Masters of the Maze is a children's television game show that aired on the Family Channel from August 29, 1994 to September 15, 1995. After the last episode aired, the show went into reruns until September 22, 1996. The first season was hosted by J.D. Roth, and the second season was hosted by Mario Lopez. Broadcast and production history A few years before Masters of the Maze first aired, Australian Fenton Rosewarne created a puzzle called "Fenton's Maze," which Janet Weeks said "combined elements of Trivial Pursuit and Rubik's Cube." Hal Berger, designer of the Power Glove, through his company IMAGE design and entertainment turned Fenton's Maze into an electronic game, licensed the product to Tiger Electronics, and then sold the game show concept to the Family Channel. The show, a two time Emmy-nominated (1995 and 1996) game show for kids, was taped in a 65-by-85 foot studio at CBS Studio Center. The second season consisted of 40 shows, taped five per day. According to co-executive producer Richard Kline, the concept of the show is "to allow viewers at home to get inside the video game." The opening sequence was created by CBS Digital. N. F. Mendoza, in an article in the Los Angeles Times printed the day before the show's premiere, referred to defusing a multi-level time bomb, and at one point in the article, referenced the show with the title TimeBomb. Audition process For the second season, there were 500 prospective contestants vying for 120 contestant spots. The auditions included a 25-question test, a narrative, as well as inhibition-testing events like a tug-of-war, a story-completion exercise, and a blindfolded trip through an obstacle course of folding chairs. Gameplay Round 1 (both versions) Three two-member teams competed. Each team chose one member to play the question and answer format of the game, while the other went offstage. At this point, the host showed distorted pictures to the players, each of which became more clear as time progressed. The first player to buzz in and identify the picture won ten points and a chance to answer a question about the picture for five additional points. The first two teams to reach 50 points won the right to enter the maze, with the first team doing so earning the right to decide who went into the maze first. After one team reached 50 points, the other teams played out the rest