group

Hosts
J.D. Roth (Season 1) Mario Lopez (Season 2)

Lady of the Maze
Renae Jacobs (Season 1) Clea Montville (Season 2)

Voices
Mark Maxwell-Smith

Gameplay
Three kids compete in a game of knowledge & observation for the right run through a giant maze with the help of their partners. The team with the fastest time wins the game.

Round 1 (Picture Round)
The three main contestants faced a video wall. Appearing in the video wall is a distorted picture, the picture would come in clear as time went on until one player buzzed in. A correct answer from the buzz-in player scored 10 points, but an incorrect answer gave the other player(s) a chance to see more of the picture. In addition to the 10 points, the player with a correct guess had a chance to answer a follow-up question related to the picture for five more points. Pictures & questions were played out until one player reached 50 points. The first player to reach 50 points won the round, while the other players played a speed round with more pictures but no questions. When a player missed a picture at that time, a clue was given to the other player, the picture stayed frozen when the clue was given. The second player to reach 50 points also won the round. The two winners of the round went on to run through the maze. The first round one winner would get a choice to run first or second.

Note: In earlier episodes, the non-speed round pictures were timed starting at 10 seconds. The first player to buzz-in with the correct answer scored the remaining time in points, plus a chance to answer the bonus question for the same value. As soon as the first half of the round ended with someone reaching 50 first, the speed round commenced; and all pictures in the speed round were worth 10 points straight-up.

The Maze
The maze had three sections: The Mirror Maze, The Honeycomb Maze and The Chamber of Knowledge. The winners of the first round were dressed in a "power suit" and was aided by his/her partner who will help him/her guide the player through the maze. The partners guide the runners through the maze by moving a video game typed joystick. The joystick controls high intensity sensors & rumble devices built into the suit, which tell the runner where to go. The Power Suit also had a TRT: Total Running Time, that indicates how long the runner has been in the maze.

Before going into the maze, the runner must first meet the "Lady of the Maze" who informed the runner about the challenges & the dangers of the maze. When all said and done & on the go signal, it was time for the runner to enter the maze. That was also when the clock started.

Mirror Maze
The runner navigated through a passageway of mirrors where at the end is the "Mirror Man". As soon the runner reaches the end of the maze, the "Mirror Man" would block the exit and couldn't pass until he/she answered one question correctly. The questions were posed by host Roth. When the runner answered a question, he/she can proceed, if not, then the runner must then try to answer another question. If the runner could not answer three questions correctly, he/she must then wait for five seconds before moving again. When exiting the Mirror Maze, the runner crossed a bridge on his/her way to the Honeycomb Maze.

Power Sticks
During the run through the Mirror Maze & crossing the bridge, the runner must find two Power Sticks. One for going into the Chamber of Knowledge, the other to stop the clock after exiting the maze.

Honeycomb Maze
Before going into the Honeycomb Maze, the runner must put his/her visor down. The visor acts as a blindfold, meaning that the runner cannot see what's going on; so the runner must rely on his/her partner to guide him/her through. The Honeycomb Maze consisted of six rooms with locked/unlocked doors. The partner's job was to guide the runner through the right path indicated by the computerized map in front of the partner. As soon as the runner made it through the right path, the runner was free to raise his/her visor and enter a secret room where (s)he'll be talking to the Lady of the Maze again, this time about the Chamber of Knowledge. Also in the room was a pink box where one of the two power sticks must be placed. Like the lady says "If the power stick is in place, you may proceed."

The Chamber of Knowledge
The Chamber of Knowledge consisted of six guardians of three gates which were closed; when opened, the runner can get out of the maze.

Chamber of Knowledge Guardians (Season 1)
Here are the guardians of the gate:


 * The Guardian of the Gate of History (gave questions about American history; represented by an old Native American woman's head)
 * The Guardian of the Gate of Fantasy (asked questions about story books, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes; represented by a dinosaur's head)
 * The Guardian of the Gate of the Animal Kingdom (represented by a lion's head)
 * The Guardian of the Gate of the Unexpected (asked questions about pop culture; represented to look like an elf or somewhat of a Star Trek character)
 * The Guardian of the Gate of Nature (represented by a face that looked to model after wind)
 * The Guardian of the Gate of Innovation (asked questions about science; voice usually sounded like a man, but sometimes a woman)

The runner faced three of the six guardians one at a time. Each one asked up to three true/false questions. A correct answer opened one of the three gates and moved to the next guardian, but an incorrect answer caused another true/false question to be asked. If the runner missed three questions on a single guardian, the gate opened automatically after a five second wait, and then if the third gate hadn't been opened yet, the runner spoke with the next guardian. Once all the gates were opened, the runner can get out and placed the second power stick into a holder to stop the clock and end the run.

The first team set a time for the second team to beat, and the second team tried to beat that time. The team with the fastest time won the game. In the case that the second team's time passed the first team's time, alarms went off and the first team won; otherwise the second team was declared the winners. The winners of the game won prizes and the right to take on the third & final level of the maze called "Prize Mountain".

Prize Mountain
The winning runner faced a mountain with five monitors flashing "Prize"/"No Prize". The Prize screen was represented by a diamond & the word "Prize", and the No Prize screen was represented by a mask & the phrase "No Prize". The winning runner used his/her laser to aim & fire the laser at a monitor, but in order to fire, the runner must yell out "Fire", and then the partner press a button to shoot the laser. The objective of this round was to zap the screen on Prize. If the team can zap on three Prize screen before zapping on three No Prize screens, the runner won a $500 gift certificate at The Sharper Image in Beverly Hills.

Season 2 Rules
Season two of the series is pretty much the same except with several changes which will be mentioned as we go along.

Round 1 (Picture Round)
The first round was basically the same except that the potential runners no longer buzzed in to stop the picture and take a guess. This time, the main contestants shoot the picture using their own laser podiums before taking a guess. Other than that, correct picture guesses were still worth 10 points and the right to answer a five point bonus question. Along the way, a special bonus picture came into play in which the picture was worth five points more or 15 points, with the bonus question still worth five; so the bonus picture & bonus question total 20 points (15 for all the others). The speed round remained unchanged except that it was now played after the first commercial break (there was no commercial break at halftime in the first season). Again the first two teams to reach 50 points went to the maze; the first winner still had a choice to run first or second.

The Maze
Most of the maze was changed, and was extended as well. The winners of the first round were dressed in a brand new "power suit" and was still aided by his/her partner who will help him/her guide the player through the maze. The sensors which tell the runner where to move were now represented by strobe lights.

Before going into the maze, the runner still had to meet the "Lady of the Maze" first. The lady was now a younger redheaded woman dressed in a pink tanktop, white skirt & silver boots. When all said and done & on the go signal, it was time for the runner to enter the maze and the clock to start.

Mirror Maze
The Mirror Maze remained unchanged except with a new layout, but the runner no longer had to search for a power stick during or after the Mirror Maze. Again, as soon as the runner reached the end of the maze, the Mirror Man blocked his/her path. Then a question was posed, this time by the Mirror Man himself. A correct answer to the question again allowed the runner to proceed, if not, then the runner must then try to answer another question. This time it also took two unanswered questions and a three second wait to allow the runner to move again. When exiting the Mirror Maze, the runner still crossed a bridge, this time on his/her way to the Ice Cave.

Ice Cave
Before going into the Ice Cave, the runner faced the Lady of the Maze again. The lady presented a picture the same way as the first round, then the runner had five seconds to guess the picture without stopping it. A correct guess won the right to walkthrough the short path, but a wrong guess or failure to answer forced the runner to take the long path; either way they lead to the Chamber of Knowledge. Before going in however, the runner must put his/her visor down; so this way the runner cannot see; so the runner must rely on his/her partner to guide him/her through. In the Ice Cave, there were a few obstacles. On the floor, were Mirror Man heads and flashing red sensor lights. When anyone the those things were stepped on, icicles from the ceiling were lowered causing his/her path to be blocked. At the first Icicle gate, the partner navigated the runner around the gate. The purpose of the Ice Cave was to find the Power Stick to be used to stop the clock at the end of the maze. When the runner came closer to the Power Stick, a blip would sound to let the runner know; the blip sounds increased as the runner got closer & closer. As soon as the runner found & grabbed the Power Stick, (the icicles were raised and) the runner was free to raise his/her visor and enter the Chamber of Knowledge.

The Chamber of Knowledge
The Chamber of Knowledge now had four guardians instead of six, and it only took one question to get out of the maze.

Chamber of Knowledge Guardians (Season 2)
Here are the guardians of the gate for the second season:


 * The Guardian of the Gate of Education (gave school-related questions; same face and voice as Season 1's Guardian of the Gate of the Unexpected)
 * The Guardian of the Gate of Imagination (asked questions about pop culture and other miscellaneous facts)
 * The Guardian of the Gate of the Natural World (gave questions about nature)
 * The Guardian of the Gate of Science and Discovery (gave questions about science and technology)

The runner faced a randomly selected single guardian. The chosen guardian asked this time up to two true/false questions. A correct answer opened all three gates and exited the chamber, but an incorrect answer caused another true/false question to be asked. If the runner missed both questions, the runner had to wait five seconds before the gate opened.

Final Runs
After leaving the chamber, the runner faced a television monitor which had flying faces of the Mirror Man. The runner activated his/her laser and fired at the screen with his/her partner doing the shooting. The idea here was to blast the center of the screen twice and then after that, the final run up Lighting Mountain (which was actually the first season's Prize Mountain fully redecorated) to stop the clock and end the run by placing in his/her Power Stick at the top.

Just like before, the first team set a time for the second team to beat, and the second team tried to beat that time. The team with the fastest time won the game. In the case that the second team's time passed the first team's time, alarms went off and the first team won; otherwise the second team was declared the winners. The runner winners of the game won the $500 Sharper Image gift certificate straight-up, the navigator partner won a $200 Sharper Image gift certificate. The losing team won a $75 Sharper Image gift certificate.

End of the Show
At the end of each show, the winning team also received a "Power Stick Trophy" for having the faster time in the maze. In addition, the winning runner went on a very "Special Journey". This was where the runner stood at the top of the mountain, put his/her hands by their sides, and visor down (and in the Lopez season, also his/her head down). Then after the host left by walking across the bridge & through the Mirror Maze, and with the use of visual computer trickery, the runner broke into pieces, dissolved into a ball and floated away. In the first season, the runner floated into the main game video wall afterwhich his/her name & TRMT (total running maze time) was displayed. In the second season, the floating runner dissolved into a ball followed the Lady of the Maze into a interdimensional tunnel afterwhich the scene was changed a wireframe graphic of Maze Island.

Trivia
The original name of the show was entitled TimeBomb. Mostly due to the fact that the purpose was to diffuse a bomb in time. The title was changed when the producers learned what the show was really about.