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Each Saturday I post a new hard maze with all of them sitting in the Hard Maze Archive. I will try to post a variety of maze types to keep things interesting.
Weekly Hard Maze #34 - Conditional Maze
Solution will be in the archive. Download is below.
If you solved that maze quickly and want to try some of my archival hard mazes, these posts should do the trick:
In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. The 19th type of maze construction is the Pipes maze. Let’s define what I mean, then get into the example. This example will use the basic outline of the state of Ohio, but it can be made in any shape !
Here is an outline for this blog post with jump links if you want to skip ahead to a section:
FURTHER DESIGN READING - WEAVING MAZES
PIPE MAZE DEFINTION:
THE 5 RULES OF MAZE DESIGN:
These 5 rules apply to any maze you make so we start with them !
1. Always keep an open pathway for the solution
While drawing a maze you will need to juggle multiple open pathways each of which could become the solution. One of them will become the solution. Keep track of it. This is especially important if you are designing pathways in both directions (from the start and from the goal).
2. Clearly mark the start and goal, or the objective of the maze
A maze should have a start and a goal that you can assess just by glancing at it. There are many ways to start and end a maze I review in this blog post: Options for Starting and Ending a Maze
3. Ensure the difficulty matches the intended audience
Most people want to solve a puzzle/maze that is just slightly below or slightly above their skill level. Many things help determine the difficulty of a maze. Size, number of branches, the length of dead ends, the number of choices, the complexity of the rules (if the maze has them).
4. Ensure your maze has a solution
When your maze is complete, solve it to determine the difficulty level and to ensure it is a real, solvable maze. Depending on the complexity of the maze you may want to do this right away or wait so you can properly assess the difficulty.
5. Explain anything that needs explaining
Some mazes have rules or conditions. Explain them with directions. If it isn't obvious, make it so.
HOW TO MAKE A PIPES MAZE
Before we get into the step by step process I want to note that this is one of the longer maze types to make. Even a short, easy maze takes a good amount of time to complete. It is also the maze type (along with it’s sister type the Weaving Maze) that is most likely to have design problems that are difficult to catch.
Step 1 - Draw the Outline (optional)
Because this is a Pipes maze there is no requirement to make any outline, in fact 99% of the time there will not be an outline as the pipes naturally make a self contained border. However, to be consistent with my project I have included my standard Ohio outline for comparison which I will use to guide the shape of my pipe maze (then delete).
Step 1.5 - Draw a Guide Grid
To help give your Pipe maze some structure add a picnic blanket grid to guide the drawing of your pipes. Add a start location on the edge of your outline with an arrow (optional) and a turning knob. This grid will guide where you can and can’t draw pipes. Do not draw any pipes in the white grid of the “picnic blanket”, while filling the colored portion (in this example pink) with piping.
Step 2 - Start Drawing Pipes
Starting from the entrance, begin drawing pipes. As you create the pipes remember you can loop and weave the pipes around one another. As you draw if you want to loop a pipe back you will need to stop a path (it will look like a dead end) and start it again leaving a gap for the future crossing. You can see an example the initial the gap will have a pipe thru it as the pipes continue to be drawn ! Also, I color the pipes grey as I go so they look like pipes !!
IMPORTANT RULES : Never end a pipe under another pipe. Never split a pipe under another pipe. Basically, anytime a pipe goes under another pipe it must come out the other side to avoid confusion !
Step 3 - Add Shadows to the Pipes (timing optional)
I add shadows to the end of any section of pipe that will go under another pipe in the maze. While you can do this at the end of the mazes construction also, I find it is easiest to do this as you draw the pipes (it is VERY easy to miss some!).
Step 4 - Keep Drawing the Pipes
Weave your pipes around one another, occasionally splitting the pipe into different sections. I believe that compared to other maze constructions this is the easiest one to lose track of your open pathways during the design. You also have the challenge of filling in all the gaps you have made along the way,
Step 5 - Finish the Pipes and add the Spigot
End the final pipe you have chosen as a solution with a spigot (with an additional arrow and water drips optional). Notice that the dead ends get capped just as a pipe would, although this maze has many loops versus dead ends ( see below for additional examples with more dead ends! )
Step 6 - Delete Your Guides
The Final Pipe Maze !
Step 7 - Make the Maze Solution
Highlight the correct path in the final version of the maze to create the final maze solution (shown here in red). One other thing I have noticed when creating this type of maze is that while the making of it has a lot of complexity, sometimes the solve does not. Just look at this example. It really is a bit of an easy maze, or at least a maze that if you take a wrong turn you can still solve quickly,
ADDITIONAL PIPE MAZE EXAMPLES
Below is a more typical version of a Pipes Maze, but with no outline used (notice the large gaps without the guide to help), and a start and goal that are befitting of a pipe maze ! Also, there are lots of dead ends in this version vs loops.
I made a second Ohio Pipes maze below. Without context you might not know it is Ohio, but you could easily add a title or similar to convey that. Anyway, instead of an outline I used dead end pipes to make a kind of outline of Ohio, just to see how it would turn out.
My fourth example is a large size poster version of a Pipes Maze. I did not use any shadows so this looks a bit more bland than the other examples. IMO this also makes it more difficult to solve, but not necessarily in a good way, only because it is more difficult to see the crossings.. This also features more false pathways and crossing pipes. I think this is a fun maze to solve. Try it !
FREE PIPE MAZE SECTIONS
I start with a link to the largest pipe maze in the world (probably) if you want to challenge yourself. It has no dead ends (pipe caps) and uses loops throughout for the wrong pathways. Definitely a challenge.
I spent some time to make multiple pipe maze sections on the website. The beginner section, Kids Pipe Mazes features 10 mazes on screen and a free book to download of 40 different pipe mazes !
THE PIPE MAZE BOOK
And if you really like this type of maze and want more of a challenge, I made a book of 100 Pipe Mazes that I sell on Amazon. Clicking on the cover will take you to my Amazon author page.
FURTHER DESIGN READING - WEAVING MAZES
To go deeper on this subject I suggest the following. Explore the 10 different types of weaving maze styes, including pipes mazes and see which you prefer:
What is Your Preferred Weaving Maze Style ?
I also created a method to help create a complicated weaving maze that I found very helpful when making this maze type for adults. It applies for Pipe Mazes.
In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. The 17th and 18th type of maze constructions are the Find Items maze and the Avoid Items maze. Let’s define what I mean, then get into examples. These mazes are opposites and make sense to discuss together. Every how-to will use a simple square so you can compare the differences between each maze construction type. I will also show a consolidated secondary how-to using an irregular shape (the state of Ohio).
Here is an outline for this blog post with jump links if you want to skip ahead to a section:
FIND ITEMS:
HOW TO MAKE A FIND ITEMS MAZE - abbreviated writing & using a different shape
ADDITIONAL FIND ITEM MAZE EXAMPLES
AVOID ITEMS:
HOW TO MAKE AN AVOID ITEMS MAZE
MAZE DEFINITIONS:
THE 5 RULES OF MAZE DESIGN:
These 5 rules apply to any maze you make so we start with them !
1. Always keep an open pathway for the solution
While drawing a maze you will need to juggle multiple open pathways each of which could become the solution. One of them will become the solution. Keep track of it. This is especially important if you are designing pathways in both directions (from the start and from the goal).
2. Clearly mark the start and goal, or the objective of the maze
A maze should have a start and a goal that you can assess just by glancing at it. There are many ways to start and end a maze I review in this blog post: Options for Starting and Ending a Maze
3. Ensure the difficulty matches the intended audience
Most people want to solve a puzzle/maze that is just slightly below or slightly above their skill level. Many things help determine the difficulty of a maze. Size, number of branches, the length of dead ends, the number of choices, the complexity of the rules (if the maze has them).
4. Ensure your maze has a solution
When your maze is complete, solve it to determine the difficulty level and to ensure it is a real, solvable maze. Depending on the complexity of the maze you may want to do this right away or wait so you can properly assess the difficulty.
5. Explain anything that needs explaining
Some mazes have rules or conditions. Explain them with directions. If it isn't obvious, make it so.
HOW TO MAKE A FIND ITEMS MAZE
Step 1 - Draw the Outline
The outline of the maze makes the outer wall of the maze. It can be anything from a simple shape like a square, to a complex picture. The outline should be thicker than the internal lines to give the maze definition. In the example below I chose the state of Ohio.
Step 1.5 - Choose the Start and Goal
For the below example I chose the start of Cleveland and the goal of Cincinnati.
Step 2 - Draw An Open Maze Structure
For this kids version draw an open maze with no dead ends. The maze is created by how the items are placed rather than by dead ends for this type of maze (although there is no rule about no having dead ends).
Step 3 (any time step) - Add Directions for the Solver
This step can be completed at any time. Ask the solver to find the items in the maze. Let them know of any conditions - Do they need to collect them in order ? Can they backtrack and visit a path more than once ?
Step 4 - Add the Find Items
In this example I added the pretzels that the solver must collect before reaching the goal. IF you add a condition that a solver can only visit a location once, you will need to map the solution out, then add the items.
Step 5 - Make the Maze Solution
Highlight the correct path in the final version of the maze to create the final Maze solution (shown here in red). Although not said in the instructions this maze can be made more difficult by adding the phrase “you may not visit a spot more than once” and the solution reflects that !
HOW TO MAKE A FIND ITEMS MAZE - abbreviated writing & using a different shape
This maze uses a different, but similar how-to as shown in the gallery.
Step 1 - Draw the Outline
Step 2 - Draw the Solution with Items
Step 3 - Complete the False Paths - This more difficult maze version does include dead ends.
Step 4 - Add Directions for the Solver
Step 5 (Optional) - Make the Maze Solution
ADDITIONAL FIND ITEM MAZE EXAMPLES
Another example of the Find items maze is the map of France below from my Countries of Europe maze book. Each country requires the solver to visit cities along the way to the goal, the capital of the country, in this case Paris. Maps work well for this maze type. Here the directions are on top are link the items to specific cities on the map.
For my second example I have made a Find Items maze for an older child. The format works very well for mazes meant for kids, including the use of fun objects/animals to create more enjoyable mazes. In this case a grasshopper and leaves.
HOW TO MAKE AN AVOID ITEMS MAZE
I did another abbreviated how-to for this. Nothing complicated. Watch the maze being made by clicking through the gallery. But I want to make this super easy to understand. The avoid item acts as a wall. Design a maze as you normally would and instead of drawing a wall add an avoid item. These 2 mazes are the same for an example:
Step 1 - Draw the Outline
Step 1.5 - Choose the Start and Goal
Step 2 - Start to Draw the Maze Walls
Step 3 - Continue Drawing Paths, Adding Avoid items
Step 4 - Complete the Maze
Step 5 - Add Directions for the Solver
Step 6 (Optional) - Make the Maze Solution
ADDITIONAL AVOID ITEM MAZE EXAMPLES
3 more avoid maze examples.
FIND/AVOID MAZE MAKING TEMPLATE
This free downloadable basic template will work for either version.
In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. The 16th type of maze construction is the Directional maze. Let’s define what I mean, then get into the example. I will show you an example using a basic outline (the state of Ohio) to illustrate the differences between each maze type, although this type of maze does not have a true shape !
Here is an outline for this blog post with jump links if you want to skip ahead to a section:
HOW TO MAKE A DIRECTIONAL MAZE
HOW TO MAKE A DIRECTIONAL MAZE - abbreviated writing & using a different shape
DIRECTIONAL MAZE DEFINITION:
THE 5 RULES OF MAZE DESIGN:
These 5 rules apply to any maze you make so we start with them !
1. Always keep an open pathway for the solution
While drawing a maze you will need to juggle multiple open pathways each of which could become the solution. One of them will become the solution. Keep track of it. This is especially important if you are designing pathways in both directions (from the start and from the goal).
2. Clearly mark the start and goal, or the objective of the maze
A maze should have a start and a goal that you can assess just by glancing at it. There are many ways to start and end a maze I review in this blog post: Options for Starting and Ending a Maze
3. Ensure the difficulty matches the intended audience
Most people want to solve a puzzle/maze that is just slightly below or slightly above their skill level. Many things help determine the difficulty of a maze. Size, number of branches, the length of dead ends, the number of choices, the complexity of the rules (if the maze has them).
4. Ensure your maze has a solution
When your maze is complete, solve it to determine the difficulty level and to ensure it is a real, solvable maze. Depending on the complexity of the maze you may want to do this right away or wait so you can properly assess the difficulty.
5. Explain anything that needs explaining
Some mazes have rules or conditions. Explain them with directions. If it isn't obvious, make it so.
Step 1 - Draw the Outline (Optional)
Most directional mazes WILL NOT have outlines, including this first example. The shape will be formed by the lines that you draw.
Step 2 - Draw the Solution
Starting from the outline of the maze draw a line to another point in the outline that will become your solution. Obviously the solution will need to follow whatever directional rule you have decided on. In the example below I used a left turn only rule. This makes the solution a series of loops.
Step 3 - Add False Paths
Add new possible pathways that will not lead to a solution. Where you can turn onto them, but they will lead to a dead end, or they will lead to an intersection that requires breaking the solution rules. In the example below the false paths are in red. Check to make sure you haven’t created any additional solutions.
Step 4 - Complete the Maze
Convert the lines to a common color to complete the maze. Add directions if needed.
Step 5 - Make the Maze Solution & add directions
Highlight the correct path in the final version of the maze to create the final maze solution (shown here in red). Ensure the maze has directions.
HOW TO MAKE A DIRECTIONAL MAZE - abbreviated writing & using a different shape
Step 1 - Draw the Outline (Optional) - Most directional mazes WILL NOT have outlines.
Step 2 - Draw the Solution
Step 3 - Add False Paths
Step 4 - Complete the Maze
Step 5 - Make the Maze Solution
ADDITIONAL DIRECTIONAL MAZE EXAMPLES
Here is another example of a Directional maze, this is a Left Turn only maze with no outline/border.
Here is a similar looking directional maze that must be solved using right turns only.
And another right turn only example:
Interested in learning how to make or draw other types of digital mazes ? I have step by step instructions on how to make over 40 different maze types.
If you prefer making labyrinths, you can find step by step labyrinth making instructions.
