Twisty Little Paths: Creating New Types of Experimental Mazes
I spent an entire month making Experimental Mazes were I came up with 11 different types of mazes. Each type had at least one daily maze posted on the site and some of these experiments had up to 5 different versions. Today I want to pull each of these new maze creations together and review them, see how I did, what worked and get some feedback from you.
Part 1 - Perspective Arrow Maze
This idea is pretty simple: Arrow Maze + a change in perspective. I did 5 different versions and below is my favorite example. A typical Arrow Maze is flat and I thought adding some perspective would be interesting. I enjoyed making this and getting the maze aligned as I made it in sections.
Part 2 - Multi Arrow Maze
This idea is connected Arrow Mazes. Day 1 is Arrow Maze 1 you solve normally. Day 2 adds Maze 2 (the upper left corner). The solver starts in the same place, but tries to reach the Day 2 Goal in Maze 2. This continues each day. Day 3 adds Maze 3 and a new GOAL. By day 5 you have 5 Arrow Mazes combined into one. Can you solve each maze in order ? Good Luck. To clarify, landing on a corner of the center arrow maze opens up the new maze section to you.
Part 3 - Color Grid and Grid Maze Combo
Another combination maze, this one featuring a color grid maze and a grid maze. Since the Color Grid is already “gridded” this made it easy to create a 2-in-1 maze. Solve the 2 mazes in any order. In this case the start and goal is the same for each maze type.
Part 4 - Folded Grid Maze
A Grid Maze that has the appearance of being a folded piece of paper based on changing the perspectives on a few sections. I did 2 versions. Easy to make. Looks more interesting than a regular grid maze, but is nothing earth shattering.
Part 5 - Layered Grid Maze
A Grid Maze that uses multiple layers to give the maze a more interesting look. Honestly, this is not very experimental in hindsight. It looks marginally more interesting, but at the end of the day is still just a grid maze.
Part 6 - Arrow and Grid Maze Combo
Another 2-in-1 maze experiment. This one combines the Arrow and Grid Mazes. I made it to be solved Arrow Maze first, then Grid Maze after, returning to the original start, but you can technically solve in either order. I like the idea of the start of one is the goal of the other. I did 4 different mazes of this type.
Part 7 - The Sectional Maze
A Sectional Maze uses lightly connected sections and weaving pathways to travel throughout the maze. Nothing too crazy, but a new type of maze for me. Maybe the newest portion is the one way pathways between sections. I feel like this is a small version of something much larger and more interesting.
Part 8 - Standard Perspective Maze
A standard maze where I have played with the perspective. I think this is the least appealing maze I made playing with perspective. Boring in this example and possibly boring in most examples. When I originally thought of it I was thinking it would look like a folded piece of paper. This particular example is also a Kids maze.
Part 9 - Stacked Grid Maze
A Grid Maze (blue) inside a grid maze (black). Day 1 included only the black walls, while Day 2 uses both black and blue to create the walls. I stopped after 2 days as the solution stays generally the same on day 2 in this version.
Part 10 - Pipes and Arrow Maze Combo
Another 2-in-1 maze that combines Pipe Mazes and Arrow Mazes. These can be solved in any order. I looks a bit odd but these are 2 of my favorite maze types. I will say as a designer this maze type takes a long time to make. If I could make this faster I would make more.
Part 11 - Stacked Standard Maze
5 Mazes in 1. Each Day for 5 days I added a new layer to solve. Each smaller arrow adds a new layer of walls to impede you. So the maze starts with black walls only. The next maze on day 2 uses black and grey walls. Then + Blue, + Red, and finally + Green. I thought this was a fun idea. But the actual execution is tough on the eyes and not as enjoyable to solve as I thought. I wonder if wider spacing for all maze pathways would improve it.
The odd sizes mean I did not make these mazes into a traditional free downloadable book, but I did gather them into a 31 page booklet. It is not recommended for printing. The download is 392Kb and is best used on screen.
Are there some mazes you like that should be continued and explored ? Send me a request.