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Labyrinth Pinball Machine Review | Barrels of Fun’s Brutal Beauty Based on Jim Henson’s Classic

Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama·video·50m 50s·analyzed·Oct 2, 2025
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.033

TL;DR

Labyrinth is flawed but charming; technical issues don't diminish immersive design and addictive gameplay.

Summary

Gonzo's detailed review of Labyrinth by Barrels of Fun acknowledges significant technical glitches and difficulty balance issues in the game but ultimately praises it as an immersive, well-made machine with excellent theming and charm. Despite reservations about the source material, he rates it highly for build quality comparable to JJP standards, noting that Barrels of Fun demonstrated substantial learning and improvement from their first title to Dune.

Key Claims

  • Labyrinth had approximately 900-1,000 units produced but may not have reached full production target

    medium confidence · Gonzo states: 'I think they meant to build a thousand. I think they for one reason or another they couldn't quite build a thousand.'

  • Barrels of Fun fixed the outlane drain issue in Dune by implementing an adjust-on-post feature absent in Labyrinth

    high confidence · Gonzo: 'I know they fixed for Dune, is on the outlanes. There's no adjust on the post. So, you can't close up the gap at all.' Later: 'Clearly Barrels of Fun noticed after this game was produced that it was a problem, and they coded in a solution.'

  • Labyrinth experiences frequent mechanical issues including ball sticking, flipper fade, and inconsistent VUK/scoop ejection

    high confidence · Detailed technical critique throughout review covering stuck balls, flipper fade effects, eject power tuning difficulties, and volume level problems

  • The topper mechanism (moving heads) is non-functional despite eye lights working intermittently

    high confidence · Multiple references to topper malfunction: 'The two heads either side of this main character here, they're meant to turn when they speak. They don't turn.'

  • Labyrinth is significantly harder and more technically troubled than Dune, representing Barrels of Fun's learning curve

    high confidence · Gonzo: 'having also played Dune, I can tell you now that the improvement from this game up to Dune is significant' and 'I think you'll find Barrels of Fun will have learned from this.'

  • Aftermarket lane extenders purchased from Etsy for £50 transformed the game experience by eliminating outlane trap issues

    high confidence · Gonzo purchased modifications costing £50 including import tax that 'made a lot of difference' and 'transformed the game for me'

  • Labyrinth build quality is comparable to JJP standard but not quite at Dutch Pinball or Big Lebowski levels

    high confidence · 'It's at JJP standard in terms of materials used and build quality... Not quite at the level of Dutch Pinball. Not quite at the level of The Big Lebowski'

Notable Quotes

  • “Despite all of that, I have become addicted to this game. In fact, I would go as far as to say I love this game.”

    Gonzo @ ~13:50 — Critical turning point in review establishing that despite technical flaws, the game's design and charm overcome its issues

  • “It's at JJP standard in terms of materials used and build quality. They've done a good job.”

    Gonzo @ ~21:10 — Direct competitive positioning of Barrels of Fun against established boutique manufacturers

  • “I think as this goes on, perhaps like myself, people are going to gradually discover this game and start to appreciate it for what it can do rather than what it can't do.”

    Gonzo @ ~19:50 — Prediction about Labyrinth's long-term collector value and reputation evolution

  • “This game has atmosphere. The theme lends itself to a pinball machine more than it lends itself to a film.”

    Gonzo @ ~15:30 — Unique insight about theme-to-medium translation quality

  • “It looks like a world under glass. And I think less than a thousand made. I do wonder if this game is going to stand the test of time quite well.”

    Gonzo @ ~19:40 — Investment/collectibility perspective on limited production run

  • “If you don't like taking the glass out of a pinball machine, I wouldn't bother with this game because you're going to have to.”

    Gonzo @ ~25:30 — Explicit ownership warning about maintenance requirements

  • “The plunger is a bit stiff. It's not the easiest one to do the skill shot on because there is a soft plunge.”

    Gonzo @ ~27:00 — Specific mechanical criticism of skill shot design

  • “Is it fun? Yes, this game is a lot of fun.”

    Gonzo @ ~42:30 — Final verdict distilled to core question the channel consistently asks

Entities

LabyrinthgameBarrels of FuncompanyDunegameGonzopersonJim HensonpersonDavid BowiepersonDutch Pinballcompany

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Player community actively troubleshooting Labyrinth issues on Pinside forums; high engagement indicates dedicated enthusiast ownership base despite technical problems

    medium · Reviewer references Pinside thread participation and forum posts addressing same issues he encountered

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Gameplay difficulty balance questionable—game too hard for intermediate players and younger players; middle jump shot frequently rejects; guides interfere with sling; overall 'bricky' flow

    high · Extensive critique of shot difficulty, rejection rates, and flow issues; daughter unable to play despite pinball capability

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Barrels of Fun signature design approach: back-of-playfield screen feature (similar to Circus Voltaire) creating atmospheric depth; labyrinth-pattern laser-etched speaker panels; miniaturized world aesthetic

    high · 'it's got what I think is going to be Barrels of Fun's signature feature, which is the screen lower down—like Circus Voltaire'

  • $

    market_signal: Boutique manufacturers (Dutch Pinball, JJP, Spooky, Barrels of Fun) now offering genuinely competitive alternatives to Stern, shifting buyer preferences away from major manufacturer dependency

    high · 'you're just not necessarily going to go and get a Stern anymore. There's real viable options'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Labyrinth as Barrels of Fun's first title shows expected learning curve in manufacturing; substantial improvements visible in second title Dune demonstrate iterative refinement

Topics

Mechanical reliability and glitches in LabyrinthprimaryBuild quality comparison: boutique manufacturers vs. SternprimaryOutlane drain design and aftermarket modificationsprimaryGameplay difficulty balance and accessibilityprimaryTheme integration and world-under-glass design philosophyprimaryBarrels of Fun's learning curve from first to second gameprimaryLocation viability and maintenance burdensecondaryCollector value and limited production runssecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.72)— Despite extensive negative technical critique in first half, reviewer ultimately endorses game as fun, charming, and well-made. Positive sentiment grows as review progresses from problem-identification to appreciation. Final verdict is clearly favorable despite caveats about ownership requirements.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

You don't need to have an expert eye to know what you see before you here is a labyrinth pinball machine from Barrels of Fun. Now, I'm a bit late to the party in reviewing this game because it's been out for the best part of a year and a half, and I'm going to do this review slightly differently to the way I would do a lot of the others because I'm going to start this review by telling you what's wrong with this game. Then we're going to get on to the other stuff in a second part of the video because there's a significant number of glitches with this pinball machine, which is Barrels of Fun's first offering. And I know Barrels of Fun themselves would admit that they found this to be a big learning experience. And having also played June, I can tell you now that the improvement from this game up to June is significant. But there's a few things I think I need to explain before we go into any detail on this game. For some reason, this game, this film, should I say, Labyrinth, had completely escaped me. Even though I love David Bowie, I've got three David Bowie albums. I never watched the film when it was out, which is strange because I love Jim Henson. I used to watch The Muppets. It was released at a time when I should have been watching it. I watched The Dark Crystal for instance, but I never actually watched this. Well, not until this game was released because when this game was announced, it transpired that it was something of a dream theme for a lot of people. There's a lot of people very, very excited about Labyrinth. So, I thought, I'm going to have to go and watch it now. So, I did. I sat down with with my then nine-year-old daughter. We sat down in this very room and we watched Labyrinth. Despite the Jim Henson puppets, despite David Bowie featuring in it, despite some quite catchy songs, I thought it was rubbish. I possibly would have felt differently had I have watched it as a child, but I didn't. I watched it as a 49y old man at the time, and I wasn't impressed. But let's be honest, a lot of the stuff that you watch back doesn't always age particularly well. I used to enjoy Star Trek Voyager. I'm quite sure if I watched it now, it would look pretty dated. So, I was relieved in many respects because there was nothing for me within the theme. I didn't feel the urge to go and and try and test this machine, which is in Zac Stark contrast to June, which is very much a dream theme for me, having read the Frank Frank Herbert books when I was younger, having enjoyed the more recent incarnations of the movies. That's very much a theme for me. This isn't. I could take it. I could leave it. Then when the game was released, you started to read about the issues online. First of all, it was brutal. Everybody said, "This game is really, really hard." I'm not a great player. Far from it. I would say I'm an intermediate player. And um certainly a poor a tough game, a game that's hard is not something that necessarily appeals to me. So there was no allure for the theme and there was no real drive for me to try and play the game. The first time I ever played it was at a uh at the expo. Uh so it was very very busy conference center. I had one game on. It was very noisy, very brightly lit, very loud. And also at the same convention was Pop Fiction and Jaws. And that was really the first time I'd played them. And also at that we also had um Elton John which I'd had in this house first. So there were some really really big hitting games there. Some very good games and and actually all of those three games, Pulp Fiction, Jaws and Elton John. I've been lucky enough to have them here in this house. Uh and well actually actually have two of those games and I think they're all magnificent. So this if you want was going to always have to be at best a slow burner. So, we fast forward to now and now I've got my hands on one of these games and I can really give it the once over. I think it's fair to say that the game has had long enough for Where's the girl? What girl? You know the girl? Oh, that girl. She's already been through it once. Why would she go through that again? Well, before I was uh before I was interrupted by what is or what should be a magnificent topper, I was about to say we've had long enough for Barrels of Fun to have ironed out a lot of the glitches on this game, and I'm sure they have, but the timing was perfect there because you've just seen one of them, and that is that this topper on this machine is not working. Uh the eyes light up, or at least sometimes they do. uh the two heads uh either side of of this main dude here, they're meant to turn when they speak. They don't turn. Um that's the least of my problems. I still think sitting at top of there, it looks really really cool. And by the way, it's a really cool looking machine, but we'll get to that later on in a video. There will be some gameplay later on, and I will be giving you a closeup um of this game and showing you the playfield. Uh first of all, this game is it is tough. It's clunky. Really clunky. Bricky, clunky. There's a lot of shots on this that fall between the margins. This game has pretty much no flow at all. If you're going to start playing this game and and constantly trying to hit the ball on the fly, you're likely to fail. You're going to need to know when to trap up. You're going to have to have at least some sort of pinball skills. You're going to need to be able to drop catch. you're probably going to be able to need to be able to bounce past and get the ball under some level of control. It it's it's pretty bricky. Uh the flippers, whilst they feel good, the flippers are subject to uh a large degree of flipper fade, which means the game you end up playing after a a long session on the game is very very different to the game you start playing at the beginning. But it's no by no means on its own in that. So, I think with this, this would certainly be a game would lend itself to um to some um flipper fan cooling kits or which will be my my choice on this will be the the precision the at least the precision bushings um and some probably some precision flippers. The game doesn't always work as it should. Uh it it's prone to crashing sometimes. The volume levels are all seem to be out of kilter. So there's there's a multiball which you you get on here which is the most easy ball multiball uh to get a David Bowie will start singing. Um and his song and his singing is is far lower than the rest of the volume levels and I don't seem to be able to adjust it. If you are able to adjust it, I'd certainly say that the menu system is in no way intuitive and I figured out how to do so. Having also been on pin side, I'm far from the only person that's having this problem. The the ejects, the VUKs, the scoops, um they either seem to be too powerful or not powerful enough. Trying to get the settings on here is a laborious task and I have spent a lot of time doing so. There is an eject just to the right of the upper right ramp. I sometimes the ball can just get stuck there. It's trying to eject it out. It ejects it out and it hits the guide and then the guide pops it back straight back in. So, I've spent a long, long time trying to get that out of there. Another thing that happens all too frequently is the ball gets stuck. You would never want this game on location. Um, the ball gets stuck in all manner of places. There are some wonderful sculpts on here. Um, there are a a lot of air balls, a lot of air balls on this game. Um, and the ball will just get stuck anywhere and everywhere, which will result in you having to take the glass off. I I would think it would be a bit of a nightmare on location actually because I just think you'd constantly be being approached by somebody saying, "Excuse me, um, the ball's stuck." Um, that I don't mind it. Let me say that. in a home environment. I don't mind that the ball does drain a lot because one of the things that they didn't put on this game, which I know they fixed for June, is on the outlanes. There's no adjust on the post. So, you can't close up the gap at all. And in many respects, it it reminds me of Star Trek the Next Generation, which you have the lane extenders. Now, I'm actually going to hopefully be able to show you one here. Actually, I'm trying to take it off. I can't take it off. It's It's actually well stuck on there. I'll show you when when I do the uh when I do the playfield tour. I've actually purchased some lane extenders for it. I got them I got them off Etsy actually, and I had to buy them in the States. So, they are two pieces of plastic, two pieces of either molded or printed plastic. They can't have cost more than a dollar to produce by the time I had to pay import tax. I've paid50 pounds for these two pieces of small plastic, which was painful to do. They've made a lot of difference. In fact, I would go as far as to say they've transformed the game for me. On the left hand side is a post that blocks the outline. out of the box. It doesn't really work because again the ball can get trapped between the post for the out lane and this blocking post which rises up out of the playfield. This modification has fixed that completely. Now clearly Barrels of Fun noticed after this game was produced that it was a problem and they coded in a solution. So if the ball does drain down that out lane, you will get your ball back. And there's a lot of coded solutions in this game where you get your ball back. There is a shot, a middle shot, which is not always makeable. And I do believe that they've made they've just made the game slightly too hard that when the guides come down from the top, I will try and adjust that. That will be my next job. But there's been a lot of adjustment on this game. I'll have to try and move the guide so as it avoids the sling. The guide comes down, hits it onto the sling, and it's a sort of gives it um makes the game very very random. So, you're probably thinking, "No more to say. What a stinker this game is. What a terrible, terrible pinball machine." No. Despite all of that, I have become addicted to this game. In fact, I would go as far as to say I love this game. To go further than that, I'm pretty much playing this game exclusively at the moment because even though I don't like the film, because of the pinball machine, I think I've sort of fallen in love with the characters. I've fallen in love with the labyrinth. It's beautiful to look at. It won't be in any way striking on the camera. Why would it? This probably just looks like a brown powder coat. But it works. In fact, there's a lot of browns, a lot of oranges on here. But all I can say is the game itself is absolutely beautiful. The sculpts are wonderful. The lighting is magnificent. Once you have fixed those outlane drains, which this does, I no longer find the game difficult. I have I can have some tough games, but we're not looking at The Walking Dead here where I'm having a game that lasts 2 minutes. I'll have a couple of games for the camera and and and we'll do that shortly afterwards. And and all I would say on that is when I do that, I'm pretty sure I'll have at least a five minute game, maybe a 10-minute game on here. Um, it's thoroughly enjoyable. Bigger than that, I think the game has got personality. It has got charm. And for all of its faults, this game has been made with a lot of love. There's been a lot of detail that's gone into this and it it's obvious that that's the case. Now, what I want to point out is this game and and by the way, this is pretty much the top version you're going to get. So, we've got the alternative back glass on it. The other one is is absolutely fine, but this is this is beautiful. It's sort of gold mirrored back glass. It's got the topper. For all I said about the topper, I can't do it, but I'm sure it is a relatively easy fix. I'm sure the mechanics haven't stopped working. I think it's something to do with the connections on the board. Whilst the sound levels are not quite right, the sound quality is decent. And when you start to look at the price and you look at how packed this is with magnets and ball locks and diverters and uh and mechanisms, um you start to realize this is priced in this country at least. This is the pretty much the same price as a Stern Premium. You get a more pinball machine for your money with this. It's relatively dimly lit, but again, that's no problem. I can turn the lights on. something that Barrels of Fun have fixed immediately because they've got their internal lighting system which they put on June which is um well they've routed it in to the side of the cabinet. The gameplay and the coding is quite addictive. There appear to be, unless I've got this wrong. In fact, I'm looking at it now. There are six main modes. A mini wizard mode and a wizard mode. Well, that's okay because that's going to keep me interested. Then you have um you you basically collect your friends, which then leads to friend multiball. So, you do have little side missions as well. There are some neat little shots. I wouldn't call it I guess many would call it a fan layout. I guess it is to to an extent a fan layout, albeit with an upper flipper, but the upper flipper loop is makeable. In fact, not only is it makeable, it's enjoyable. The orbits are hitable. The ramps are tight, but that's what stops you really hitting it on the fly. But if you can trap up, you're going to go, you should be able to hit those ramps most of the time. And I wouldn't really say there's any particular mode that's just totally ramp heavy. Almost the modes all seem to require a series of shots, albeit in a different not always in the same order. It is a mode based game, but there's a simplicity to this game. Um, and and I like it. I got to say I really really like it and to such an extent I'm thinking well I sort of missed out by not playing it earlier but the reasons were good. Elton John is a magnificent game. Jaws is already one of my favorite games of all time. Jaws Jaws will never go. Pop fiction is an absolute triumph of a game. the girl. Oh, but as a modern pinball machine, this this works even though it's an older theme in many respects. I think possibly the theme lends itself to a pinball machine more than it lends itself to a film. And I do understand that that might be sacrilege. Um because a lot of people love the film. I don't I don't by the time I watched it, as I mentioned earlier, I did feel it was quite dated. But this game has atmosphere. Uh, one of the things I'll show you in a minute is it's got what I think is going to be Barrels of Fun signature feature, which is the screen lower down like Circus Voltater. Uh, the screen at the back of the playfield, which I really like. I don't really have much time during a game. I'm not a good enough player to constantly raise my eyes and look at this screen here. But the screen's fine. It's um about the same size as a Stern Spike 2, which is more than adequate. That's fine. Um, I do like on these speaker panels. I'll show you more closely in a minute. They are actually in they're etched a sort of laser cut out of the metal uh in a labyrinth. And if you've seen June, that's very much they've they've done the pattern as as the sand worm as the mouth of the sandworm. It It's charming. Now, it's probably too hard. My daughter thought it was magnificent, you know, when she saw it. It's too hard for her to play and she can play pinball. it's too hard for her to play. So, this game is not for everyone. But whilst it is attractive and people like it and people look at it and they think it's it's amazing and whilst it is dimly lit for you playing it, the way the lights work in terms of guiding you through the game, the way the inserts work and actually how pretty the game is and the lighting in it is very very good. I think the sculpts are are wonderful. It looks like a world under glass. And I think less than a thousand made. I do wonder if this game is is going to stand the test of time quite well. I think as this goes on, perhaps like myself, people are going to gradually discover this game and and start to appreciate it for what it can do rather than what it can't do. As I explained at the start of the video, there's very, very few games that I think, you know, out the box don't have problems because it's not easy to build a pinball machine. I think particularly when it's the your first attempt at building a pinball machine, it's going to be tough. And as I mentioned, I think you'll find barrels if I will have learned from this. But this is a good pinball machine. It's very wellmade. It's very robust. It's heavy. They in many respects not quite at the level of Dutch pinball. Not quite at the level of Big Labowski, which still to this day is about as magnificently as I've I've seen a pinball machine made. But it's good. It's it's at JJP standard in terms of materials used and build quality. They've done a good job and I'm now looking at these companies and in particular, well, I've already mentioned two of them there, but I've looked at a Dutch. I know Dutch have only made two games so far, which is obviously Big Labowski and Alice, but there's another one on the way. And you're looking at what Spooky Pinball are doing. And you're looking at at certainly JJP as well and and Harry Potter was was a magnificent magnificent game as was Alton John. And then you look at quite possibly CGC are looking to do something else. They've obviously got Medieval Madness now. Um I don't know if we still use the name boutique pinball manufacturers. It almost seems a little insulting now. These these companies are making good pinball machines. Really really good pinball machines. Pinball machines that if you're looking at your next purchase, you're just not necessarily going to go and get the stern anymore. There's real viable options because I certainly felt for a while some of the some of the boutique manufacturers the quality was was less. the quality wasn't as good. And I understand you might be looking at this video and listening and saying, "Well, hold on. You spent you spent the first few minutes this video telling you telling me what was wrong with this game." And I was right. As I say, I would not put this game on location. There's a lot wrong with it. But I think they're learning. Let me just correct you on that. I think they've learned. And I think June is going to be a level up on that. I would if you're a type of person that doesn't like taking the taking the glass out of a pinball machine, I wouldn't bother with this game because you're going to have to. You really will. You're going to have to do that. There's going to be fixes. You're going to be find yourself going on the um pinside thread to try and fix what's wrong. But if you can work your way through that, if you can accept that this is not a Steve Ritchie game, this is not a flow monster, you can accept that you've got yourself a tough pinball machine that you're going to have to make some tweaks to. And if you can work your way through that, then you're going to find that you've got a game that's very immersive, that has all the assets, which if you like the film, you're going to be used to and you're going to enjoy, which has a great soundtrack to accompany it, and which just has a ton of charm and some really neat pinball moments. Got to get that topper sorted out. I'm sure we will. Um, but it's a great game and anyway, I'm going to go and share some of that with you now. Hopefully you enjoy that. I'm going to try and do it a little bit of justice by having a bit of half decent gameplay. So, let's take a look at the game. So, the first thing you're going to see is this fearsome twanganger. Um, what I would say is this twanganger is a bit stiff. It's a bit not the easiest one to do the skill shot on because there is a soft plunge. Now, I think it might have been easier if we didn't have this on here, but it's obviously an important part of the game. Hopefully, you can see here, you know, some nice artwork on there. Take a look at the sides as well. All looking pretty cool, huh? It's a nice game. It really is a lovely, lovely looking game. Let's before we go on to the playfield, let's do all the do all the other stuff first. So, as I mentioned earlier, you can see there is a really nice speaker grills there in the pattern of a labyrinth. both sides. The glass is beautiful. Really, really nice. It's um it's just stunning. It's It's really really nicely done. I mean, there's lots of nice back glasses now, aren't there? But I I prefer this even though I like David Bowie. This this one just a little bit more fun. Maybe concentrate more on um Jim Hson's puppets. And if we look here, you'll get a closer look at them. Now, they're really good. It's a really cool topper. Let's get that right. It just the dudes either side of the the big one are meant to move. There's something I don't know. Something not quite right. Actually, I'm not sure how much their eyes are lighting up now. Their eyes light up different colors. No, there's there's there's something not right with it. Uh hopefully we'll get it sorted. The lights were lighting up, but the heads weren't turning. So, we'll get it sorted at some point, but it's not the biggest issue for me at the moment. But I certainly think if you're going to, you know, pay money for the topper, you want that to work, don't you? Right, let's take a closer look at the playfield, I think. So, this came with the art blades in it. I think that's pretty standard on this stuff on the barrels of fun stuff. the apron. That's pretty cool. I like aprons now that don't have the instruction cards in them. That's absolutely fine for me. Um, and you can see it's just really nicely done. So, straight away here you've got just this lovely sort of cobbled artwork there. You got the wall around the labyrinth. Um, got Ludo. You can see him in the middle there. How much help? Well, you can see Sedamus just under underneath there. Uh, we got a scoop shot which is just here. It's okay. It's it's it's about as difficult as I guess it's it it is a it's about as difficult as Godzilla which I find quite hard. Now, what I want to do is just show you this is what I'm talking about. one the lane extenders. Hopefully you can see that there. So this red section that you can see under here, just here, that is a lane extender. That's made a lot of difference. Now, if we go over to the other side of the game, hopefully you can also see that there. This is just offset ever so slight. Sorry, I just knocked the camera down. It's just offset ever so slightly. That's because this post rises up and is meant to diver divert it into there. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. With this modification, it works all the time. So, that's fixed the problem. As you can see, it it's beautifully lit. Absolutely beautifully lit. Let's go a little bit closer here, shall we? So, we've got an orbit with the spinner on the left hand side. We got a really nice ramp next to it. It's quite quite tough, but it raises up. So that's basically a draw bridge the start of the ramp. So that that first ramp does raise up. Um you've got just behind that you have an inner loop and this inner loop which you can see just here. This one here you hit that from this flipper and it works. The the shot that's probably most difficult is this shot here. It's it's meant to be a little jump shot. Well, it is a little jump shot. it it often rejects. I suspect that'll be fixed when I sort the flippers out. Uh you've got this wonderful section here which is I think it looks really cool. There's a mechanism here. Ludo's under there. I don't know if you you can see him. There he is. See that? Cool. Hey. Um really cool. It's beautiful. This is beautiful. And a real 3D effect to it. If I want you to look here so you can see this section here. Then you've got the castle at the back. You've got the art blades and then you've got all this stuff going on in the background on this back screen. I'll just turn the exposure down a bit so everybody can see it. I mean that is really cool. Really, really cool. So it gives the game incredible depth. Then you factor in this sculpt here, which is the knockers. If you know that from the film, it's beautiful. Three flippers, three balls, three goblins will take them all. Really, really nice. Um, I just want to show you here. You've got an inner loop, which hopefully you can see just there, and a drop target. That's where you get your um your your extras. So, you you've got to hit that down. Um you got to hit that in there. And um you can get things like extra balls. That will give you little side missions to do like hit five ramps, uh 50 spins of the spinner, then you can achieve and get different bonuses from doing that, which is pretty cool. You've got the ramp, which you can see just there, center of your screen. Now, tough tough shot to hit. Then you have another orbit just to the right of it. Hopefully you can see that. Very hitable shot that orbit. And you're going to need to hit that one a lot. Now, just here, you got a shot which if you sneak it in there, you get the uh you get the cup of tea. Basically, there's a sculpt that pops up out of there. There's another sculpt which pops up out the back. And there's also another sculpt down here which hopefully you'll be able to see. There it is. You can just see it in there. Pops out out of here. Keep an eye out for those in the game play. Um, you got a post which holds the ball in here which is really cool. Um, it's just it's a simple game. It's a hard game but it's a lot of fun. And hopefully I'm going to demonstrate that now. So hopefully you'll be able to see that I'm really enjoying playing it. I'm not sure you could even get any more of these. I think I think they built they meant to build a thousand. I think they for one reason or another they couldn't quite build a thousand. Um I'm not sure. You'd have to you you you'll have to check out um with Barrels of Fun themselves if there are any left. But it's a it's a very very good game. Some flaws, some glitches, some things that need to be sorted out, some things that need to be fixed, some things that need to be coded out. But it's an enjoyable game. And what do we often say on this channel? Is it fun? Yes, this game is a lot of fun. Anyway, hopefully despite my poor camera work, I've shown you enough of this game. So, you've had a close look at it. So, maybe if you are considering getting yourself one of these, just give you a good look around Give it a go. You're going to need to get out and play one on location if you're undecided. But don't be surprised if you get out on location. Then it's not working because the ball's stuck somewhere. Anyway, let's have a game. Okay, let's try and have a bit of a game on here. So, I'm going to start with a soft plunge, which I managed. There's the worm skill shot. Found Ludo. Okay, so I almost started a mode there, but I' I'd like to get the wise men first, which I didn't do. I actually just started a mode. You're a wonderful. So, shoot lit shots to progress the story. I think if they're flashing lit shots, they're worth more on this mode. It's that upper loop I was talking about then. But then when I went for the second one, I said it's, as I mentioned, it's very hard to hit it off that upper. See that? That was me trying to hit it again off the upper flipper. It's something not quite right there. Even then, it was was hard to hit. So, I've actually accuracy I was okay then, but it just doesn't there's a lot of rejects on it. See the magnet then just took it on a different path. I think they're really It's really cool to magnet in this game. Oh, it's going to give me a ball save. Very generous there. Probably didn't deserve one, actually. I actually got it then. That was that little that little ramp shot I was talking about. [Music] Whoa. Do you see the magnet got it again then? Okay. So, I've got it the wiseman there. So, it wants me your quest is to shoot five ramps. Oh. Oh. You saw that was an airball then. That was quite a big one. That that does happen a lot. One thing I do like on here, you can get ball locks for multiball on several different shots. I'm actually going to cancel throwing multiball here by holding the flippers to cancel that cuz I don't want it yet. I want to build that up a little bit. Again, it's another nice little bit of nice little feature of the the code that I like. So, I'm still in that same mode, just in case you're wondering. What have we got here? Oh, that was stupid. That was just stupid. Right on. You won't be able to see this, but the lights are lit up on the topper now. So, but it's just it's not moving as I said. So, that was the knockers there. So, that's lit that insert. I didn't complete it, but I did participate in it. So, it's one ball locked and I found Ludo. Don't if you see he's popped out from his hiding place there. Cool. And now I can start another mode. I'm just going to get the second ball locked for multiball if I can. Oh dear. No, I lost the ball. Poor show. Poor show there. I love this music. So, I don't really want to take the multiball yet. I'm not in a mode. Start a mode first. That's why I was talking about that guide there. I need to sort that out. often it'll it did actually did it all right then, but it sometimes just throws it onto the sling. That starts a mode. Four guards. This is a bit of a riddle. You've got to shoot the inner loops here. And then you've got to It will tell you what shots to hit. You've got to turn every shot the same color basically, but I don't know whether it wants me to turn every shot red or blue yet. But we'll find out if I can get it up a loop. But the information when it when it when you need it will be on that back screen [Applause] again. Another reject on that shot. There he may see him pop out there. So yeah, I mean just just not a not a very good game there, but I think you'll agree it wasn't a poor game. Ready? I've got another one. I obviously didn't count that correctly. Um Oh, I did. Did I? Sorry. It was It was the end of the game, but I didn't um I didn't miss out because the game was too brutal. I missed out cuz I didn't play well. That was my fault, not the game. Let's have another game. Is almost as heavy as Ludo. I rocks, too. I'm not sure if it's the right strategy. I do try and start by if I can get one of those wisemen. Oh no, I've got multiball uh lock there. It's all right. It's fine. Um if I can start a wiseman quest to start off with, then you do feel you're a little bit on the on the way to an extra ball maybe. But I'm I'm still learning on this game. Got it in there, but it's a complete accident. Shoot five loops. So that's that's my quest on this one. So we got those um the four guards as well again. I didn't need to miss that shot. That would have been a useful one to get. Things aren't always what you see. Sometimes. Oh yeah, I got it. Oh, damn. Again, I missed it. I'm just not not doing very well again. Reject on it. Same shot. I actually got it then. No rejects on that. That was cool. So, you're going through this riddle when you're doing that. So, it's saying shoot ramps orbits to toggle color. Make them blue. Okay. So, it wants me to make them blue. So, I've hit a red shot then. So, to make them all blue, it's actually only needing the right orbit. Right. All right. So, now I've got to shoot the right inner passage to try the door. Oh man. Sorry. I've not nudged the camera then. Damn. I was Yeah, I was quite close to doing that, I think. Oh, that's the multiball music. I love multiball. The chaos, the [Applause] big airball there. Happens quite a lot that one. What I would say is the game is relatively well built. So, this is all pretty robust. It's not like you're getting air balls and you're going to smash all that stuff. Okay, I got a multiball. Didn't really want the multiball. So, basically, I got the ball stuck behind these two posts here. You've got to hit that to try and free them. And then all the red shots will light again for the multiball. The jackpot shots mate. Oh man. Okay. So technically I'm still in multiball. It's going to do a ball search now cuz it doesn't know that the other one's stuck behind there. Oh man, I actually hit the wires in a shot there. It just bounced it out. Got it. There you go. I deserve that. I think that's your lot. So, next crest reward, extra ball lit. So, again, you get the ball in this mode. You get the ball trapped behind there. Got the extra ball there. I thought I did. What? [Music] At least they haven't lost their bodies. [Music] Oh dear. Not good. So, it might try and offer me friend multiball now. I can cancel this if I want to. I'm going to I'm going to cancel it. I don't want it yet. That's a bit of a risk, but worth taking. I mean, I don't you saw that actually jumped over the flippers the ball. So, yeah. I mean, you know, as I say, it's not without it for this game. But I didn't get control of the ball. I didn't hit the shots. So, it is punishing me for being absolutely inaccurate. Oh, what I would say is I'm not playing particularly well here. That's another wiseman quest. I've got to shoot 10 targets. That's relatively easy to shoot 10 targets. Well, I would say I do think here you're seeing all of the worst and none of the best of the the game at the moment really. are just not playing well. And ordinarily I am I am better than this and I'm not as I say I'm not a great player. Um come on give me that back you can four stop. Okay, if I can get it into that scoop now, I will get the French multiball, I'm huggle. I situs yield to thee. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That is Oh, man. That is really really harsh. Really harsh. Um I was doing all right then as well. Um there you go. That was pretty good. Yeah, I think it's all right. Honestly, I think I did all right. I like the game. I don't even think I've honestly that's about those two games there is about as badly as I've played all week on this. Um, but there you go. That is Labyrinth by uh Barrels of Fun. Certainly is a lot of fun. [Music]
  • The game features six main modes, a mini wizard mode, and a full wizard mode with multiball mechanics

    medium confidence · Gonzo: 'There appear to be—unless I've got this wrong... There are six main modes, a mini wizard mode and a wizard mode.'

  • Labyrinth has a signature back-of-playfield screen feature similar to Circus Voltaire, representing Barrels of Fun's design philosophy

    high confidence · 'it's got what I think is going to be Barrels of Fun's signature feature, which is the screen lower down—like Circus Voltaire'

  • Game is not location-suitable due to frequent ball sticking and mechanical failures requiring constant glass removal

    high confidence · 'You would never want this game on location... the ball gets stuck in all manner of places... I just think you'd constantly be being approached by somebody saying, Excuse me, um, the ball's stuck.'

  • The Big Lebowski
    game
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    Chicago Gaming Companycompany
    Stern Pinballcompany
    Elton Johngame
    Jawsgame
    Pulp Fictiongame
    The Walking Deadgame
    Star Trek: The Next Generationgame
    Circus Voltairegame
    Pinsideorganization
    Medieval Madnessgame

    high · 'It's your first attempt at building a pinball machine, it's going to be tough... I think you'll find Barrels of Fun will have learned from this. But this is a good pinball machine.'

  • $

    market_signal: Labyrinth pricing at approximately Stern Premium level ($11,600+) despite being boutique manufacturer debut; questions about value given technical issues and limited production run

    medium · 'this is priced in this country at least—this is pretty much the same price as a Stern Premium. You get a more pinball machine for your money with this.'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Labyrinth features comprehensive mechanical complexity (multiple magnets, ball locks, diverters, servo mechanisms) at price point equivalent to Stern Premium, offering more hardware per dollar

    high · 'you look at the price and you look at how packed this is with magnets and ball locks and diverters and mechanisms'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Aftermarket lane extender modifications (£50 cost) substantially improved outlane drain experience, addressing design flaw

    high · Reviewer purchased custom Etsy lane extenders that 'transformed the game' and 'fixed that completely'

  • ?

    product_concern: Labyrinth exhibits systemic mechanical issues: ball sticking, flipper fade, inconsistent VUK/scoop ejection, untunable volume levels, non-functional topper mechanics, air balls, and guide-sling interaction problems

    high · Detailed itemization of glitches throughout review; reviewer spent significant time troubleshooting; multiple Pinside forum users reporting same issues

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Reviewer's opinion evolved from skeptical/dismissive (theme disinterest, technical concerns) to enthusiastic endorsement through hands-on play experience and recognition of design quality

    high · Transition from 'brutal,' 'really hard,' 'no allure' to 'addicted,' 'love this game,' 'thoroughly enjoyable'