Twisty Little Paths: Creating New Types of Experimental Mazes

I spent an entire month making Experimental Mazes were I came up with 11 different types of mazes. Each type had at least one daily maze posted on the site and some of these experiments had up to 5 different versions. Today I want to pull each of these new maze creations together and review them, see how I did, what worked and get some feedback from you.

Part 1 - Perspective Arrow Maze

This idea is pretty simple: Arrow Maze + a change in perspective. I did 5 different versions and below is my favorite example. A typical Arrow Maze is flat and I thought adding some perspective would be interesting. I enjoyed making this and getting the maze aligned as I made it in sections.

Part 2 - Multi Arrow Maze

This idea is connected Arrow Mazes. Day 1 is Arrow Maze 1 you solve normally. Day 2 adds Maze 2 (the upper left corner). The solver starts in the same place, but tries to reach the Day 2 Goal in Maze 2. This continues each day. Day 3 adds Maze 3 and a new GOAL. By day 5 you have 5 Arrow Mazes combined into one. Can you solve each maze in order ? Good Luck. To clarify, landing on a corner of the center arrow maze opens up the new maze section to you.

Multi connected Arrow Maze — Multi Arrow Maze

Part 3 - Color Grid and Grid Maze Combo

Another combination maze, this one featuring a color grid maze and a grid maze. Since the Color Grid is already “gridded” this made it easy to create a 2-in-1 maze. Solve the 2 mazes in any order. In this case the start and goal is the same for each maze type.

Part 4 - Folded Grid Maze

A Grid Maze that has the appearance of being a folded piece of paper based on changing the perspectives on a few sections. I did 2 versions. Easy to make. Looks more interesting than a regular grid maze, but is nothing earth shattering.

Part 5 - Layered Grid Maze

A Grid Maze that uses multiple layers to give the maze a more interesting look. Honestly, this is not very experimental in hindsight. It looks marginally more interesting, but at the end of the day is still just a grid maze.

Part 6 - Arrow and Grid Maze Combo

Another 2-in-1 maze experiment. This one combines the Arrow and Grid Mazes. I made it to be solved Arrow Maze first, then Grid Maze after, returning to the original start, but you can technically solve in either order. I like the idea of the start of one is the goal of the other. I did 4 different mazes of this type.

Part 7 - The Sectional Maze

A Sectional Maze uses lightly connected sections and weaving pathways to travel throughout the maze. Nothing too crazy, but a new type of maze for me. Maybe the newest portion is the one way pathways between sections. I feel like this is a small version of something much larger and more interesting.

Part 8 - Standard Perspective Maze

A standard maze where I have played with the perspective. I think this is the least appealing maze I made playing with perspective. Boring in this example and possibly boring in most examples. When I originally thought of it I was thinking it would look like a folded piece of paper. This particular example is also a Kids maze.

Part 9 - Stacked Grid Maze

A Grid Maze (blue) inside a grid maze (black). Day 1 included only the black walls, while Day 2 uses both black and blue to create the walls. I stopped after 2 days as the solution stays generally the same on day 2 in this version.

Part 10 - Pipes and Arrow Maze Combo

Another 2-in-1 maze that combines Pipe Mazes and Arrow Mazes. These can be solved in any order. I looks a bit odd but these are 2 of my favorite maze types. I will say as a designer this maze type takes a long time to make. If I could make this faster I would make more.

Part 11 - Stacked Standard Maze

5 Mazes in 1. Each Day for 5 days I added a new layer to solve. Each smaller arrow adds a new layer of walls to impede you. So the maze starts with black walls only. The next maze on day 2 uses black and grey walls. Then + Blue, + Red, and finally + Green. I thought this was a fun idea. But the actual execution is tough on the eyes and not as enjoyable to solve as I thought. I wonder if wider spacing for all maze pathways would improve it.

The odd sizes mean I did not make these mazes into a traditional free downloadable book, but I did gather them into a 31 page booklet. It is not recommended for printing. The download is 392Kb and is best used on screen.

download the booklet

Are there some mazes you like that should be continued and explored ? Send me a request.