History
From Deathmaze to Citadel of Blood to Labirynt Śmierci
Labirynt Śmierci wasn't born in Poland, not entirely anyway. It's a Polish take on an American dungeon crawl, which in turn grew out of an older, smaller one. Here's the family tree, and how we pieced it together.
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1979
Deathmaze
The ancestor: one level, adventurers built from classes, a Basic and an Advanced game, and a cooperative win.
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1980
Citadel of Blood
The 1980 successor: 23 named Heroes, three levels, suns and a spell pool, and a Hellgate to find and destroy.
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c. 1982–1984
Labirynt Śmierci
The Polish edition this site is a fan version of, published by Encore without a licence: same numbers as Citadel of Blood, its own names.
Before Deathmaze
A quick footnote: Citadel of Blood's own booklet says its characters and premise come from SPI's Swords and Sorcery. That's as far back as we go.
Deathmaze (SPI, 1979)
Deathmaze came out from SPI in 1979. It's a one-level dungeon for one to six players who work together: you build your adventurers from classes (Hero, Thief and, in the Advanced game, Wizard), draw room and corridor chits to lay out the maze, and try to walk out alive with enough loot and experience. There's a Basic and an Advanced game and 19 monsters, but no suns, no named Heroes and no gate to destroy.
From Deathmaze to Citadel of Blood (SPI, 1980)
A year later SPI took that skeleton and piled on a lot more: 23 named Heroes, a three-level maze, magic tied to three suns and a shared spell pool, bribery, and a Hellgate guarded by X the Unknown that you have to find and wreck.
No guessing needed for this link, it's printed right in the booklet. Citadel of Blood credits its original game system design to Greg Costikyan and Redmond A. Simonsen, the same two people behind Deathmaze's design and graphics.
| Game | Deathmaze | Citadel of Blood | Labirynt Śmierci |
|---|---|---|---|
| Characters | 1 to 6 adventurers made from classes | 3 Heroes and 3 Initiates; 23 named Heroes | 3 heroes and 3 apprentices; the same 23 Heroes |
| Goal | Leave with enough loot and experience | Find and destroy the Hellgate | Find and destroy the Black Gate |
| Maze depth | 1 level | 3 levels | 3 levels |
| Game modes | Basic and Advanced | One | One |
| Spells | 12, Wizards only, no suns | 26, with suns and a spell pool | 26, with suns and a spell pool |
| Bribery | None | Yes | Yes |
From Citadel of Blood to Labirynt Śmierci
Then the game travelled east. Around 1982–1984 Jan Adamski, founder of Encore, put it out in Poland as Labirynt Śmierci, without an official licence. Think of it as an unlicensed Polish edition: no new design, the same game with Polish names. You can see it in the numbers:
What's exactly the same
- All 23 Heroes carry the same numbers: Wound Points, Magic Potential, Resistance, Combat Bonus, weapons, Weapon Skill and ability.
- The three Initiate races (elf, dwarf, human) start with the same values as the apprentices.
- All 20 monsters have identical stat lines: Combat Bonus, wound dice, Resistance, negotiation value, treasure and weapon.
- The Magic Potential table and the sun roll, the Level chart, the trap, negotiation and bribery tables, the mirror table, the valuables table and the weapon bonus table match number for number.
Every Hero, every monster's stats and nearly every table match Citadel of Blood number for number, quirks included. That's no coincidence, and it's why Labirynt Śmierci carries the same credits as Citadel of Blood. Know something we don't, or spotted a mistake? Drop us a line.
What did change is mostly names (the Hellgate became the Black Gate, X the Unknown the Nameless One, Initiates apprentices, the Evil Mage the Warlock) plus about two dozen small rules.
So where does this site fit in?
You can play both Labirynt Śmierci and Citadel of Blood here; pick one when you set up a game.
Credits
Credits as printed in the booklets, plus Labirynt Śmierci's Polish publisher.
Death Maze is an independent, fan-made browser version of Labirynt Śmierci and Citadel of Blood. Labirynt Śmierci is a Polish board game published by Encore (Jan Adamski, the company's founder) around 1982–1984 without an official licence. Labirynt Śmierci is an unlicensed Polish edition of Citadel of Blood (SPI, 1980; game design and development Eric Smith, original game system design Greg Costikyan and Redmond A. Simonsen, physical systems and graphics Redmond A. Simonsen), which in turn grew out of Deathmaze (SPI, 1979; design and development Greg Costikyan, physical systems and graphics Redmond A. Simonsen). The Citadel of Blood characters and premise come from SPI's Swords and Sorcery.
Labirynt Śmierci (c. 1982–1984)
Encore
- Polish publisher and adaptor (Encore):
- Jan Adamski
Otherwise credited exactly like Citadel of Blood, which it copied: see below.
Citadel of Blood (1980)
Fantastic Adventure in the Fortress of Evil
Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI)
- Game Design and Development:
- Eric Smith
- Physical Systems and Graphics:
- Redmond A. Simonsen
- Original Game System Design:
- Greg Costikyan and Redmond A. Simonsen
- Rules Editor:
- Brad Hessel
- Design Assistance:
- Justin Leites and Matt Ruff
- Playtesters:
- Doug Barton, Steve Brandies, Dale Greer, Bernard Gunther, Elizabeth Hailey, Justin Leites, Mark Lund, Eric Ristad, Clayton Smith, Anthony Stanford
- Production:
- Rosalind Fruchtman, Ted Koller, Manfred F. Milkuhn, Michael Moore, Bob Ryer
Deathmaze (1979)
Heroic Adventure in the Corridors of Doom
Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI)
- Design and Development:
- Greg Costikyan
- Physical Systems and Graphics:
- Redmond A. Simonsen
- Rules Editing:
- Brad Hessel
- Playtesting:
- Lee Christopherson, Steven List, Jerry Paulson, Bill Seligman, Glen Taylor
- Production:
- David Engler, Rosalind Fruchtman, Ted Koller, Manfred F. Milkuhn, Michael Moore, Bob Ryer
Game titles and names belong to their respective owners. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the publishers or designers.