[4] The player characters explore a stepped pyramid deep in the heart of a tropical jungle—the Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan.

The shrine is an ancient pyramid in the style of the Mayas and Aztecs, and the names, creatures, and characters in the adventure are also based on that time period.

The adventure contains a booklet including fifteen illustrations of the shrine intended to be shown to the players when they arrive at the corresponding areas.

[7] The first version published for sale to the general public in 1980 was titled The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan and bore the module code C1.

The module was the first to introduce players to the Olman culture of the World of Greyhawk, a society loosely based on Aztec, Mayan, and other sources.

"[6] Jim Bambra reviewed The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan for the British RPG magazine White Dwarf, and gave the module an 8 out of 10 overall.

Bambra noted the adventure's "Central and South American flavour", and "setting... from Aztec and Mayan culture and mythology".

"[5] He felt that the treasures were skimpy, and that Dungeon Masters running the adventure as part of a campaign would need to increase the total value to make exploration worthwhile to the players.

[4] Dungeon Master for Dummies includes The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan in its list of the ten best classic adventures, noting the players' destination as a "Mayan-style temple full of surprising traps and devious tricks.

[11] According to Denmead, "the whole dungeon is trap-o-palooza, and it's really important to listen, pay attention, and always assume that when something looks too good to be true, you're probably dead already, so go ahead and grab it.