An Overview of Free Downloadable Maze Books

From the time I started this website I have tried to create books to pull together Maze Collections for people who love to solve mazes. I also have done some monthly themes of different maze types that naturally made for a good book. As I made the books I enjoyed the challenge of creating meaningful content that was both cohesive and engaging, I also got to practice making books and book covers. The more I made the better I got. Good enough to make books for Amazon. But that is not what today is about. Today is about the 11 Maze books you can download here on the website. Plus 6 Additional monthly collections I made into books for a total of 17 free downloadable books on the site !!! This means if you download them all there are 646 different mazes available just from the books below (plus 151 word puzzles) !

My first book was made for Kids, My Alphabet Maze Book. It is a book of each letter of the alphabet plus the numbers 0-9. Each page has the letter/number as a maze and an example of a word that starts with the letter mazed or a number of items mazed for the number pages. Plus each letter has a space to practice writing it. So each page has multiple uses !! Check out the example page for the Letter H Maze.

My Alphabet Maze Book Cover
Letter H maze for kids

MY ALPHABET MAZE BOOK

36 pages, 70 mazes

Ages: 5 and under

Size: 859 KB

Learn your letters and numbers while completing mazes.

My next group of maze books dealt with the maps of each of the states in the United States. I named the more difficult state mazes The United States Road Trip Maze Book. It contains 51 pages and mazes, one for each state plus Washington DC. The example maze is a New York Maze to give you an example of the difficulty.

United States Maze Book
a maze of the state of New York

UNITED STATES ROAD TRIP MAZE BOOK

51 pages, 51 mazes

Age: Adult

Size: 1051 KB

Maps of each US state + Washington DC with difficult mazes.

If you are looking for a more educational state maze book then you are looking for the below United States State Capitals Maze Book. It was made with Middle school children in mind. Each mazes goal is the state capital so it is a way to learn them. Each page also includes some other state facts. Check out the example of the Ohio Maze below.

United States Kids Maze Book Cover
Ohio Kids Maze example

UNITED STATES STATE CAPITALS MAZE BOOK

51 pages, 51 mazes

Ages: Middle school

Size: 1,594 KB

Maps of each of the US states. Each maze ends in the state capital.

Learn each State Capital, Postal Code, Year of statehood, Region of US, State Motto, State Bird and State Flower.

I went through a phase of making map mazes, and similar to the state capital mazes, I made a book of each European country, again ending in the countries capital called The European Road Trip Maze Book. This includes a quiz at the end of the book to match the country to its capital. A nice way to learn the countries of Europe and the largest and most important cities by country, and what each borders ! Check out the example country Germany below.

Europe Maze Book Cover
a maze of germany

THE EUROPEAN ROAD TRIP MAZE BOOK

47 pages, 46 mazes

Age: Adult

Size: 1827 KB

Maps of each European country, ending in each capital city. Includes a capital cities quiz at the end.

After making my ABC book I did a follow-up for children to help them learn their colors called The Learn Your Colors Maze Book. It covers the 12 main colors and has multiple mazes per page. as you can see in the Red example below.

Kids Learn Your Colors Maze Book Cover
Kids Mazes of red things

THE LEARN YOUR COLORS MAZE BOOK

12 pages, 65 mazes

Age: Children

Size: 1442 KB

Learn your colors with 65 unique mazes. Revised and Expanded 2020 Edition !

I experimented with making mazes from common patterns and thought a book of mazes from them would be nice. I called it The Pattern Box Maze booklet. It features 29 full color pattern mazes in a booklet size. I think the Greek Key Maze is a good example of mazes in the booklet. At first glance it doesn’t seem like a maze.

Box Pattern maze booklet Cover
greek key pattern maze

THE PATTERN BOXES MAZE BOOKLET

29 pages, 29 mazes

Age: All

Size: 564 KB

29 Pattern inspired mazes in booklet format (A6, or approx 6x4). Try your hand at solving the Argyle maze. Can you solve the Camouflage maze ? That isn’t just a pattern, it’s a solvable maze !

I had a box maze phase. Keeping the border and structure relatively similar and then experimenting with how I filled the space with a variety of designs and constructions to make the maze. Eventually I had made enough to create another booklet, The 50 Boxes Maze Booklet. This booklet is made for maze lover’s who get bored easily with similar mazes back to back - this is all about variety !

The 50 boxes maze booklet Cover
box spiral maze

THE 50 BOXES MAZE BOOKLET

50 pages, 50 mazes

Age: Adult

Size: 325 KB

50 unique “Box” mazes in booklet format (A6, or approx 6x4)

Block Mazes are a type of maze puzzle. You still have the traditional overall objective of getting from the start to the goal, you just need to do that by strategically moving blocks to create a pathway. The Block Maze Booklet is a quick 12 pages and a change of pace from traditional mazes.

block maze book cover
Block maze #6

THE BLOCK MAZE BOOKLET

12 pages, 13 block mazes including the cover

Age: Teen and up

Size: 349 KB

13 Block Mazes in booklet format (A6, or approx 6x4). Create a path from start to finish by shifting blocks

The Zodiac signs made for a nice The Horoscope Make Booklet. Not much to say except what the example Sagittarius Maze shows you - a medium difficulty maze in a zodiac symbol.

Horoscope Maze booklet cover
Sagittarius Symbol Maze

THE HOROSCOPE MAZE BOOKLET

12 pages, 12 mazes

Age: Adult

Size: 217 KB

12 horoscope symbol mazes in booklet format (A6, or approx 6x4)

My Wild and Wacky Aliens Maze Book was created as a project I did to convert some of my old had drawn mazes into digital ones. You can read about the conversion process that includes a few examples of the finished mazes.

Kids Maze book of aliens book cover

THE WILD AND WACKY ALIENS MAZE BOOK

46 pages, 48 mazes

Age: All

Size: 475 KB

48 Mazes of aliens. Difficulty level is EASY.

My last free downloadable maze book is not a maze book (anymore). It is A Word Puzzle Book. Originally done as 151 different mazes I felt the maze portion was distracting to the word puzzles, so I scrapped 3 different books and revised them into 1 new book with NO Mazes. I think it is a much better book now. Can you tell what the book covers solution is ?

A word puzzle book cover

A WORD PUZZLE BOOK - REVISED MEGA EDITION !!

26 pages, 151 word puzzles

Age: All

Size: 1,421 KB

151 Word puzzles of common sayings, phrases and idioms, previously collected in 3 volumes, now combined into 1 Mega volume with revisions and improvements !!

That is an overview of each of the free downloadable books from the book section of the website, but I have also done more books that pull together content from my daily mazes into themes. Let’s look at those books now.

In February 2020 I did a month of Warp Mazes, enough to make A Warp Maze Booklet. They aren’t particularly difficult or exciting, but they are a change of pace.

a warp maze booklet cver

A WARP MAZE BOOKLET

29 pages, 29 warp mazes

File Size: 346 KB

Features each daily maze from February 2020. Warp mazes allow the solver to jump between points in the maze. Each maze gets progressively harder. Separate 4 page answer sheet available if you get stuck.

March 2020 meant a month of Line Leads Mazes. Great as a kids activity. As you move through the A Line Leads Book, things get more difficult.

a line leads kids maze book cover

A LINE LEADS BOOK

32 pages, 32 line leads mazes (including the cover)

File Size: 802 KB

Features each daily maze from March 2020. Line Leads mazes are all about the initial choice. Recommended for Kids of most ages !

April 2020 brought a month full of Puzzle Mazes. If you want to think before you make each movement in a maze, this is the book for you. The Puzzle Maze Book is all about color. It is also the first book where I spent extra time working on the cover.

The Puzzle Maze Book Cover

THE PUZZLE MAZE BOOK

30 pages, 30 puzzle mazes

File Size: 847 KB

Features each daily maze from April 2020. Puzzle mazes are all about following directions to determine which directions are possible, THEN reaching the goal based on those possible moves !

July was a Weaving Maze Book that has been retired (A larger book is now available on Amazon), but August 2020 was dedicated to The Slide Arrow Maze Book. These are VERY DIFFICULT to solve going from start to finish. The size and the fact that most mazes have only 1 solution mean your chances of solving these quickly are basically zero.

THE SLIDE ARROW MAZE BOOK

34 pages (includes 3 solutions pages), 31 Slide Arrow mazes

File Size: 519 KB

Features each daily maze from August 2020. In an Slide Arrow Maze you start on the red arrow and slide across the maze until you reach the goal. You may move onto any arrow in the direction the one you are on points (but no jumping gaps). These are VERY difficult !

September 2020 brought us The Escape Maze Book. I think these mazes, which require you to escape from the center of the maze are fun and challenging. This just might become a large book in the future.

THE ESCAPE MAZE BOOK

33 pages (includes 3 solutions pages), 30 Escape mazes

File Size: 388 KB

Features each daily maze from September 2020. In an Escape Maze you start within the walls of the maze and your goal is to escape to the outer wall. Often Escape mazes have multiple outer wall exits (although only 1 is the real solution).

January 2021 Brought us a new theme, the Racing Maze. Meant to be a printed maze that is solved by 2 people at the same time. Mazes are easy and targeted at kids, but the last few are done in a Weaving Maze style and are more difficult. All mazes are meant to be solved quickly !

Maze Racing Book Cover

THE MAZE RACING BOOK

30 pages, 30 Racing mazes

File Size: 365 KB

Features 30 daily mazes from January 2021. Find a friend and challenge them to a maze race ! Each maze is formatted on regular size paper.

February 2021 was a new type of maze, the Hidden Message Trail Maze. The nice thing about these mazes are you get clues to help you solve them. As a solver you still need to move from Start to Goal, but you a re not avoiding walls or dead ends, but gathering letters along the way to spell out a message. Great if you like both puzzles and mazes !

Trail Maze Book Cover

THE HIDDEN MESSAGE MAZE BOOK

28 pages, 29 Hidden Message Trail mazes

File Size: 445 KB

Features daily mazes from February 2021. Each maze has a hidden message with up to 3 clues: 1 - The maze object, 2 - The type of saying and 3 - The length of the words. If you want to make your own - how to make a hidden trail maze gives you step by step instructions.

Have a book you would like to see ? Let me know by voting or making a request !

The Best Books About Mazes and Labyrinths (that aren't actually maze books)

Today I am going to explore maze books. But not the typical puzzle maze books that you sit around and solve. No these are books about the making of those mazes, the math of mazes, the history of mazes, the architecture of hedge mazes and labyrinths, and things like that. Books about mazes. Not maze books. If you are looking for reviews of the spiritual aspect of labyrinths, I have written a post about those books separately. This can make for some complicated advanced searches in the library card catalog (it isn’t a card catalog anymore though is it. It’s an online search catalog.) Hopefully these book reviews will give you an idea of which books you might be interested in as I answer 2 big questions for each book: What I learned in this book, and what this book does best. Let’s get started !

Here are the 8 best books about mazes, labyrinths and their history:

The Amazing Book of Mazes by Adrian Fisher 264 pages. AMZN. Adrian Fisher is a great maze designer who pulled together this book showing over 150 maze designs while explaining what makes them unique and important.

The Amazing Book of Mazes by Adrian Fisher.png

What I learned in this book:

  • Labyrinths and “real world mazes” have been around for about 4,000 years while puzzle mazes have been around for only 500 years.

  • Vertical mazes: Hedge, Panel, Corn (called Maize mazes in the UK), Mirror and Water are the most common types of vertical mazes.

  • The first vertical maze in the USA was created in 1805 in Harmony, PA and was made of vines. The oldest surviving maze in the USA is the Vizcaya Maze Garden in Miami , Florida from 1916.

  • Hedge mazes were first constructed with small hedges. Not until the late 16th Century did gardeners in England begin using the tall hedges that are standard today.

  • Panel mazes, usually made of wood, first appeared in the year 1900 and allowed the maze to be changed daily for multiple unique trips. The maze craze in Japan from 1984-88 consisted of panel mazes.

  • The first Corn Maze was developed at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA in 1993. From the time the height is correct until the leaves brown a typical corn maze lasts 4-8 weeks. The advantage of Corn mazes is they can be changed yearly, unlike hedge mazes, which must be taken care of consistently for years.

  • In England the crop of corn is actually what Americans would call wheat, so in England they are called Maize Mazes instead of corn mazes.

  • The first mirror maze is from Constantinople in 1889. They are a staple of fun houses and tourist areas today.

What I loved about this book: Comprehensive look at real world mazes and their history organized by type.

What this book does best: A great guide to mazes around the world with pictures. A great resource to look deeper into maze design.

Mazes and Labyrinths of The World by Janet Bord 181 pages. AMZN.

Mazes and Labyrinths of The World by Janet Bord.png

What I learned in this book:

  • The original labyrinth is thought to be on the island of Crete where Theseus defeated the Minotaur at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth.

  • At one time in the UK it was common for doorsteps to have labyrinth or maze drawings on them to keep evil spirits and witches at bay.

  • Labyrinths are often linked to death and the passing from the living world to the afterlife

  • The story of Icarus I knew was he flew too close to the sun melting the wax of his self made wings despite warnings from his father King Minos. The reason he made those wings was to escape a labyrinth he was imprisoned in.

  • Mazes are common in the following forms by country: England, turf; Sweden, stone; France and Italy, church mosaics.

What this book does best: Discusses the history of Mazes and Labyrinths in Europe, especially England.

The Unending Mystery: A Journey Through Labyrinths and Mazes by David W. McCullough 272 pages. AMZN

The Unending Mystery A Journey Through Labyrinths and Mazes by David W. McCullough.png

What I learned in this book:

  • The appendix includes step by step examples on how to draw a simple labyrinth and also a classic seven circuit labyrinth

  • Leonardo da Vinci notebooks from the 1490’s include the entry “repair the labyrinth” on his to do list

  • Caerdroia magazine, edited by Jeff Saward, is a Journal of Mazes and labyrinths that has been published since 1980. This is supported by the website labyrinthos.com a great place to study all types of mazes and labyrinths online.

  • The modern use of walking Labyrinths for spiritual practice popularized By Lauren Artress in her 1995 book Walking a Sacred Path (AMZN).

What this book does best: Explores the many reasons people believe labyrinths were used through history, their myths, legends, and rising and waning popularity thru history.

Mazes and Labyrinths by Nigel Pennick 208 pages AMZN

Mazes and Labyrinths by Nigel Pennick.png

What I learned in this book:

  • Labyrinths are built from a nine point pattern

  • In India it is common in some parts of the country to see labyrinths painted or drawn in chalk at doorways to homes. This is thought to keep out evil spirits. This is known as kolam.

  • In India they also sometimes use a labyrinth as a yantra used for concentration during childbirth. The mother concentrates on solving and unsolving the labyrinth with her eyes as a way to put the mind to work on something other than the pain.

  • There are 4 types of simple labyrinths: the simple meander, the complex meander, serpentine, and spiral.

  • The path of the famous Hampton Court maze in England was used as the path for the first maze laboratory experiments with rats. Seems like something that would help you in Jeopardy.

What this book does best: Extremely detailed look at mazes from England, with details on exact measurements and map references. It also is good at speaking about theories of why the labyrinth is found across so many places and cultures.

Mazes in Videogames: Meaning Metaphor and Design by Alison Gazzard 183 pages AMZN

Mazes in Videogames Meaning Metaphor and Design by Alison Gazzard.png

The book explores how the paths of mazes and labyrinths found in the real world have influenced the paths a player experiences while exploring and playing videogames.

What I learned in this book:

  • There are 6 common path types in video games:

    • Core Path - You have no choice but to move forward on the main path and no decision to make. i.e. like a labyrinth

    • Blind Turn - The core path turns and you cannot see what is around the turn/corner. This creates tension for the walker/player and in games is often where enemies will attack from

    • Forked Path - Where a choice needs to be made to move in one of two possible new directions

    • Multi Forked Path - Where a choice needs to be made to move in one of more than 2 possible new directions

    • Loop backs - A path that after taking it returns you to the place where it started.

    • Loop alongs - A chosen path off the core path that returns to the core path at a point farther on essentially allowing you to skip a portion of the core path.

  • In Pac-Man, one of the original maze games, the ghosts acts as moving barriers, making completing the maze dynamic

  • Video games and Maze walkers each need to overcome challenges to solve the puzzle. Each may include dead ends, clues, and both will get better with repetition, i.e multiple plays of a level/ multiple walks of the maze.

  • Speed runs are a popular way to get into video game record books. Real world mazes sometimes have similar challenges, seeing how fast a person can solve the maze.

What this book does best: Takes a big picture view of how video games present pathways to the player. The different designs encountered and examples of games that best represent the pathways.

Magical Paths: Labyrinths & Mazes in the 21st Century By Jeff Saward 176 pages AMZN

Magical Paths Labyrinths & Mazes in the  21st Century By Jeff Saward.png

This book is a great overview of the history of mazes and labyrinths. It speaks to the mythology and symbolism of the works from the past through the present day. Great photos and examples. Nice resources in the back with locations of popular mazes and relevant websites.

What I learned in this book:

  • From a religious perspective there are 2 main ways to walk a labyrinth.

    • Walk in, arrive at the center, re-trace your steps and walk back out

    • Walk in, arrive at the center, walk across the labyrinth to the alter of the church

  • Order matters when reading/reviewing books. Historical learnings from other books are repeated here.

What this book does best: Great pictures (and many pictures) and easy to understand language make this a great first book to look into mazes and labyrinths.

Mazes and Labyrinths: Their History & Development by W.H. Matthews 254 pages AMZN

Mazes and Labyrinths Their History & Development by W.H. Matthews.png

This is considered by many the first comprehensive modern book that looked at mazes and labyrinths and their history. Every book that has come after this one references it. It was first published in London in 1922.

What I learned in this book:

  • To generalize, this is the original book on labyrinth and maze history. The historical details of places in England is extensive and has been used by many other authors. The specific details are meaningless in this context however.

What this book does best: Extensive illustrations of labyrinths and mazes. The cover of the book even speaks to this - “151 illustrations”.

Labyrinths & Mazes by Jurgen Hohmuth 176 pages AMZN

Labyrinths & Mazes by Jurgen Hohmuth

This book is comprised of aerial photographs of labyrinths and mazes from around Europe mixed with information from a variety of experts: Simone Augustin, Adrian Fisher, Klaus Kurvers, Martin Rasper, Jeff Saward, Ilse M Seifred, and Uwe Wolff.

What I learned in this book:

  • The book has a long discussion on the possible use of labyrinths as navigation devices for ancient sailors in coastal Sweden and Finland.

  • I need to visit Leeds Castle. The castle looks amazing and they have both a maze and labyrinth on site.

  • The book includes a detailed map and informational listing on the 55 sites around Europe that were visited. Very helpful to plan a trip.

What this book does best: The pictures here are superior to any other book I have seen. First, the subject matter includes places not typically seen before, and not just the most famous mazes/labyrinths covered in all books on the subject.