Weekly Hard Maze #32

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 #32 - Block Move Maze

This is the first block move maze in the hard maze collection. There are multiple possible solutions all around the same general pathway. 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:

• 6 difficult maze puzzles to challenge adults

• The 5 Hardest Mazes on this Website - Part 1

How to Make a Spiral Maze

In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. The 8th type of maze construction is the Spiral maze. Let’s define what I mean, then get into the example. 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:

SPIRAL MAZE DEFINITION

THE 5 RULES OF MAZE DESIGN

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE - Alternate example (Ohio)

ADDITIONAL SPIRAL MAZE EXAMPLES

MAKING A SPIRAL MAZE VIDEO

SPIRAL MAZE DEFINITION

Spiral Maze - While a version of a spiral can be used in many maze constructions, a Spiral maze uses the spiral construction for the majority of the maze (and sometimes the entire maze), giving the maze a unique look.

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 SPIRAL 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. Ideally your spiral maze will be a square or rectangle.

• 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 - Start Drawing the Spiral

Take the outline and begin making a spiral by drawing walls. Remember that as you build the spiral you must embed the spiral’s exit from the start. I made it into a 3 part gallery so you can control and see the initial pathways being made.

Continue drawing the walls towards the center, while occasionally splitting the pathway to confuse the solver. And, of course, keep track of which pathway is the exit ! I typically keep this pathway in a spot away from the other “open” incoming pathways that I have not made into dead ends/correct yet. The branches you create as you move towards the center can be hard to keep track of and checking your work is vital to get this maze construction correct. See the video below to watch how the branches are split out and come together in the center !

And finally complete the spiral by linking the exit to one of the entrance pathways in the center.

How to make a spiral maze step 2

How to make a spiral maze step 2.1

How to make a spiral maze step 2.2

• Step 3 - Complete the Maze Walls

Completing the remaining walls to the goal.

And because I used grids to help draw this digitally, I erased the grids for the final maze:

• Step 4 - Make the Maze Solution

Highlight the correct path in the final version of the maze to create the final Maze solution. While this is optional for some constructions of mazes, the difficulty of drawing and solving a spiral maze mean that providing a solution is essential. I find that the solution of spiral mazes means longer solutions and using more of the maze. Below, a significant part of the maze is included in the solution. For the solver to follow along more easily I made it blue to the center and red coming out !

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE - Alternate example (Ohio)

Step 1 - Draw the Outline

Step 1.5 - Choose the Start and Goal

Step 2 - Start Drawing the Spiral

Step 3 - Draw any Additional Walls

Step 4 - Complete the Maze Walls

Step 5 - Make the Maze Solution

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE - step 1

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE step 2

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE step 2.1

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE step 2.2

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE step 3

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE step 3.1

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE step 4

HOW TO MAKE A SPIRAL MAZE step 5 solution

ADDITIONAL SPIRAL MAZE EXAMPLES

Here is an example of a spiral maze in a simple box format. When you have a rectangular shape to maze, the spiral maze construction is the perfect construction to use. The pathways are not wide but they are hard to follow with your eyes to solve (your eyes may jump lines and not know it). Typically any choices you make are not known to be wrong until you are in the center of the spiral and you reach a dead end or or loop. This can make even small spirals difficult to solve quickly.

For my second example, I have an easy Spiral maze. Not a lot of choices on the way in. Nice wide pathways.

My third example is a medium size scale Spiral Maze. Try to solve it with your eyes…so difficult.

MAKING A SPIRAL MAZE VIDEO

Here is a video of the making of a spiral maze using standard equal maze paths.

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.

How to Make a Line Leads Maze

In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. The 7th type of maze construction is the Line Leads maze. Let’s define what I mean, then get into the example. 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:

LINE LEADS MAZE DEFINITION

HOW TO MAKE A LINE LEADS MAZE

HOW TO MAKE A LINE LEADS MAZE - Alternative version (Ohio)

ADDITIONAL LINE LEADS EXAMPLES

ADDITIONAL LINE LEADS OPTIONS

LINE LEADS TEMPLATE

FREE DOWNLOADABLE LINE LEADS BOOKS

MAKING OF A LINE LEADS MAZE VIDEO

LINE LEADS MAZE DEFINITION:

Line Leads Maze - A maze where a set number of lines can be chosen that may or may not lead to the goal. Typically only one line will lead to the goal and finding it is a game of chance. The individual lines have no decisions and isolated are more like a labyrinth path. The goal of a Line Leads maze is to reach an object as the goal.

HOW TO MAKE A LINE LEADS MAZE

• Step 1 - Label the options and give directions

You do have the option to do this later, but I like to start with labeling where the lines will start from. I prefer an odd number of options. I also add the directions for the maze.

• Step 2 - Draw the Goal

A Line Leads Maze needs a drawn goal, typically centered on the page horizontally. Vertically the goal can be centered on the page or about a third of the way down to place it far from the starting points. For my example I used a blob fish. This goal really becomes the personality of the maze, so get creative and make it look good !

• Steps 3, and 4 - Draw the Solution Line, Draw the False Lines

Unique to the Line Leads Maze is that the order of steps 3 , 4, and 5 are actually interchangeable.

Draw the solution line - Draw a line to the goal, twisting and turning the line in the maze to confuse the solver.

Draw the false lines - Draw lines that do not go to the goal. Make sure the lines dead end far from the goal, or loop between 2 starting points (my preferred method). Ensure that the pathways of the false lines do not overlap with the solution line. They can certainly cross the solution line, but overlapping too much can lead to confusion of which line continues in which direction (you know it when you see it)..

And another false line.

• Step 5 - Complete the Maze

Complete the maze by making all of the lines one color. Make any final adjustments to maze lines if their paths are confusing for the solver.

• Step 6 (Optional) - Make the Maze Solution

Highlight the correct path in the final version of the maze to create the final Maze solution. Ensure you have not made any lines that are ambiguous when they touch each other. You can also just circle the correct number (or letter) that designates the correct solution of you are designing in black and white.

HOW TO MAKE A LINE LEADS MAZE - Alternative version

Ideally a line leads maze does not have a border, but it is possible as in this example.

(VERY Optional) Step 1 - Draw the Outline

Unlike most makes the line leads maze does NOT need an outline. In fact most Line Leads mazes do not have one. 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. I used Ohio ONLY so it could be compared to other constructions easily.

Step 2 - Draw the Goal - typically an object, in this example a star

Steps 3, 4, and 5 - Draw the Solution Line, Draw the False Lines, Number (or letter) the Lines - you can also letter/number the lines at the start.

Step 6 - Complete the Maze

Step 7 (Optional) - Make the Maze Solution

How to make line leads maze ohio - step 1

How to make line leads maze ohio - step 2

How to make line leads maze ohio - step 3

How to make line leads maze ohio - step 4

How to make line leads maze ohio - step 5

How to make line leads maze ohio - step 6 - solution

ADDITIONAL LINE LEADS EXAMPLES

A more typical Line Leads maze, with no outline/border. This example also adds an additional step of captioning the maze with instructions.

And, yes these can get complicated….Check out this Line Leads Maze with 10 possible options ! I even have some with 18 options !! The difficult thing about this size is keeping the lines clear - bigger is not always better.

My third example is here to show an option you should NOT use, pathways made of straight lines that change direction. Why ? Well, while I think I know where the maze maker meant to change directions of the pathways there are many places where this can become very ambiguous. Better to make pathways that are curved and more easily followed.

A second thing to consider in the number of starting options. I prefer an odd number of options to you can loop the false pathways back to each other, leaving one for the solution. This also helps eliminate multiple wrong answers at once for the solver. Here is a chart showing 3 options. The first I prefer. The second shows what happens when you have an even number of choices. In the third option instead of looping the wrong answers to each other they dead end inside the maze.

ADDITIONAL LINE LEADS OPTIONS

A nice variation of the line leads maze is the match line leads maze. Here you have an equal number of starts and goals. I have seen this done with 3 owners and 3 pets with a line connecting them. You need to find which owner has which pet. There is really no way to get this wrong. Here is an animal friends example.

LINE LEADS MAZE TEMPLATE

Draw an item as the goal then write that in the title. Make your lines and you have a line leads maze.

FREE DOWNLOADABLE LINE LEADS BOOKS

2 free line leads books to consider, If you prefer them in Spanish, check out the Spanish section of the site.

A LINE LEADS BOOK

21 line leads mazes including the cover. Classic puzzle where you determine which line leads to the object. Mazes are in black and white.

File Size: 449 KB

NEW 2026 EDITION

A LINE LEADS BOOK - VOL 2

21 more line leads mazes in black and white.

File Size: 1,253 KB

NEW FOR 2026

MAKING OF A LINE LEADS MAZE VIDEO

Watch this quick video of the making of a Line Leads Maze.

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.

How to Make an Axonometric Maze

In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. The 6th example with look at an Axonometric maze construction. Let’s define what I mean, then get into the example. 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.

AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE DEFINITION

THE 5 RULES OF MAZE DESIGN

HOW TO MAKE AN AXONOMETRIC MAZE

HOW TO MAKE AN AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE - abbreviated writing & using a different shape

MORE EXAMPLES OF AXONOMETRIC MAZES

AXONOMETRIC MAZE TEMPLATE

MAKING OF AN AXONOMETRIC MAZE VIDEO

AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE DEFINITION:

Axonometric Grid Maze - This is a maze made using an axonometric grid. Typically these grids are used to draw 3 dimensional representations of objects like a cube. But, for maze making this just means drawing walls at the angle of the axonometric grid.

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 an Axonometric Maze

Step 1 - Determine your grid shape

When making a regular grid maze you are choosing the size of the grid boxes you will use. So a 20x20 grid is larger than a 10x10 grid. When choosing an axonometric grid you may choose the size, but more importantly is choosing the angles of the grid you will be using see the 3 examples below. The first grid uses angles of 20 degrees, the second 30 degrees, and the last 45 degrees (making essentially regular grids tilted at a 45 degree angle). My program defaults to 30 x 30 unless I change it and seems to work well for almost everything.

20 x 20 Grid

30 x 30 Grid

45 x 45 grid

Step 2 - 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.

Step 2.5 - Choose the Start and Goal

For the below example I used START and GOAL written in the maze, but I added them later. Here is the outline shown on the grid:

And because this is a cube shape I added the internal walls with gaps for the maze to go pass through:

Step 3 - Start Drawing the Walls

Using the axonometric grid pattern, begin drawing the maze walls starting at the entrance of the maze. Be careful to never close all open paths so the maze can be solved. As you make the maze decide how difficult you want to make it.

Step 4 - Complete the Maze

Draw the final walls and draw the exit. You have completed the drawing of an Axonometric maze !

I added an additional step to delete the grids to see the final maze.

Step 5 (Optional) - Draw the Solution

While the correct pathway is fresh in your mind, draw the solution to the maze. This is especially important with more complex mazes. It can also be a check to make sure your maze has a solution and helps you determine how difficult it is.

HOW TO MAKE AN AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE - abbreviated writing & using a different shape

Step 1 - Draw the Outline - Ohio in this example

Step 1.5 - Choose the Start and Goal

Step 2 - Determine your grid shape (not shown here - see above)

Step 3 - Start Drawing the Walls

Step 4 - Keep Drawing Walls

Step 5 - Complete the Maze

Step 6 (Optional) - Draw the Solution

This is an example of a maze that uses the axonometric grid, but it is forced…ideally you use it on mazes where drawing a 3d shape on paper is important. It is usable but not ideal for Ohio,

HOW TO MAKE AN AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE STEP 1

HOW TO MAKE AN AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE STEP 2

HOW TO MAKE AN AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE STEP 2.1

HOW TO MAKE AN AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE STEP 2.2

HOW TO MAKE AN AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE STEP 2.3

HOW TO MAKE AN AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE - STEP 4

HOW TO MAKE AN AXONOMETRIC GRID MAZE SOLUTION

MORE EXAMPLES OF AXONOMETRIC MAZES:

The Stairs maze naturally works as it helps to give the maze dimension. Notice how the direction of the walls is consistent with the plane of the object to help give it the dimensional look. The Lemon Meringue Pie maze uses the construction to draw the maze at the proper angle to the picture. And of course, where the construction really shines is on the Cube Maze !

Stairs Maze

Lemon Meringue Pie Maze

Cube Maze

A very important design note not covered in the step by step above is to follow the direction of the object when making your pathways. This will give your object dimension and make for a better looking maze. Both of the below cubes were made using an Axo grid, but the one on the left follows the direction and flow of the object while the one on the right does not. Personally I think the example on the left is a much better maze. Imagine the Steps maze above if it did not use the objects flow to make the pathways.

Axonometric grids also serve as the base for geometric mazes that aren’t square or rectangular, like this example of a Hexagon maze. However, I do not consider this a pure axonometric maze, but instead an Escape Maze !

And sometimes the shape of the item lends itself to grid that is tilted at an angle. I really like this Kazoo Maze. How many kazoo mazes have you seen before ?

AXONOMETRIC MAZE TEMPLATE

This free downloadable template will help you make your own version.

Making of an Axonometric Maze Video

Watch this quick video to get a sense of how an Axonometric Cube maze is made.

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.