Wiz Maze

Wiz Maze is a puzzle video game released in 1984 for the Commodore 64, developed and published by Mastertronic. The game is presented from a top-down perspective and falls within the maze and puzzle-solving genre. The player controls a wizard character navigating a series of increasingly complex, multi-screen mazes. The primary objective is to locate and collect a specific number of magical keys scattered throughout each maze. Upon collecting all required keys, an exit portal appears, allowing progression to the next level. The mazes are populated with various hostile entities, including ghosts, spiders, and other fantasy-themed creatures. The wizard possesses a limited supply of spells that can temporarily stun or destroy these enemies. The game features a single-player mode with a fixed number of levels, each presenting a unique maze layout and enemy configuration. The visual design employs simple, colorful tile-based graphics, and the audio consists of basic sound effects for actions such as collecting items and using spells. Wiz Maze is notable for its straightforward mechanics and its role as a budget-priced title during the early home computer era.

The player controls the wizard using a joystick or keyboard. Movement is restricted to the four cardinal directions: up, down, left, and right. The wizard moves one tile at a time across a grid-based maze. To collect a key, the wizard must move onto the same tile as the key. The number of keys required for the current level is displayed on the screen. The player activates a spell by pressing the fire button on the joystick or a designated keyboard key. Each spell has a limited number of uses, indicated by a counter on the interface. When used, the spell emits a burst of energy in the direction the wizard is facing, temporarily freezing or destroying any enemy in that tile. Enemies respawn after a short delay. Contact with an enemy results in the loss of one of the wizard’s lives. The game ends when all lives are depleted. The player can restart the current level from the beginning after losing a life. The interface displays the current level number, remaining lives, keys collected, and spells remaining. No pause function is available. The game does not include a save feature; progress is lost when the computer is turned off.