How to Make a Horizontal or Vertical Drawn Maze

In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. The 4th type of maze construction is both the Horizontal and the Vertical mazes. After some reflection I determined that these maze constructions are the same - just rotated 90 degrees from the other. Let’s define what I mean, then get into the examples. 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:

MAZE DEFINITIONS

HOW TO MAKE A HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL MAZE

HOW TO MAKE A HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL MAZE - abbreviated writing & using a different shape

4 ADDITIONAL HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL MAZE EXAMPLES

MAZE MAKING TEMPLATE

RELATED MAZE CONSTRUCTIONS

THE MAKING OF A HORIZONTAL MAZE VIDEO

MAZE DEFINITIONS:

Horizontal Maze - A maze whose main walls are constructed horizontally. Depending on the Start/Goal placement, the solver will be moving either back and forth while going up or back and forth while going down. The final maze will also look horizontal.

Vertical Maze - A maze whose main walls are constructed vertically. Depending on the Start/Goal placement, the solver will be moving back and forth while going from the left to the right or the right to the left.

How to Make a Horizontal/VERTICAL 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 used a grid structure that is 10 x 20 to help me build the maze. The greater the ratio the more horizontal the maze will look. For vertical flip the ratio.

Step 1.5 - Choose the Start and Goal

For the below example I left gaps in 2 corners for the start and the goal. If drawing a maze digitally you could choose this later, but for a hand drawn maze the maze outline will need to have gaps for the start and goal.

Step 2 - Draw the Internal Walls

Because I am using a grid that is twice as wide as tall I can just draw my maze, ensuring I leave an open solution. The maze will flow from top to bottom with the solver moving side to side as they solve.

Step 3 - Draw More Internal Walls

Keep working towards to goal.

And more.

Step 4 - Complete the Maze

For this example I completed the maze, then deleted my grid that guided me.

Delete the grid.

Step 5 (Optional) - Make the Maze Solution

Draw the solution to the maze. If you want to be precise in your solution, set your guide grid to half of what it was when you drew the initial horizontal lines (or alternatively shift the entire picture up). This will align your solution pathway with the new grid.

HOW TO MAKE A HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL MAZE - abbreviated writing & using a different shape

This version using Ohio has a different ratio to make it even MORE horizontal. It also uses a slightly different method where you draw all of the horizontal lines first, then create a solution and pathways after.

Step 1 & 1.5 - Draw the Outline & Choose the start/goal

Step 2 - Draw the Horizontal Walls - In this example I changed the ratio so the maze looks even more horizontal.

Step 3 - Draw Vertical Walls - step 2 & 3 reverse for a vertical maze - first draw vertical walls, then raw horizontal !

Step 4 - Draw the Maze Solution

Step 5 - Draw the Dead Ends

Step 6 - Convert All Maze Paths to White

Step 7 (Optional) - Make the Maze Solution

HOW TO MAKE A HORIZONTAL MAZE - Ohio outline

HOW TO MAKE A HORIZONTAL MAZE - step 2 draw horizontal lines

HOW TO MAKE A HORIZONTAL MAZE step 3 draw walls

HOW TO MAKE A HORIZONTAL MAZE step 4 draw solution

HOW TO MAKE A HORIZONTAL MAZE step 5 draw dead ends

HOW TO MAKE A HORIZONTAL MAZE step 6 finish maze

HOW TO MAKE A HORIZONTAL MAZE step 7 the maze solution

4 ADDITIONAL HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL MAZE EXAMPLES

Here is another example of a Horizontal maze construction that works well, a maze of the number 4. It doesn’t require this construction, but I think it looks good.

For my second and third examples I keep with the number theme. For these maze I combined the use of vertical and horizontal constructions depending on the section of the number.

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maze of the number 7

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maze of the number 5

For our fourth example, let’s look at a map maze, in this case the Alabama Maze. Map mazes are a great place to use a horizontal construction and you will find many of my map mazes do. The reason for this particular mazes inclusion here is because it was made using different steps than I taught above. That first change comes in “Step 2- Draw the Horizontal lines”. For this maze I skipped that step and drew the maze line by line, which is probably 30X the work as each line must be placed and drawn individually. You can see this because the end of the horizontal lines is rounded. This also changes steps 3-5 above since you are drawing as designing as you go making sure you follow the cardinal rule - Never close off all pathways.

MAZE MAKING TEMPLATE

I made a template to practice with. Just draw vertical walls to create a maze, being careful to keep a solution open as you go. Want a vertical maze ? Flip the paper on it’s side !

RELATED MAZE CONSTRUCTIONS

Well I already mention that vertical and horizontal are essentially the same. But, there are 2 more maze constructions that are very similar to them. Both the standard maze and the standard equal mazes us similar construction methods.

• How to Make a Maze with Standard Maze Paths

• How to Make a Maze with Standard Equal Maze Paths

While I used arrows in all of the maze examples above, you have many more choices as I outline here: Options for Starting and Ending a Maze. You can write out START and GOAL, have dual arrows or use pictures or icons to name a few options.

THE MAKING OF A HORIZONTAL MAZE VIDEO

A note that in this particular example I went rouge - I did not use guides to make the pathways , and this caused me to draw the maze in sections. I even did a backwards draw from the goal. An option, but much better and easier to construct using the step by steps above !

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 digitally.

If you prefer making labyrinths, you can find step by step instructions for how to draw labyrinths.

How to Make a Grid Maze

In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. The third example we’ll look at is the grid 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'.

GRID MAZE DEFINITION

THE 5 RULES OF MAZE DESIGN:

HOW TO MAKE A GRID MAZE

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

ADDITIONAL GRID MAZE EXAMPLES:

START AND GOAL OPTIONS

FREE DOWNLOADABLE GRID MAZE EXAMPLE BOOKLET

GRID MAZE TEMPLATE

MAKING A GRID MAZE VIDEO

GRID MAZE DEFINITION

Grid Maze - Uses a standard grid construction to create the walls. Gaps in the grid walls are created at right angles to make pathways. The maze solver needs to make choices in each grid box on where to continue to next. Exiting a grid box can take place in 4 different directions, with one being the way you entered the 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 A GRID 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. I used a simple 10x10 grid.

• Step 1.5 - Choose the Start and Goal

For the below example I chose internal start and goal. As with any grided maze the start and goal can be either internal or external to the outline.

• Step 2 - Draw the Grid Design

If you have an irregular shape, a guitar, jet, Ohio, etc. You first draw the outline of the object, then make a grid inside it, with the size of the grid helping determine the difficulty. A grid with more blocks has more possible pathways. In our example we skip this step because the square grid is already created essentially - see the Ohio example below.

• Step 3 - Draw the Solution

Drawing a grid maze digitally means determining the solution you want before determining the false paths ! Despite drawing the solution path first, this does not necessarily mean you are also choosing the difficultly level also. Dead end branches can still be short and obvious (easy) or long and difficult. Notice how this pathway is centered in each individual grid. I used my design tip above to do this, taking my grid size and cutting it in half to guide my construction.

• Step 4 - Draw the Dead Ends

Draw the dead ends, which determine the difficulty of the maze. Short paths will be easier than long paths. False paths that have additional false branches off of them will be harder to solve than those that do not. In the example below I used the color blue to differentiate the dead ends from the solution. This will also help later when you create a solution.

I also suggest you read: Maze Design Case Study - Designing a Grid Maze in Different Difficulty levels for a more in-depth look at drawing to a specific difficulty level.

• Step 5 - Convert the Path Lines to White

To complete the maze you convert all the pathways you made through the grid to white. The final maze looks much more intimidating in this final form. The structure of the equal grids means the maze doesn’t have a typical “flow” look to it that allows following of pathways more easily. This is also a good time to check to see if your pathways are wide enough for the presentation you are using. With a digital maze you can easily change the widths of all pathways quickly.

• Step 6 (Optional) - Make the Maze Solution

You already have drawn the grid maze solution in step 3, now re-highlight it in the final maze construction for your maze solver. You could also use the step 3 as the solution but it would not have the dead end pathways shown.

The grid maze is very versatile for many different object shapes and allows you to fill any type of object.

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

Here is the original step by step maze done in the shape of Ohio. Use the next controls to watch the maze get made, then see the solution.

Step 1 - Draw the Outline - I drew Ohio and added a start at Cleveland. I put an Arrow near Cincinnati but did not officially make that the goal until I draw the maze.

Step 2 - Draw the Grid - Fill the space with a grid, the size of your choosing based on difficulty you want.

Step 3 - Draw the Solution - Nothing too special. I drew in the maze from start to finish.

Step 4 - Draw the Dead Ends - Here you can determine how difficult the maze is.

Step 5 - Complete the Maze - Simply convert all pathways to white to match the background.

Step 6 - Draw the Solution

HOW TO MAKE A GRID MAZE - STEP 1 OUTLINE

HOW TO MAKE A GRID MAZE STEP 2 GRID

HOW TO MAKE A GRID MAZE - STEP 3 DRAW THE SOLUTION

HOW TO MAKE A GRID MAZE STEP 4 - DRAW DEAD ENDS

HOW TO MAKE A GRID MAZE STEP 5 - CONVERT TO WHITE

HOW TO MAKE A GRID MAZE STEP 6 - CREATE SOLUTION

ADDITIONAL GRID MAZE EXAMPLES:

Before we get into 5 different additional examples, if you would like to read a case study on How to change the difficulty level when making a grid maze, I wrote about it and think you may find it helpful to improve your maze making ability !

The first additional maze example is the most simple. A square shaped 11x11 grid maze. All pathways are centered. The square shape makes this a maze that can be made very quickly.

My second example of a Grid maze, is a grid maze of the word grid. Notice that the grid boxes are much smaller, making for a more difficult maze. I also did not use the half grid pathway trick so the pathways are not all centered. This does help hide some possible exits as you move through maze. On my screen the scale is too small for solving, but it prints larger and is solvable.

And here is a third example of a grid maze, a US cent maze. I think a grid maze also works well when there are many curves in the object you are maze-ing. Here, the face of Lincoln on the penny and the lettering becomes part of the wall structure. Drawing many line walls here would take much longer because of the detail. Again, I did not center my pathways. As a color maze the pathways you draw need to be the same color as the background.

My fourth example was a natural fit for using a grid maze construction. The first maze I posted as a daily maze was this Crossword Puzzle Maze that I made for National Crossword Puzzle Day. Really, this is perfect time to use this construction.

The fifth example of the grid maze is this Fighter Jet maze. I include it here as an example of a maze with many complicated, small spaces to work between. The internal drawing of the wing details, the jet engine, the cockpit and the generally slender features make this a interesting challenge to maze. Using a grid maze seems to work well here.

START AND GOAL OPTIONS

I want to take the time to show you some of the many options you have for starting and ending the maze. I did not use any labels above, but arrows are pretty standard. You have other options as I outline in Options for Starting and Ending a Maze. Here is the above maze but using 3 more choices to for the start and goal. You have options !

How to make a grid maze 3 bee to flower

How to make a grid maze 1 start arrows

How to make a grid maze 2 dual arrows

FREE DOWNLOADABLE GRID MAZE EXAMPLE BOOKLET

A booklet of 14 simple black and white grid mazes. No cover. Just a a small collection to have fun with.

GRID MAZE TEMPLATE

If you want to try making a grid maze with a bit of help, try one of this downloadable template. Just add lines between the half drawn walls (+) to create the maze walls ! Since this is not digital you will create the maze as you go instead of using the steps above.

MAKING A GRID MAZE VIDEO

Here is a quick video showing the making of a simple grid maze. Notice that after the grid has been drawn, before I draw the pathways I make the guide grid half of what it was (32 seconds). This type of maze can be made quickly once you get the hang of it.

Additional Posts you may like:

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, I also have a section of step by step instructions.

Weekly Hard Maze #31

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 #31 - Triple Weaving 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:

• 6 difficult maze puzzles to challenge adults

• The 5 Hardest Mazes on this Website - Part 1

How to Make a Maze with Standard Equal Maze Paths

In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. The second example we’ll look at is a construction variation of the standard maze construction. I call it a Standard Equal Maze Path design. 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). If you want to see this type of maze made in video form, that is added at the end of the post.

Here is an outline for this blog post with jump links if you want to skip ahead to a section:

STANDARD EQUAL MAZE DEFINITION

THE 5 RULES OF MAZE DESIGN

HOW TO MAKE A MAZE WITH STANDARD EQUAL PATHS

HOW TO MAKE A MAZE WITH STANDARD EQUAL PATHS (OHIO VERSION)

COMPARION OF 2 STANDARD MAZE TYPES

3 ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES OF STANDARD EQUAL MAZES

FREE STANDARD MAZES TO SOLVE

RELATED MAZE CONSTRUCTIONS

MAKING A STANDARD EQUAL MAZE VIDEO

STANDARD EQUAL MAZE DEFINITION

Standard Equal Maze Paths - the construction concept is the same with making a standard maze except the pathways and walls are of equal width. TO achieve this in practice the wall width should equal half the grid used (i.e. a 6x6 grid with wall widths of 3) This gives the maze a different look as everything becomes compacted.

These also tend to be longer and more difficult mazes to solve because of the additional pathways it creates. While a Standard Maze looks white, the Standard Equal Maze looks much more black from the thicker lines.

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 Maze with Standard Equal Maze Paths

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 show the grids and I made a 20 x 20 grid square..

Step 1.5 - Choose the Start and Goal

For the below example I left gaps in 2 corners for the start and the goal. If drawing a maze digitally you could choose this later, but for a hand drawn maze the maze outline will need to have gaps for the start and goal.

Step 2 - Start Drawing the Walls

Using a grid pattern, begin drawing the maze walls starting at the entrance of the maze. For a Standard Equal Maze the maze walls should be drawn to be equal width to the pathways in between them. When creating a standard equal maze - the wall width must be equal to half the grid size used. While drawing your walls make sure to never break the cardinal rule of maze design - never close all open paths so the maze can be solved. As you make the maze decide how difficult you want to make it. A low amount of path choices, and short dead end paths will make an easy maze. Longer dead ends and lots of path choices make a more difficult maze. The below example is starting off at an easy / medium difficulty.

Step 3 - Keep Drawing the Maze Walls

Like most mazes the middle part of design is a lot of keep doing what you are doing and draw more walls. There is nothing too complicated in the below example. The dead ends are long in this maze and there are many choices to make, increasing the difficulty. At this point I also have 4 open pathways which could be used as solutions.

Still drawing…

Step 4 - Complete the Maze

Draw the final walls and draw the exit. You have completed the drawing of a standard equal maze !

And I removed the grid.

Step 5 (Optional) - Draw the Solution

You have two options here - Option 1 - 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. This example maze is easy. Option 2 - Let the maze sit for a few days and try solving it yourself. Was it the difficulty you thought as you were designing it ? Did you enjoy it or did it frustrate you in any way ? Using option 2 means you are more likely to go back and make adjustments to improve the maze. Think of it as proofreading for mazes.

HOW TO MAKE A MAZE WITH STANDARD MAZE PATHS - abbreviated writing & using a different shape

Here is the original step by step maze done in the shape of Ohio. Use the next controls to watch the maze get made, then see the solution.

Step 1 - Draw the Outline - I drew Ohio and added a start at Cleveland. I put an Arrow near Cincinnati but did not officially make that the goal until I draw the maze.

Steps 2&3 - Drawing the Maze - Nothing too special. I drew in the maze from start to finish.

Step 4 - Complete the Maze - The maze determined where the goal would be placed and I finished the maze.

Step 5 - Draw the Solution - I added a solution, ensuring I made no mistakes in my design.

OHIO MAZE- step 1 outline

OHIO MAZE- step 2 start drawing

OHIO MAZE- step 3 keep drawing

OHIO MAZE- step 4 complete maze

OHIO MAZE- step 5 create solution

COMPARION OF 2 STANDARD MAZE TYPES:

Visually the Standard Equal Maze Paths design construction makes for a darker maze, and a more complex maze than the standard path maze. Although I did not measure the pathways, you can intuitively see that standard equal maze has much more pathway length.

Standard Equal Path maze

Standard Path Maze

And here is the same exact maze, one standard and one standard equal:

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View fullsize

3 ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES OF STANDARD EQUAL MAZES

Below is an example of another standard equal paths maze of the state of New York. I wanted to show this example to mention that the outline is not the same width as the internal paths/walls. There is also a prominent Spiral maze pattern in the center of the state, although I would not consider this a spiral maze construction.

Our 2nd example shows what happens when we add some color to both standard maze variations, with the Rubber Ducky maze. While the background colors of yellow and orange are the same in each maze, the standard equal construction has a much darker look, with the thicker black walls holding back the colors underneath. The standard maze is bright and much easier to solve. Notice that because of the spacing of the orange beak compared to the wall spacing I decided not to maze the beak on the standard maze. Doing so would have only added a few meaningless lines on the beak.

For my 3rd example I want to show you a time when this construction can be used to make a completely different type of maze, the Hidden Message maze. A hidden message maze is a maze where the correct solve of the maze creates a message for the solver. I use this to make greeting cards with hidden messages. Here is an example. If the below maze was made with a standard construction it would need to be a much tighter ratio of grid/wall so the message remains hidden at a glance.

Can you figure out what it says from looking at it ? Scroll down for the answer.

“Miss you”. If this were made with a much wider standard construction the pencil/pen/writing utensil used would not fill the pathways as well, making the message much harder to read (in addition to being easier to find). Want to learn how to make a hidden message maze ?

FREE STANDARD MAZES TO SOLVE

If you want to solve some of this type of maze, check out the Regular Maze Section that features 40 different mazes available for free download ! They are all rectangular but are divided into sections by difficulty level. They are standard mazes which are a different ratio, but this relative is a good proxy.

RELATED MAZE CONSTRUCTIONS

There are 3 constructions that are very similar to a standard equal maze construction. The standard has a different ratio of pathways to walls, while the horizontal and vertical maze constructions are the same as above but exaggerate the maze design in a particular direction (so the maze looks horizontal or vertical).

• How to Make a Maze with Standard Maze Paths

• How to Make a Horizontal or Vertical Drawn Maze

MAKING A STANDARD EQUAL MAZE VIDEO

Here is a quick 3:31 minute video of the making of a simple Standard Equal 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 HERE.

If you prefer making labyrinths, you can find step by step instructions HERE.