A Collection of Maze and Labyrinth Resources

Below is a list of websites and resources I have come across that I found helpful as I have researched various maze and labyrinth subjects.

labyrinthlocator.com

The leading worldwide search tool to find labyrinths near you or to plan a visit while you are on vacation. Includes locations, pictures, and contact information for over 6,000 labyrinths in an easy to search database. I have personally used this to find a nearby labyrinth to walk while I was on vacation.

Maize Map and Maze Play Maze locator

Between these 2 websites, you can find local corn mazes near you in the US, a perfect Fall activity !

veriditas.org

Non-profit dedicated to the spiritual aspect of walking labyrinths. Founded by Lauren Artress, author of the book Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice. Has an extensive calendar of events that include a pilgrimage to Chartres in France. Also offers facilitator training for leading spiritual labyrinth walks.

labyrinthsociety.org

Non-profit dedicated to “to support all those who create, maintain and use labyrinths, and to serve the global community by providing education, networking and opportunities to experience transformation” to quote their mission statement. Includes a wonderful events calendar that includes worldwide walking events.

www.mazegenerator.net

Exactly what the domain suggests, an online maze generator. You can select between 4 shapes, 4 styles of cells, along with the height and width.

labyrinthe.at

Labyrinth resource specializing in labyrinths in Austria. Wonderful for persons who are German speaking. Has a listing of labyrinth walking events in Europe, typically including Chartres Cathedral in France, as well as events in Austria and Germany.

hrp.org.uk

The historic royal palace website in England with a direct link above to the most famous maze in the world, The Hampton Court maze. Includes vistor information for tickets, and some historical information.

cathedrale-chartres.org

The Chartres Cathedral in France has the most famous church floor labyrinth. This pattern is thought to be the most copied labyrinth pattern. You can find pilgrimages there on many of the sites on this page, or you can plan a trip yourself on their website.

blogmymaze.wordpress.com

A blog about labyrinths from Erwin Reißmann and Andreas Frei. The cumulative amount of information is impressive and the research is excellent. Has been around since 2008.

relax4life.com

Site dedicated to holistic education and mindfulness that focuses on the healing power of labyrinths. They sell a variety of labyrinth themed products like labyrinth blankets, canvas labyrinths and an extensive collection of finger labyrinths.

sagebrushexchange.com

If you live near Kansas City, Missouri stop by the Prairia Labyrinth. Also explains the use of 7 chakras to spiritually explain the walk of a classical labyrinth.

paxworks.com

A little bit of everything labyrinth wise, with links to labyrinth themed books, music, videos, and a photo gallery.

Here are some of my most viewed posts that delve deep into topics:

The Ultimate Directory of Maze and Labyrinth Builders: The Top 13 Builders in the world

For anyone who wants to build a physical maze, this blog post will help you find the biggest and best designers and builders of things like stone labyrinths, hedge mazes, and corn mazes.

The 12 Most Important Retro Maze Video Games to Lose a Day With

You may not think of video games when you think of mazes, but there are many maze games, think Pac-Man, and this post highlights some of the most important.

Maze and Labyrinth Movies

A collection of over 120 reviews of movies that have either mazes or labyrinths as part of the story. For a sortable spreadsheet of all the movies listed here is the link to the google sheet.

44 Different Types of Mazes and Labyrinths

Not a comprehensive, but a good overview of the different types of mazes and labyrinths with examples.

And from this site:

How to make a Digital Maze (over 40 different types)

How to make a variety of Digital Labyrinths

The Surprising Benefits of Solving Mazes

classical labyrinth

A Collection of Common (and uncommon) Maze terms

Sure, you could use a dictionary, but why not look right here for the maze and labyrinth term definitions you are wondering about. Certainly not a complete list, but it should include most things you are looking for.

ADJUSTABLE MAZES - Real world mazes (Often hedge mazes) that can be changed by using maze gates.

ANFRACTUOSITY - A winding channel or course as in a maze.

ARROW MAZE - A maze where you must follow the direction of the arrows to solve the maze. Or - A maze containing arrows to limit the direction a solver may take the pathways.

AXONOMETRIC - A type of grid that allows a maze creator to draw an object in 3 dimensions on a flat piece of paper by rotating the line of sight.

CAERDROIA LABYRINTH - A type of Welsh turf maze based on the Cretan labyrinth design.

CHAKRA-VYUHA - An Indian labyrinth pattern used to focus a mother during childbirth.

COLOR MAZE - A type of conditional maze that uses color and color patterns to determine path decisions you can make to move forward in the mazes.

CONDITIONAL MAZE - A maze where rules or conditions are established on where or how you can move.

CORN MAZE - (Maize maze in UK) - A maze made from the strategic planting of corn stalks (or alternatively the removal of corn stalks).

DEAD END - A path in a maze that ends without reaching the goal where you must turn back and choose a new pathway.

DEAD END FILLING - A method of solving a maze by filling in dead ends until only the correct pathway remains.

DIRECTIONAL MAZE - A maze with one way passages where you must follow the direction indicated. A type of conditional maze.

ENTRANCE - The start of the maze or labyrinth where you enter it, although not all mazes have an entrance !

EXIT - The goal of the maze where you exit. In a labyrinth the exit is typically in the same location as the entrance although there are some exceptions such as a Baltic Wheel Labyrinth.

FREE DRAWN - A maze that does not use a pre-determined grid pattern for structure.

GOAL - The end of a maze !

GRID - A frame of spaced blocks that create the backbone to the design of many maze types.

HEDGE MAZE - A maze whose barriers are made of hedge.

HAND ON WALL SOLVING METHOD - A method of solving a real world maze that works on any “SIMPLY CONNECTED” Maze.

HIDDEN MESSAGE MAZE - A maze where the solution forms a written message.

I'ITOI - The creator and God of the O'odham people who is the man standing in the Man in the Maze symbol.

IMAGE PUZZLE / IMAGE MAZE - A maze where the solution forms an image !

INTERACTIVE MAZE - A maze that changes as you move through it. Often achieved in WATER Mazes.

LABYRINTH - A maze with no decisions or junctions. Moving forward will get you to the goal.

LOOPS - A type of maze pathway that leads the solver back to the original location, essentially wasting time and not being closer to solving the maze.

MAZE GATES - Gates used to adjust mazes and change the paths allowing visitors to complete a maze multiple times.

MINOTAUR - A half bull / half human that in mythology was believed to live in the center of the labyrinth at Knossos.

MIRROR MAZE - A maze typically found in a carnival funhouse where the walls are made of mirrors to add complexity (and hopefully a bit of fun) for the solver.

ORIENTATION - Where you are in relation to your surroundings.

PATHWAY - The part of the maze or labyrinth that you travel on for physical paper and digital mazes.

PAVED STONE MAZE - A maze whose path is made of paved stone. borders may be made of earth/turf, ditches of water or stones of different colors than the path to differentiate them.

PUZZLE MAZE - Mazes that require some type of solving in order to determine proper movement in the maze. Examples are a Math maze, number maze, letter maze, and a block move maze.

SPIRAL - A common maze pathway design meant to confuse to solver as lines converge to a central point.

TREMAUX’S ALGORITHM - A maze solving algorithm by Charles Pierre Trémaux that is used by someone with no prior knowledge of a maze.

QUICK EXIT - In a real world maze, a quick exit takes you from the GOAL to the exit (often via a bridge or tunnel) so you don’t have to exit the maze by reversing your path.

REVERSE SOLVING - Solving a maze from goal to start, often to lower the difficulty level.

THESEUS - Greek hero who killed the Minotaur according to legend.

TROY TOWN (OR TROYTOWN) - A name commonly given to turf mazes, especially in England, because in popular legend the city of Troy was laid out in a confusing way to confuse attacking enemies.

UNICURSAL - A single-pathed way with no decision points or junctions. Commonly referred to as a Labyrinth in the US.

WEAVING MAZE - A type of maze where the pathways weave above and below each other and allow the solver to solve in another dimension.

For a more complete list of the different types of mazes and labyrinths with examples and videos I suggest this post:

44 Different Types of Mazes and Labyrinths

And also this page with some fun quotes:

Quotes about Mazes and Labyrinths

The Ultimate Directory of Maze and Labyrinth Builders: The Top 13 Builders in the world

Mazes and labyrinths are becoming more and more popular. You can find them in corn fields, public and private gardens, parks, fairs, churches, beaches, courtyards, art galleries and of course in books. Setting up an installation that works in your space takes detailed planning and a keen understanding of how to use materials to give the feeling you want from the project. Today we will look at 13 companies that specialize in physical maze and labyrinth designs. These include projects made with stone, hedges, corn, earth mounds and many other interesting materials. If you are looking to build your own installation, you should be able to find a builder here.

Adrian Fisher - www.mazemaker.com

The world’s leading maze designer and holder of many Guinness World Records. Projects can be seen around the world and include all types of installations: Mirror, Hedge, Panel, Water, Paving, and Corn (or Maize in the UK). The company has been designing mazes for clients since 1979. Adrian Fisher designed the first Maize Maze, while pioneering water mazes, walk-through parting waterfalls in mazes, foaming fountain gates, and wrought-iron maze gates to make mazes dynamic. With over 700 designs the portfolio is impressive. Here is and example of their hedge maze work from the Blenheim Palace in England:

Jim Buchanan - www.jimbuchananprojects.uk

Specializing in land art and labyrinths in the UK. Beautiful use of earth/mounds to build interesting labyrinths. Also the only person I know who uses light projections into swimming pools to create labyrinths that can be walked or swam. Below is his beautiful “Earth and Wildflower Labyrinth” commissioned by the Chesterfield Borough Council.

Marty and Debi Kermeen - labyrinthsinstone.com

Specializes in pavement and stone labyrinths, mostly in the United States. Have been building labyrinths since 1998. They also make hand painted labyrinths on canvas and sell cards and posters of some of their work. Below is an example of their labyrinth work from Aurora University:

The Labyrinth Company - www.labyrinthcompany.com

Offer a variety of services to build or help you build a labyrinth. Pre-designed kits are available to build labyrinths of paving stone, bricks, ceramic floors, hardwood floors, cork floors, carpets, poly canvas mats, vinyl and linoleum floors to name a few. They have many different labyrinth designs including replicas of many classics. If you need quick solution they probably have it. Here is an example of their Abingdon à la Chartres™ paved labyrinth:

TheMAiZE -www.themaize.com

Design and consultant company specializing in the design of corn (maize) mazes. They have a great map feature allows you to find a corn maze near you ! Currently designing in the US, Canada, Poland and the UK with over 3000 corn mazes designed since 1996. Here is an example of one of their corn mazes:

Precision Mazes - www.precisionmazes.com

Corn Maze builder from Missouri who focuses on the use of GPS to make precision designs. They have some impressive commercial maze work in their portfolio that include Cartman from Southpark and Salvador Dali. You can see more about their work in this short video:

Mazescape - mazescape.com

Company founded by UK based maze designers Angus Mewse and Tom Hockaday. They offer 4 different Maize (Corn) Maze design packages based on customer needs. All of their corn (maize) mazes are unique and not pre- designed. They also have designed and built mazes with a wide range of materials, including to quote the website “Willow, Bamboo, Beech, Yew, Turf, Timber Panels, Wooden Posts, Trellis and Climbing Plants, Fabric, Rope, Hay & Straw Bales, Recycled Tires, Adobe, Brick and Stone”.

Don & Lorraine Watts - thecornmazeguy.com

Company out of Pennsylvania that specializes in affordable corn maze design for the Northeastern part of the US. They offer printed corn maze games to enhance the corn maze customer experience.

Maize Quest - mazecatalog.com

Company from Pennsylvania that has been designing corn mazes since 1997. They specialize in making mazes that include additional features for the guests, like a scavenger hunt and projects or tasks for kids to complete as they walk through the amaze. They also sell rope mazes and fence mazes like the one below:

MazePlay - www.mazeplay.com

Started in 1998 when the owner planted a corn maze for the first time after convincing his father to let him experiment in a corner of the corn field. Based in Idaho. Service designs corn mazes and includes the options to add games to enhance the experience for guests (treasure hunts, solving a mystery games). Check out their video playlist here:

Instant Hedge - www.instanthedge.com

“Established in 2013, InstantHedge is the only nursery in the United States devoted to growing pre-finished hedges” - from their website. A company that specializes at installing hedges for clients. They also can design and install hedge mazes. Located in Oregon. Check out their great hedge care guides for hedges.

Robert Ferré - www.labyrinth-enterprises.com/

Works on design, consulting, and installation of labyrinths. Hosts a Master Class on how to lay out a classical labyrinth. Author of the books Canvas Labyrinths: Constructuion Manual and The Labyrinth Revival. Below is his work from the Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, Il.

Lea Goode Harris - www.creativelabyrinths.com/

A creative designer and consultant for labyrinth insulations. Author of multiple books, including Ladybug Labyrinth: A Journey Home and A Discovery of Labyrinths. Creator of the Santa Rosa Labyrinth consisting of 8 concentric circles. Here is an example of it on the roof of the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC.

And one more that specializes in temporary mazes for exhibits:

BONUS: Minotaur Mazes - Minotaur Mazes

Minotaur Mazes specializes in creating real world mazes that can be used in exhibits and museums. The long list of clients (hundreds) on the website includes Museums, Science Centers, a list of Collaborations, Amusement Parks, Fairs, Festivals, Events, Libraries, Zoos, Aquariums, Botanical Gardens and Children’s Museums. So if you are running an event or one of these attractions this company is something you may want to look into ! Check out this YouTube video showing just one example of an installation of Mazes & Brain Games done in Raleigh Durham, NC. There are 11 different exhibitions to choose from on the site and you will no doubt know that my favorite is Mazes and Brain Games that you see previewed in the video below.

There is a lot of talent here to help you with professional labyrinth installation, design and construction. I hope this directory helps you make you vision a reality. If I missed someone that you would recommend, drop me note (doyoumaze@gmail.com). Thank you!

Comparison of the even MORE online maze generation websites

Previously I have reviewed and compared the top 12 maze generation websites. And that blog post gets updated often as new websites are created and replace some of the original sites. It seems to be a common logic and programming puzzle to create a website that can create a digital maze. And so, today, I am going to take the time to go through 7 MORE maze generation websites. Why ? Well I like to keep up to date on what content is out there and share it with you.

So today I will look at 7 online maze generation websites, compare them, and let you know what each is capable of. This maze generator comparison includes the (1) shape of the overall mazes, (2) the cell types or shape of the cells that create the internal paths/walls, (3/4) the width and height sizes you can generate, (5/6) how the start/end are shown, (7) are the solutions given, and (8) how can you download the maze you have generated.

To give them a good comparison I decided to generate a 20x20 maze with each to compare how each generated (when possible). I also tried to give and example of some of the advanced features if the maze generator site has them.

In no particular order:

1. all kids network

Shapes: 5 : Square

Cell types: Square

Width / Height: 9 pre-selected sizes available, smallest 5 x 5, largest 120 x 120

Start/End: Entrance and exit are labeled.

Advanced options: You can choose one of 2 styles: Simple or Artistic

Solution generated: Yes

Downloads available: Yes. Pdfs available.

This site also allows you to select your difficulty level (Easy, Medium, Hard), and to select between 11 different page sizes.

Examples: You must register and login to download mazes. Registration is free.

2. PUZZLE GeneratoRS

This site has 6 different inputs that must be filled in to make a maze. There is no information to explain how they work (Information icons did not work for me). Those inputs are labeled: Width, Height, North, East, West, and South. This site also allows you to make crossword puzzles, sudoku and word searches !

Shapes: 2 : Square, Rectangle

Cell types: 1: Square

Width: 2 - 50

Height: 2 - 50

Start: Entrance and exit are not specified, 1 of each at the top and bottom of the generation.

End: 1

Solution generated: Yes

Downloads available: Yes

Examples: Both are 20x20 squares. The left was generated using 1111 for NSEW, while the right was generated using 2222.

3. JAMISBUCK

This maze generator is built to generate mazes for Minecraft. This includes mazes with up to 10 layers (Think of a 3D maze with each layer being a floor to a building).

Shapes: 1 : Square

Cell types: 1: Square

Width / Height: Comes in 4 selectable sizes: Small Medium Large and Huge

Start: Entrance on the left hand side.

End: Exit in the right hand side.

Advanced options: The levels I mentioned before add layers to the maze, allowing the solver to travel in a third direction. Note that this generates as a separate picture for each level with blocks colored to indicate where you may move up or down.

Solution generated: No

Downloads available: No

Examples: First example is Medium sized with 1 Level. The next set of 3 show a Small sized 3 level maze where yellow and blue denote the ability to move up and down.

4. Dcode Maze Generator

Shapes: 1 : Rectangle

Cell types: 1: Square

Width: 2 - 50

Height: 2 - 50

Start: Entrance and exit are not specified, 1 of each at the top and bottom of the generation.

End: 1

Advanced options: You can change the walls of your maze to be made by any character. The default maze walls are made from solid black blocks.

Solution generated: No

Downloads available: Yes

Examples: Left with the default black walls. Right with * as walls. I tried a few different symbols and find non-black walls very difficult to follow what the pathways are.

5. delorie

Shapes: 1 : Rectangle

Cell types: 1: Square, Rectangle

Width: 1 - 100

Height: 1 - 100

Start: Entrance and exit are not specified, 1 of each at the top and bottom of the generation.

End: Entrance and exit are not specified, 1 of each at the top and bottom of the generation.

Advanced options: You can generate a maze in Gif format (Though I could not get this to display) or using text (which uses the “+” and “-” characters). You can choose the width and height of each cell. I found if you use the default of 1 it is difficult to understand the walls of the maze.

Solution generated: Yes

Downloads available: No

Examples: Left uses a width and height of 2 per cell and is difficult to follow. The right maze is much easier to follow by changing the width per cell to 6. This generates a more square maze.

6. the teachers corner

Shapes: 1 : Rectangle

Cell types: 1: Square

Width: 10 - 50

Height: 10 - 75

Start: Entrance and exit arrows are chosen with 6 color options. Entrance generates in the top left corner.

End: Entrance and exit arrows are chosen with 6 color options. Exit generates in the bottom right corner.

Advanced options: You can add a Title and directions/instructions for the maze. Default directions are “Can you find your way through the crazy maze below?”. You can change the width of lanes, there are 5 options that vary the display size.

Solution generated: No

Downloads available: Only by right clicking to download directly from the browser. Note that the download will NOT include the start and ending arrows you see on the screen.

Other: This maze generator is part of a larger website dedicated to resources for teachers like lesson plans, activity sets and teacher resources. Great for teachers !

Examples: Each is 20 x 20.

7. Xefer Maze Generator

Shapes: 1 : Rectangle

Cell types: 1: Square

Width: 2 - 1000 ? At 1,000 the maze still generates.

Height: 2 - 1000 ? At 1,000 the maze still generates.

Start: Entrance and exit are not specified, 1 of each at the top and bottom of the generation.

End: 1

Advanced options: You can choose the size of the cells. You can choose the anfractuosity - roughly how much channels are important in the maze. Most mazes have high anfractuosity.

Solution generated: Yes

Downloads available: No

Examples: Left 20 x 20 has low anfractuosity. Right 20 x 20 has high anfractuosity.

Have a site that you want me to review ? Send me a note !

Other popular posts you may like:

The 18 Best Maze Movies

What I use to make my mazes

How to make a digital maze (40 different types)

How to make a labyrinth (classical, square, circular)