Theseus

Theseus is an electronic conversion of the Theseus and the Minotaur pencil-and-paper maze puzzle by Robert Abbott, based on the concept of logic mazes where certain limitations in movement apply.

The game consists of 85 mazes with an increasing difficulty to solve, designed by the original author, one of the early converters Toby Nelson, as well as Claude-Guy Quimper. Players need to guide Theseus (represented by a blue ball) towards the exit of the maze, while avoiding the minotaur (represented by a horned, red ball). The goal of each level is to reach the exit, but this cannot be done by travelling towards it directly. Theseus is only able to move one tile at at time, while the minotaur can do two. To reach the exit, Theseus has to outsmart the minotaur by luring him into a specific position, exploiting the internal movement logic. The minotaur will not chase after Theseus directly, but approaches him based on rules of vertical and horizontal movement. For instance, when Theseus is on the same horizontal line as the minotaur, but with a wall between them, he is able to move left and right as much as he wants without having the minotaur move. At certain moments it is also needed to delay an action or skip the turn, to lure the minotaur into a certain path without moving Theseus.

The game is entirely controlled through the touch screen and includes an automatic save function, an undo and reset button, and different hints. The game also keeps track of the amount of moves that was needed to solve the puzzle and provides an award based on the result.