The player, as Sleepy Joe, must make his way around the maze collecting the eight keys required to open the Dark Door of Deeper Sleep and progress to the next level, whilst avoiding the Springy Thingies which bounce around the maze. Occasionally a cup of black coffee will appear, touch it and the bouncing beasties will disappear for a short time allowing Joe to collect his keys unhindered. Nightmare Maze was developed by Mike Williams of MRM. It was originally published for the BBC Micro by MRM, with a re-release for the BBC and Electron by Blue Ribbon.