10 More Abandoned Mazes - Mistakes in Maze Making

In a previous blog post I shared with you 10 mazes that I had abandoned for various reasons. I showed the mazes and mentioned why they had never been finished, or published. Then I gave you the updates for 7 of them where I actually went back and finished the mazes. My goal was to evaluate the mistakes I had made on the mazes and hopefully prevent them in the future.

Today I will show you 10 more abandoned maze groups, discuss why they were abandoned and hopefully help you not make the same mistakes I did. These would never make the website if not in this blog post. They are misses, outdated, etc.

Abandoned Maze #1 - Clanton Peach Tower Maze

An interesting water tower that is painted to look like a peach in Clanton, Alabama. Seems like an interesting roadside attraction. Mistake made: Poor subject matter / poor execution (wrong maze construction, not enough details)

Abandoned Mazes #2 / 3 - Arkansas flag/sign mazes

I was going to make a variety of mazes for each state in the US, most likely creating a section for each state on the site. I scrapped that idea. These mazes were both made for Arkansas. Both are simple mazes that fit into the old “daily maze” format I was making pre-2022. Now, they have no place on the site. Mistake made: Poor subject matter / low quality mazes

Abandoned Maze #4 - Golden Gate Bridge Maze

I thought this would be a good idea. By showing the side view the maze is easier to make. I colored the stanchions by using colored walls. The maze has an interesting shape but not much more. Mistake made: Not enough details / interest. Poor execution

Abandoned Maze #5 - “Welcome to” Mazes

Was going to add a section of these mazes to the site. I made a few to see how it went. I decided to make other mazes instead. Nothing special. Mistake made: Poor subject matter for a maze

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Welcome to Phoenix Maze

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Welcome to Florida Maze

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Welcome to Delaware Maze

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Welcome to Connecticut Maze

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Welcome to Arkansas Maze

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Welcome to Georgia Maze

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Welcome to Idaho Maze

Abandoned Mazes #6 - Oil Well mazes

You will see this theme a lot in this list - I was going to make a variety of mazes for each state in the US, most likely creating a section for each state on the site. I scrapped that idea. These mazes were both made for Texas. Both are simple mazes that fit into the old “daily maze” format I was making pre-2022. Now, they have no place on the site. Is anyone looking for these in a Google search ? I would say a hard no. But if you search “Sewing Machine maze” I own it. Mistake made: Poor subject matter / low quality mazes

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Oil Well Maze

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Spindletop Gusher

Abandoned Maze #7 - Kangaroo Sign Maze

This sign is from Australia. I like it despite the fact that it is simple, but it does not have a home on the site anymore. I actually like this better than everything else in the blog post. Mistake made: No home - quality level no longer fits the site

Abandoned Maze #8 - Texas Flag Maze

Another example of my state project that I abandoned. Mistake made: No home - quality level no longer fits the site

Abandoned Maze #9 - Rosie’s Cantina Sign Maze

I made this maze as an option during my phase of making sign mazes. It’s ok. It just never made the cut for including on the site. So, 5 years later it makes it into this post. Mistake made: No home - quality level no longer fits the site

Abandoned Maze #10 - Hot Dog Sign ‘Maze’

Chicago, Illinois is known for it’s hot dogs. I had the opportunity to try a few and they are worth it. I was going to make a few of the most famous shops signs into maze. I abandoned the project and I never finished the maze for this one of Gene and Jude’s in River Grove. Mistake made: Poor subject matter for a maze

I wish I didn’t have even more abandoned mazes, but thems the breaks. Let’s just consider these practice. I managed to fit 17 illustrations into a list of 10. Sadly, I could have added even more !!

Why I abandoned these 10 mazes - Mistakes in Maze making, An update

I make a lot of mazes for the website. Thousands since I started it, but you may not know that many of those mazes have been scrubbed from the site as new, better mazes have replaced them. In 2022 I switched the site from a daily maze on the homepage (very labor intensive), to a new maze each week (debuting every Monday).

These individual mazes take a lot of time to make, so I work ahead - sometimes only a few weeks, but usually a few months. If you ask me what maze will be featured 13 Mondays from today - I know. This gives me time to research and write a blog post for the maze, and set-up a dedicated page on the website. I also am making comic book mazes for Tuesdays, comic strips on Wednesdays, and hard mazes each Saturday to go along with regular blog posting. My point is I am busy.

Another advantage of working ahead is the ability to stop making a maze if something if off with it for some reason. I also scrapped a few ideas after having made many mazes for a theme (because I don’t really do many themes anymore). This gives me a catalog of mazes that had never seen the light of day. Each of the below mazes was abandoned at some point, but eventually I went back and completed (most of) them. I’ll show you the abandonment and then a link to show you the follow-up case study and maze. I’m hopeful I can complete even more of these in the future.

Abandoned Maze #1 - The Hollywood Sign Maze

Technically could be considered a finished maze. But it is very boring. Not particularly good. It does not bring a Kondo level of joy. The maze is easy. Could it be salvaged ? Yes, probably with some color and lots of background detail - but once you see a photo of the actual sign and it’s surroundings you notice a lot of rocks/dirt and just a few bushes. The top of the hill has fences, and cellphone towers, etc. So, this COULD be salvaged, but most likely won’t be. Mistake made: Poor subject matter / poor execution

This became a case study: Case Study#4 - How to Improve a Bad Maze - The Hollywood Sign.

The improved maze is part of my sign maze collection where you can find most of my old sign mazes and thier downloads. Here is the new, completed version:

Abandoned Maze #2 - US Lightship Maze

I spent a lot of time on the details of this boat. I wanted to make the maze for Veteran’s Day. The only place to make the maze is in the hull of the boat and I used an on-line construction. It just doesn’t look good. It might be salvageable. Mistake made: Poor maze construction.

This became a case study: Case Study#7 - How to Improve a Bad Maze - Ship.

Here is the permanent home of the US Lightship Maze with the download. Here is the new, completed version:

Abandoned Maze #3 - Severance Hall Maze

This almost maze was done before I started using perspective for just about every maze, that’s why it looks so boxy. I was in-between wanting to start from scratch or moving forward with the maze. I never made a decision and it got lost until I found it for this post. It also appears to be floating and a nondescript building. Mistake made: Using a poor method to start with. Indecision on how to move forward.

This became a case study: Case Study #5 - How to Improve a Bad Maze - Severance Hall, and then I thought I could improve on that version and did this, Maze of the Week 79 Redux - Severance Hall (MOTW#176).

Here is the permanent home of the Severance Hall Maze with the maze download. Here is the most updated version of the maze:

Abandoned Maze #4 - Tiki Totem Maze

I thought this would be a good idea. Tiki totems are so cool. I can’t quite put my finger on this. It just isn’t good enough to be on the site as a weekly featured maze. I think it MIGHT be able to be fixed. Add color to the totem, and to make it more interesting - SHADOWS. I would also try a more complex maze structure vs the current kids level format. But I can’t be sure that will be enough…so it will not get done ….or it will. We’ll see. Mistake made: Not enough details / interest

This became a case study, in fact my first one: Case Study #1 - How to Improve a Bad Maze - Tiki Totem Maze.

Here is the permanent home of the Tiki Totem Maze with the download. Here is the new, completed version of the maze:

Abandoned Maze #5 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre Maze

Never completed. I never made the maze…just the picture which I struggled with in terms of coloration - every photo of RR has different lighting so the colors are difficult. And most of all, the maze was going to be placed in the rocks but that is a bad structure to make a maze in. Mistake made: Poor subject matter for a maze

This became a case study: Case Study#3 - How to Improve a Bad Maze - Red Rocks Amphitheatre Maze.

Here is the permanent home of the Red Rocks Amphitheatre Maze with the download. Here is the new, revised version of the maze:

Abandoned Maze #6 - Dancing Man Statue Maze

I had high hopes (sing it!) for this when I started it. As you can see I made the figure and I was starting to add muscle definition (in red) when I came to the conclusion - there is no place for a maze - or if there is it will make the maze very large in order to be able to see/solve it. I want this to work because the figure took so long to make and I included so many details. Mistake made: Poor subject matter for a maze.

This became a case study: Case Study#2 - How to Improve a Bad Maze - Danzante Conchero Chichimeca Maze. Then in 2025 after visiting Queretaro again, I was able to update this maze again. I feel like George Lucas playing with the original Star Wars: the Danzante Conchero Chichimeca Maze Update.

Here is the permanent home of the Danzante Conchero Chichimeca Maze with the download. Here is the new, completed version of the maze:

Abandoned Maze #7 - Gateway Arch Maze

This subject fits the definition of something people would like to see. But it doesn’t work. I used a standard maze structure in the arch and it is the wrong type of maze for it. I did a mix of background detail and non-detail. The trees in the foreground are terrible. This could be salvaged with a lot of work. Mistake made: Poor maze execution

Well, I finally finished this maze by improving it. The above never should have seen the light of day. The new version became Maze of the Week #183 - The Gateway Arch as I added more details to the city and colorized the illustration. I also changed the style of the maze in the arch.

Abandoned Maze #8 - Terminal Tower Maze

A building in Cleveland, Ohio that was once the 2nd tallest building in the US (after the Empire State Building). This almost maze was made when I was trying to make everything geometrical and without perspective. Later I switched everything to perspective drawing. I just didn’t feel that the finished product would be worth the additional work needed. It was going to become a very large maze (and difficult to solve), similar to my Empire State Building Maze. Mistake made: Using a poor method to start with.

I am unsure if this maze will ever be completed. I have gone back to it multiple times, only to never restart it.

Abandoned Mazes #9 - Kiyomizu-dera temple pagoda

I started this maze in early 2023. I was using a photo to help me create the illustration. It is very complicated and was taking much longer than many mazes. I gave up after making little progress after a month. I was unsure how to fit a maze in eventually. The detail meant there was little space for a maze. Mistake made: Complicated illustration with questions on if a maze would look good.

This would be a bad maze, but an excellent illustration. I do not run a website called do you illustrate, so this may never be completed as I focus my attention on mazes.

Abandoned Mazes #10 - Assorted building mazes

I have started and stopped on the following mazes for a variety of reasons - but none deserve a visual in this post.

• Tower Bridge, London, England

• The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre, Paris, France

• Abu Simbel, Egypt

• Mont Saint Michel

• Machu Picchu, Andes Mountains, Peru

I wish that was a comprehensive list, but it is not. I think that is because I have hope that many more mazes “In progress” will be finished at some point.

So what do you think ? Which of these last few mazes can and should be salvaged ?

The Arrow Mazes Design Masterclass: 14 parts, 50 examples

One of my favorite types of mazes to make is the Arrow Maze. I have a 4 volume series of books on Amazon of 100 Arrow Mazes each, and they are some of the few, and possibly only? maze books that are available for the regular Kindle. This is because an Arrow Maze can be solved WITHOUT a writing utensil. In fact most people use their eyes or a hovering finger to solve an Arrow Maze. In a series of 14 sections I will be going through some of the design decisions that go into making a successful and fun Arrow Maze. I will be going to extremes in many of these to make the point more impactful.

The 14 part series has 3 major themes we will delve into; Arrow Maze Construction and Design, Arrow Maze Components and Extreme Arrow Maze examples.

Here is an overview of what we will be covering in the 14 part series (click to skip to a section):

Arrow Maze Construction and Design:

• Part 1 - Start Locations and Options

• Part 2 - Using Creative Shapes

• Part 3 - Intersections

• Part 4 - Using Loops

Arrow Maze Components:

• Part 5 - Regular Arrows

• Part 6 - Double Arrows

• Part 7 - Using the START GOAL

• Part 8 - Return to Start Block

• Part 9 - Using Warp Zones

• Part 10 - Slide Arrows

• Part 11 - All Ways Arrow

• Part 12 - Long Arrow Use

Extreme Arrow Maze examples:

• Part 13 - Kitchen Sink Examples

• Part 14 - The Largest Arrow Maze in the World (I think)
  

Arrow Maze Design Case Study - Part 1 - Start Locations and Options

Making an Arrow Maze starts with where you place the START block in the maze. Seems like an easy decision, but there are a few things for you to consider. We will look at a total of 15 different examples, using mini grids to represent larger mazes. Beginning in the top left and moving left to right using our example below:

Corner Starts: you have 3 blocks to work with which can have pathways either in, or out (left). You can use an intersection arrow to create an additional pathway out (center). You can also force a direction for your solver as in the top right example where all 3 initial options lead to the same arrow eventually (right).

Edge Starts: moving away from a corner with the START block gives you an additional 2 blocks for pathways either in or out. You have 5 blocks to work with using any combination of pathways in/out (left, right). You may maximize your out pathways again by using intersection arrows, jumping your pathways to 7 (middle example).

Center Starts: For maximum pathway options you can use a center placed block. This will give you 8 pathways full of regular arrows (left, right). Again using intersection arrows you can maximize your pathways at 12 (center).

Arrow Maze START options

The summary for these options is that the farther from a corner/edge you place the START. the more options you have.

Let’s look at 6 additional examples with some more complicated STARTs.

Double Arrows: Our first example uses a forced start (there is only 1 choice), but if you want to lead a solver back to the START you can use a Double Arrow to get there (in this case over a gap). The second example uses all 3 blocks as OUT pathways, but uses 2 double arrows to get the solver back to START if they take an incorrect choice. Another way to achieve this, meaning using every block as an OUT pathway from START is to use a RETURN TO START block somewhere in the maze.

Forced Starts: You can use the shape of the maze to create forced moves. The first two examples in row 2 below only allow 1 move, while the third example gives you 2 options. Basically you are placing the START in a position that limits the choices.

You have a lot of options with the START block. Consider the difficulty you want with your maze when you place your START block.

And now a Special case…..the Slide Arrow, which will be a part of a future case study. A slide arrow allows you to slide to any block that it is pointing towards (but not over any gaps)….so using a slide arrow really gives you many additional options. Check how quickly the numbers get large…basically however wide or tall the maze is !!

Part 2 - Using Creative Shapes

The shape and size of the Arrow Maze will help determine the difficulty level and funability which is apparently not a word. Well, I say it is.

Funability - a measure how much fun an event or item contains

Now that we have that out of the way let’s begin with some obvious statements.

1. The larger the Arrow Maze (as measured by the number of blocks) the more difficult the potential maze

2. Interesting shapes, including those with notches and gaps creates a more interesting solving experience and allows for more ‘visually hidden’ moves.

Let’s look at a few examples: Simple 9x9 maze (81 blocks). Nothing to write home about. The maze complexity in completely dependent on how the blocks are filled.

Here is a shape that is based off an 8x8 but has cutouts that give it a pinch point in the center. This means the loops do not return you to start, but return you to the midpoint intersection block. The shape essentially splits the maze into two sections.

Based off on an 8 x 9 grid, this maze has a cutout to give it an O shape. In this maze the flow of the pathways is counterclockwise around the center space.

My next example uses floating blocks that can only be reached by using double arrows. It also includes lots of gaps that can be jumped. Overall the shape helps make a more interesting solve. It includes a forced START move and a double move is needed to reach the GOAL.

I have made a few dozen 45 degree angle Arrow Mazes. This particular maze comes from my maze book (page 49!). While this maze looks interesting and is a nice change of pace from a regular shaped maze, the actual maze design is not really affected. Everything is at a 45 degree angle. I like to mix these in for a change of pace. The shape, however, does have many nocks and crannies to move in and out of !

And let’s look at 3 more shapes that are large scale landscape mazes that I made with interesting shapes to force certain moves. I like all three. Take some time to solve them, I think they are enjoyable mazes.

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The moral of this portion of the case study - Be creative with your shapes !

Part 3- Intersections

For our first example we will use a 9 x 13 landscape Arrow Maze, and fill it with a total of 13 L shaped Intersections. These intersections are the standard way in an arrow maze to give the solver a decision to make on what direction they would like to continue in. The more choices (intersections) the more difficult the maze, since only one pathway will lead to the GOAL. Use the next/previous controls to flip between the clean maze the the version showing the intersections.

One of the great ways to use these intersection arrows is next to the START block, which will naturally expand the initial options of the solver. As shown in RED below, the 4 starting moves actually work like 6 possible starting moves/paths to choose since 2 intersections are possible from the START. If you are starting an Arrow maze from a tight space (say a corner), consider adding intersections right off the bat !

While this Arrow Maze used only L shaped intersections, you can also have an opposite direction decision arrow that works in the same way. Here is an example from my book (page 39). Take some time and try to solve this one. I used an extensive Looping system while constructing it that is intended to send the solver back near the start multiple times (unless you are lucky !!). It is actually a good example of that construction that we will cover in a future post.

This 8x9 Arrow Maze contains 70 solving blocks (72 minus the START and GOAL) and 13 decisions, or roughly one every 18.5% of blocks (vs. my first example 13/115 =11% of blocks). So despite being a smaller maze by 37% you are much more likely to get lost in it (in theory).

The summary of arrow maze intersections - the more you use the more difficult the arrow maze.

Part 4 - Using Loops

For this example I will use a 9x9 box Arrow Maze, and fill it with a lot of intersections (and make those into loops). We already discussed in Part 3 how the more intersections that are used, the more difficult the maze becomes. This example has 9 intersections. Scroll down a bit, and take some time and try to solve it.

What did you think ? Did you notice the loops in the maze ? I assume yes. I took some time to highlight the loops throughout the maze. First notice that I have a constructed START (we will speak about this in a future post). No matter which of the 3 blocks you move to from the START they all lead to the first intersection.

I added the same maze with the loops colored and shown in the gallery. You can flip between the 2 to reveal the loops.

Now let’s follow the loops. RED is first. If you take the red path it leads back to where you are OR leads you to the next loop PURPLE which then leads you back to the RED loop either way !

The next pathway is the BLUE loop, which takes you to another intersection ( the blue double arrow) which takes you back into the RED / PURPLE loop or into the GREEN loop that circles back to the BLUE intersection -> to the RED PURPLE… UGH, unless you correctly chose the down black direction.

This goes to the BRIGHT GREEN loop that leads back to the first intersection if you take it.

Next is PINK which leads to either BRIGHT GREEN or YELLOW that loops you back to BLUE.

If you take the correct pathway from PINK you have only one loop remaining, the simple GREY that loops onto itself.

Loops, and loops within loops are a great way to make the maze interesting for the solver. Use them liberally and you will not need to send the solver back to the START. If you are designing a arrow maze for kids, loops are extremely important. I consider short loops the same as short, obvious dead ends in a regular maze…if you take it, you can quickly get back on track and moving towards the goal.

The summary of arrow maze loops - using loops makes arrow mazes more fun and difficult while avoiding dead ends!

Part 5 - Regular Arrows

The core and most basic element of an arrow maze is the basic arrow, In fact, a beginner Arrow maze can be made using ONLY regular arrows. Let’s look at an example. Here is a 9 x 13 landscape Arrow Maze using only regular arrows. Go ahead and take some time to solve it.

How was the experience ? If you chose the right path from the START it was a quick solve. If you did not chose correctly you eventually found this out when you returned to START after moving around the maze,

A maze with this design (regular arrows with no choices) is virtually the same in structure as a line leads maze popular in kids activity books. Let’s look at one of my Line Leads Mazes:

In both, you make an initial choice of paths, then follow it to see if you are correct. The incorrect Arrow pathways bring you back to START while the Line Leads Maze takes you back to another incorrect possible pathway. Otherwise these are very similar.

Let’s focus in on the START in our example. Highlighted in light blue, there are 4 possible pathways you may move to and one return pathway (which technically can be chosen but will immediately return you back to start). Your chance of choosing the correct path is 25%.

From a design standpoint you might be asking, wait, if there are 4 pathways out and only 1 is correct, leaving 3 incorrect pathways, how is there only 1 pathway back to the start ? Well, all of those incorrect pathways meet in 2 spots to form one incorrect pathway back to START. Again the highlighted section shows what we are speaking about. Incorrect pathways Yellow and Green combine at the Blue arrow which then combines with the 3rd incorrect pathway of Purple at the first Red arrow. The last 3 red arrows represent all 3 pathways (Yellow, Green, Purple) moving back to the START.

And finally, let’s look at each pathway to break down what happened in this maze. Purple, Green, and Yellow are the full false pathways (combining still to red in the end). Black arrows are the correct pathway. Two highlighted black arrows are “filler” arrows that are not actually used in any solution !!!

One last design technique you should be aware of when using regular arrows to design a maze. You may or may not have noticed that I usually use arrows at 45 degree angles (did you notice this before ?). I want to explain why this is the case. If you use arrows pointing in the standard NSEW directions, you will create pathways that CANNOT be crossed over. But using 45 degree angles will fix that. In the example below I have drawn one pathway using NSEW arrows and one with 45 degree arrows that travel essentially the same way. But if I continued to design each maze the NSEW version does not have much flexibility on where future pathways can go because the arrows have created a wall that cannot be crossed over.

The summary of regular arrows - learn the basics of regular arrows to create better arrow mazes.

Part 6 - Double Arrows

To review what a double arrow is, it is an arrow that jumps you over the block or gap in the direction the double arrow is pointed. For my first example I will use a 9 x 13 landscape Arrow Maze, with this iteration using mostly Double arrows. Take some time to solve the maze and see how you like it.

For me this is a fun solve, how about you ? I find it is easy to get lost and make a misstep when executing a correct solve. Notice that because of the use of the double arrow to return to START, while our regular arrow maze example in Part 5 had 4 possible starting pathways, this allows 5 starting pathways…so you get a 20% chance of solving this correctly by guessing.

One thing about this maze, is that because of the double arrows alignment it is very difficult (almost impossible) to use ONLY double arrows to make a complete maze. To make this maze more complicated (and fun IMO) you could easily add some choice arrows throughout the maze.

Let’s look at this maze color-coded so we can see the design elements of the pathways:

Red is the correct pathway. Green, Blue and Yellow are incorrect pathways, with Purple a short “filler” incorrect pathway. All black arrows are filler (which could have easily been used with a pathway if I had used some choice arrows). Even with the pathways color coded, the pathways can be difficult to follow (at least compared to color-coded regular arrow pathways).

We will come back to this arrow construction in future case studies because it is so versatile. To really take advantage of this arrow I like to use it to jump across spaces. Below is an Arrow Maze from one of my books (page 53 !) where I use the double arrow 4 times as an island block and 7 times to jump gaps that otherwise be uncrossable (including the dreaded go back to START).

The summary of double arrows - The Double Arrow is a great block to use to get into and out of tight spaces and to cross over gaps in an arrow maze.

Part 7 - Using the START GOAL

For this example I will use a 9x9 box Arrow Maze, and use 2 START GOAL blocks. If you are unfamiliar with this block it adds a new twist to solving the maze because the solver must determine which block is the START and which block is the GOAL. Incorrect pathways lead back to where they started from, with only one pathway leading between the 2 blocks. Try this small START GOAL Arrow Maze.

So how did you do ? Were you lucky enough to choose the right pathway initially ?

Because the S/G blocks are in the corners there are limited choices (to help you out a bit). The top left corner has 3 choices leading from the block while the bottom has 2 choices. 2 blocks are used, 1 for each corner S/G to bring pathways back to them.

From a construction standpoint this means that both incorrect pathways and the eventual correct answer will share a few steps along a pathway (usually at the end). Essentially a bunch of paths lead back to the start, while one pathway connects to one of the wrong pathways from the other side to create a solution. Hopefully this simple diagram shows what happens…with the green pathway becoming the answer.

One major consideration when using START GOAL blocks is that you are forced to create many pathways and they take up a lot of room in the maze. If you branch the pathways out with a lot of intersections you will create a lot of pathways to eventually close. So, using S/G blocks is best done for larger mazes.

My next example uses 2 S/G blocks very close to each other and a total of only 4 outgoing pathways from each. Should be easy, right ? Give it a try.

The summary of START GOAL blocks - If you want to add complexity, consider a START GOAL block. I find them to be a lot of fun as a solver !

Part 8 - Return to Start block

Again we will use a 9 x 13 landscape Arrow Maze, and add a few Return to Start blocks. While you can use as many of these blocks as you need…this example only uses 2. Take some time to solve the maze.

The use of this block gives the solver that feeling of dread. This is not a block you want to land on. For this maze I only used 2 and led all the incorrect pathways to those 2 points. One of the advantages of using this block is that as you design the maze you DO NOT NEED to leave a space for incorrect pathways to return to the start on their own. For this particular maze that means moving all pathways from left to right.

I highlighted the middle column of the maze to show this more clearly. Notice that ALL arrows in this column move to the right towards the GOAL of the maze…except ONE block that moves SE and returns back to the right just after…so really nothing is moving left back to the START.

So what happens when you get AGGRESSIVE with the use of Return to Start blocks ? Well here is another example from my upcoming book (page 99 of 100). It uses only regular arrows and decision arrows but a TON of RTS blocks to drive the solver crazy. There are SO MANY wrong pathways that can be taken and all of them return you back to the start of the maze !

Now that was intense and annoying.

And although it should be obvious…a RETURN TO START block may not be used in an Arrow Maze with START GOAL blocks…because where do you go back to ?

The summary of RETURN TO START blocks - Use them if you want to punish wrong moves.

Part 9 - Using Warp Zones

There is not much explanation needed for a Warp block used in an Arrow Maze despite it being an interesting twist to add to a maze. Basically, it allows you to Warp (or jump) to the same shaped Warp across the maze. There is one additional thing that must be explained. When you land on a Warp block you can warp across the maze OR you can choose not to warp. This leads to the explanation where leaving a Warp block can be moved off of just like a START block - in any direction.

In my example below I use a circular shape and a diamond shape for the Warp blocks. My third shape is typically a square. If you want to use color to differentiate Warp blocks that is also an option.

There is an additional twist I thought of that I put in this Arrow Maze for an upcoming book. With this Warp, when you land on it you may move to either of the other WARPs - 1 shape, 3 Warp choices. When you add in the fact that each of those Warps have choices leaving from them…well there are a lot of choices to make when you land on a Warp.

And it must be said that a great way to use Warp blocks is to travel between two disjointed sections like in the example below. Yes, I could have used double arrows to jump the gaps….but this version essentially creates an initial arrow maze (whose goal is the first Warp), and then a second Arrow Maze from the Warp to the Goal.

The summary of warp zone blocks - Use them if you want to add variety or if you want the ability for the solver to jump across the maze.

Part 10 - Slide Arrows

Yes, a Slide Arrow Maze is a completely separate type of maze IMO to an Arrow Maze. They use the same shapes…the same START and GOALS…and both are full of arrows in a block format. BUT. And, for me it is an important but. They are different types of mazes. A complete Slide Arrow Maze is MUCH MORE DIFFICULT to solve than an Arrow Maze. It is not even close. It is also much harder to design and create. I did the below comparison for my How To Draw a Maze posts:

So landing on a Slide Arrow means you can slide to ANY block it is pointing to (but you can not jump gaps). So in an Arrow Maze you make choices at the START, and at intersections…but in a Slide Arrow Maze each move is a choice…and typically MANY choices. So the move possibilities get much higher, much faster. You can also solve a Slide Arrow Maze from a point very far away from the GOAL.

Here is a Slide Arrow Maze example. It is a simple 6x6 with no notches in the shape. Should be easy…right ?

But that is not why we are here. If you are interested in trying a full book of Slide Arrow Mazes I made a free downloadable book you can find here. I like to use a slide arrow every once in awhile to give the solvers some options within a regular arrow maze. The first example below uses the slide in a very specific way. From the START you have a forced move onto a slide arrow. The move from the slide arrow gives the solver 8 possible blocks to move to. So, I have used the slide arrow to manufacture a very difficult start !!

Ok, let’s look at a maze with multiple slide arrows. Check out this hourglass shaped maze (page 65 in one of my books). Give it a try.

Did you notice that in order to cross from the top portion of the hourglass to the bottom part you must use the slide arrow - both regular arrows direct you back to the top portion of the maze ! A little bit of nuance that can make the design and solve more fun ! You can even imagine a maze where all the arrows are pointing one direction but a slide arrow cuts through them to the other side.

The summary of slide arrow blocks - use these to give the maze complexity.

Part 11 - All Ways Arrow

The All Ways Arrow for me is an idea that seems much better than it actually is in practice. The idea being that when you land on this type of arrow, you may move off of it in any direction. That makes it similar to a START block that is away from the edge of a maze. So, landing on this allows you move in 8 directions (although the true number is most likely 7 since you most likely got to the All Ways Arrow from an adjacent move).

Let’s speak about 3 things you need to know about using this type of arrow:

• The placement of the Arrow must be away from the edge of the maze to utilize every direction that may be moved in.

• The All Ways Arrow has some “gravity” to it. I do not know a better way to describe this, maybe a black hole ? When this arrow type is used a large section of the maze will be dedicated to either reaching or leaving this point,

• Because it needs so many pathways to/from it’s location in the maze, it is best to use it in a large arrow maze, as the pathways will invariably take up a lot of space.

Here is a small maze that uses an All Ways Arrow:

My next example uses a total of 3 All Ways Arrows which adds a unique experience for the solver. After the initial choice from the START, the maze uses only regular arrows, so your only choices happen when you land on an All Ways Arrow. So you go from no choice to many choices (six, six and seven choices by my count). Try it and see what you think.

So add this arrow to your toolkit, but my guess is you will use it sparingly.

The summary of slide arrow blocks - use these to add complexity using only 1 block.

Part 12 - Long Arrow Use

The Long Arrow is the name of an infinite number of arrows that are 2 or more blocks long. Instead of having 2 arrows in 2 blocks back to back moving the same direction…why not use 1 long arrow in one large rectangular block ? It makes the design of the grid more important (it is done last instead of first) and adds some visual interest to the maze. Check out this illustration:

One thing to note is that this can only be used in the standard NSEW directions. 45 degree long arrows do not work. These arrows are also most common on the edges of the maze since once you include them in the center they can only be crossed with a Double Arrow or Warp (or moved around at the end).

Here is an example from my upcoming book that includes many long arrows.

The summary of long arrow blocks - use these to add visual interest to an arrow maze and replace sequential regular arrows.

Part 13 - Kitchen Sink

This post is all about kitchen sink examples. I have included a gallery of 4 different Arrow Mazes that mix all of the things we have learned to create interesting and fun mazes. Click on a maze to see a larger version of it.

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Each of these mazes mixed a few different components to create a kitchen sink maze. You may have noticed that these mazes all include numbers on them…because these are all examples of the type of mazes that I include in my books on Amazon.

Part 14 - The Largest Arrow Maze in the World (I think)

How big is it ?

• Well in terms of if you were going to print it, it is formatted at 31 inches by 61 inches.

• In terms of grids, it is sized at 45 x 90, although there are less than 4,050 grid spaces because of the use of some long arrows !

• You COULD print it, but it is best opened on a device and zoomed in on to solve.

Additional information:

• There are no “filler” grids…all grids in the maze are reachable

• Because of the size of the maze there are 3 checkpoints along the way that will help guide you towards a solve.

• Between the second and third checkpoints there are NO decision arrows, only regular arrows…!

• There are no dead ends

Even more Arrow Mazes: Just in case everything above was not enough, here are the 2 sections of the site where you can fins Arrow Mazes to solve:

Kids Arrow Mazes

Arrow Mazes

Can You Find the Maze Design Mistake ? Part 2

I love making weaving mazes, but they present some challenges for the maze designer in addition to the solver. So much that I made a full post of my mistakes to test your observation skills. Turns out, there are now enough mistakes for a Part 2 !!! Not sure if that should get any exclamation points, but here we are.

If you want to try making this type of maze yourself you can read how I make a Weaving Maze, or the revised, improved weaving maze option. And if you think you would enjoy real, correct weaving mazes to solve like the ones below you can check out multiple books on Amazon. Almost all of these mistakes were part of the editing process and come from the books.

Let’s test your observation skills !

Here are the 2 main types of mistakes I made. A path that ends under another, or one that never comes out from under another.

Examples of mistakes you might find.

Let’s get started with our first maze which looks like a window. I like the design of the weaving maze but, it wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t a problem in the design. Can you find it ? When you are ready, scroll down to get the answer !

Observation Maze #1

Observation Maze #1 Answer.

For me, that was a tough one to find the mistake. If you found the design mistake, great job ! Let’s look at maze #2 and see how you do.

Maze #2 is the most popular shape I use. The shape is great for using for weaving mazes, but again I made a design mistake. Can you find it ? When you are ready, scroll down to get the answer !

Observation Maze #2

Observation Maze #2 Answer.

And now Maze #3. Can you find the design issue with this square wheel weaving maze ?

Observation Maze #3

Observation Maze #3 Answer.

Another path to nowhere…I found that one quickly. maybe because it was in a corner.

Maze #4 is a version of my favorite shape, just with a different start/goal configuration than normal. Can you find the error ? You know what to do.

Observation Maze #4

Observation Maze #4 Answer.

That was a tough one for me. I know the purpose of this post is to test your observation skills, but I just want to mention that this type of maze is really fun to solve (and design IMO). I made a poster size (11x17) weaving maze of a skull that people seem to like. I have a book of these on Amazon also. Try to solve a few of these - just don’t dead end at my mistakes !!

Back to the observation game. How about this fun shape?

Observation Maze #5

Observation Maze #5 Answer

I wish we were done, but I made a lot of mistakes, I’m just glad I caught them and could make them into something interesting (assuming so if you are still here!)

Let’s try this one, an apple weaving maze

Observation Maze #6

Observation Maze #6 Answer

Still more unfortunately.. Try this cloudlike shape. I am not sure what made me design a maze in this shape or maybe more accurately non-shape, but here we are.

Observation Maze #7

Observation Maze #7 Answer

And that does it. My mistakes became a game. I’d like to say this is the last time we do this, but I know it is not ! How did you do ? Would you be interested in more content like this ?

Did you try solving any mazes ? If you like this kind of maze check out these sections:

Weaving Mazes for Kids - Includes 10 mazes on the site with a download for a longer book of 23 mazes.