How to Draw a Massive 27 Circuit Labyrinth

Drawing a massive 27 circuit classical labyrinth feels like running a marathon. I have never run a marathon. That might be a lie. To Draw it step by step it takes a 29 step process. Writing that out and going step by step is laborious, so instead I am going to give you the cheat codes. It saves me time. If you decide to create this it probably won’t save you any. The truth hurts. Let’s get on with it.

Step 1: Draw the starting seed pattern

The starting seed pattern based on an imaginary 14 x 14 box grid. Start with a centered is a plus sign. Add L shapes one grid away from the plus sign in all 4 quadrants. Repeat until you have 6 L per quadrant. Finally add a dot to each of the four corners. Basically, copy the seed the pattern you see here:

Step 2: Connect the first arch to create the goal

Draw a curved line from the top of the plus sign to the L directly to the right using an arch that extends 1 grid high. The top of the arch should peak halfway between those two points. This line will form what will become the goal of the labyrinth.

Steps 3 - 29: Connect the next endpoint to the left to the next endpoint on the right

Every step from now on will be basically the same. Move one point to your left (moving counterclockwise) and connect that to the next point on the right (moving clockwise).On the right find the listing of connection points. We already connected points 1 to 1. TIP: the top of all the arches will all align above the same point.

If you get into any trouble refer to the directions for the Classical 7 Circuit Labyrinth. This is essentially the same, but many more steps. That completes the drawing of an 27 circuit labyrinth.

Interested in learning how to make or draw other types of digital mazes ? I have step by step instructions on how to make over 40 different maze types.

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

How to Make a Digital Maze of Your Name

I’ve made over 1,850 different names into mazes on the site. You can try to find your name on the name maze page. If you have a name that is common in the United States or a top ten name in another country, there is a good chance you’ll find it ! To read about how I’ve picked the names you can read this post. And of course if you just want to skip everything and have me make the name maze for you, you can request a name maze here.

Today I will take you thru 5 different options to digitally making your name into a maze. Let’s get started !

Option 1 - By Using an Existing Font

• Step 1 - Select your Font

A good maze-able font is one that is thick enough that it will allow pathways and walls to be draw within them. That means either a Bold version of a font or a font that is naturally wide. You may want to consider a “blocky” font if your name contains an angled character that does not fit into a square based grid well, K, M, N, S, V, W, X and Y. In the example the fonts are all the same point size, but the bottom 2 fonts will be significantly easier to maze.

• Step 2 - Prep your Name

After spelling out your name in the font you have chosen, adjust the fill and stroke to essentially hollow out your name. Typically the fill becomes white (or whatever background you are working on) and the stroke becomes black (or the color you want your name to appear in). The Stroke, or outline should be greater than or equal to the width your maze walls will be drawn at.

• Step 3 - Create a Background Grid

Align your name with an appropriately sized grid when compared to the font size. This grid will become the basis for your maze walls. In the example below I actually drew on top of the grid (typically transparent in the final product). As you can see the letter height has room for 3-4 pathways in the north south direction. 2 would be a minimum needed to make a maze in a letter which would be suitable to kids. The more pathways, the harder the maze you can make ! If you want to want to get very fancy for curved letters you can skip the grid and use curved hand drawn lines. In this example the C. The A could also use a grid that aligns with the outer wall rather than the horizon.

• Step 4 - Start Maze-ing

There are many different types of mazes and constructions you can use, check out 40+ here, including instructions on how to make them. For my example I am going to use a standard maze construction, but I think a grid maze construction works especially well if you have any of the angling letters mentioned in step 1. Here is a start arrow and the M mazed. Notice the connection between the M and I that was created. I used a width slightly larger than the pathway, but you can equalize that if you prefer that look.

• Step 5 - Complete the Maze

Continue thru the maze construction process until you have completed the maze. Add the exit arrow and you are complete. With most name mazes there are natural points where the letters can connect to one another without much trouble, as in the A with both the H and E. For the letter C because it has natural connections from both the top and bottom portions I used both to add some complexity to the maze. For all other letters, once you enter a new letter, you can immediately see your goal out to the next letter.

For comparison, here is the Michael maze I have on my site in the Name mazes section. It uses the same font as Option 1 but has a much different look based on the scale of the internal paths. This creates a much more difficult maze for the solver ! For construction purposes I also use a consistent connection point between the letters.

Michael name mazed

Option 2 - By Drawing the Individual Letters

• Step 1 - Set-up a Grid

I will be using a standard square grid shape in this example. First, make a standard size for your letters. I like the height to be between 1.5X and 2X larger than the width. Below see what 3 common options look like. You also need to take into account how many paths you want in a standard upstroke of a letter. Think the left side of the H or an E. Anything less than a width of 8 will be difficult to work with. Notice how the letter H looks in each size.

• Step 2 - Letter Your Name

Make your name in the size you choose (below is 10 x 16). Space each letter the same distance from the next (I suggest 1 or 2 blocks). Make each upstroke the same width for each letter. If your name contains a W or M you will need to add additional width for those letters, and of course the letter I will be smaller width (with options for the same with J, L and T). Notice the letters are very “blocky” which will help during the maze making, but they do not have to be. Because you are making the Letters using a grid the resulting maze will be much more uniform than using a font to build from.

• Step 3 - Make the Maze

There are many different types of mazes and constructions you can use, check out 40+ here, including instructions on how to make them. Again, I will use the standard maze construction for this example. In my example below I used 1 space between letters. Notice the spacing of the walls are more uniform than in the first option. Also I did the maze walls in the M to match the angle of the letter with no movement options in that section.

Option 3 - Drawing Dimensional Letters

• Step 1 - Set-up an Axonometric Grid

Use an Axonometric grid to draw a 3-D looking object on a flat surface. Think about drawing a cube. When I set-up this grid I use a low angle % - the higher, the more slope the name would have. In my example I used 10%. You can check what the spacing will look like by drawing placeholders for each letter in your name. Similar to Option #2 above the optimal letter size seems to be height 2X width as in my example below.

• Step 2 - Letter your name

I like a gap of 3 grids between letters - they will eventually be filled in to allow a nice transition for the maze between letters. Again, the M is expanded in this case because it is a wide letter.

• Step 3 - Give it Depth

Add the depth to each letter using the slope in the other direction of the letters. The depth portion of each letter align naturally to the front of the next letter so there is no need for a connector bridge between the letters as there is in the other 2 options above.

• Step 4 - Make the Maze

Draw the walls of the maze in the same sloping direction as the edge you are on. Use the depth of the maze as the transition between letters. Add start/goal arrows

I hope you found a maze construction you like to make your name a-maze-ing ! And remember that even though each of my mazes were done in black and white fell free to add some color !!! I went with yellow, red and burgundy for the below example, but play around with your own colors and you can find some great combinations. I will say that when you do 3D letters, it can help people read them when you are consistent in your colorations based on the orientation of the letter sides. Here, yellow in front, red on the sides, and burgundy on the (un-mazed) tops. As always, if you use dark colors for the background, you should use light colors for the maze walls. A black maze on a navy or burgundy background would not be enjoyable for the solver !

Option 4 - USE MY PRE-MADE MAZED Letter templates

I made an entire book of hidden message mazes. While working on it I decided to make a series of 4 mazed letter templates to be used for making hidden message mazes quickly. I have already done the work of mazing each letter, so you just need to put them together. Below is one of the four templates, but I suggest you click the link above to see the other options (or just to get inspiration to make your own mazed letters!). Some letters always give me trouble when starting from scratch !!

Before we get into to details and step by step, what do you notice about the mazed latters ? Hopefully that they are actually labyrinthic letters - there are no choices along the pathways ! So this is actually how to make a labyrinth of your name….UNLESS, you use this template and add gaps in the letters that lead to dead ends. This would be used in a hidden message version using these letters. In other words, hiding a name into a larger maze. Let’s get onto Option 4.

• Step 1 - copy the design of my letters

• Step 2 - spell your name

• Step 3 - connect the letters

Notice that my letters almost all align at the bottom with a few exceptions (N, S, W, and Z). With these letters you can adjust surrounding letters, or the maze within the actual letter. Each letter can be adjusted if needed.

• Step 4 - add the start and end arrows

Option 5 - HIDDEN NAME MAZE VERSION

This is a variation of option 4 above where I used pre-made letters to create the name Michael. As I mentioned above the result of this is actually a labyrinth of the name Michael, because you cannot get lost like you might in a maze.

• Step 1 - spell your name using my letter template

Also note that I did change the latter A slightly with a dead end in the opening center of the A.

• Step 2 - begin mazing around the letters

First I added a border around the name. Then I began adding false pathways in the maze. Key to this maze is to not let any false pathway lead anywhere, including back to the actual name.

• Step 3 - complete the maze

And add a start and goal arrow. This is a hidden name…but not well hidden IMO if you know what you are looking for. This is a relatively easy solve however once you get into the letters because as long as you do not break away between letters where the main gaps of false pathways are you will solve the maze.

• Step 4 - MAKE A SOLUTION

Check your work. How will the maze look when someone solves it ? I think this hidden name maze looks pretty good !

By now you should be able to make a maze of your name !

Interested in learning how to make or draw other types of digital mazes ? I have step by step instructions on how to make over 40 different maze types.

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

How to Make a Weaving Path Maze - Improved Method

In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. Previously, we reviewed the 29th type of maze construction - the Weaving Paths maze. Today I will give you an alternative method (an improved method IMO) of making a weaving path maze. The main difference between the two methods is the resulting spacing of the paths in the final product. This method will result in a more uniform design. Let’s review what I mean by a Weaving Paths Maze, then get into the example.

Weaving Paths Maze - A Maze WHERE paths are allowed to weave around each other creating an extra plane for the maze solver to work in.

How to Make a Weaving Paths Maze (IMPROVED METHOD)

Step 1 - Draw a “picnic blanket” template

The template will serve as the shape of the maze and also help you keep track of spacing as you make the actual maze. It can be anything from a simple shape like a square, to a complex picture. My example uses a simple square structure. I use 2 colors to help keep the construction organized. This background will organize the drawing of your pathways. I have a rule that no pathways can be drawn in the white boxes. This picnic template creates that structure for you.

Step 2 - Start Drawing the Pathways

While most mazes are built by individual walls, in a weaving maze you design a pathway by virtue of the parallel walls you are drawing. A weaving pattern is achieved by controlling the direction of paths rather than the building of walls. Using the template, ensure you only draw pathways on the colored part and never on the white portion of the grid. This ensures good spacing. I draw a section at a time and use a color (I prefer grey, but feel free to choose your own color) to help establish the maze from background.

You also must follow a few rules: Do not end a maze path under another pathway. Do not change pathway directions under another pathway. Do not split a path way into multiple pathways under another path. Basically, only create dead ends in open space.

Step 3 - Draw additional paths

Continue drawing pathways making sure you take advantage of the weaving. Here is a mid-completion look at the maze construction.

A note on difficulty and fun-ability: Remember that in a weaving maze the more loops you create the more difficult the maze will be to solve. But, those loops also add a bit of fun to the maze solve also. If a solver incorrectly takes a false pathway and instead of reaching a dead end the loop will return them to the mistake (Much more fun to solve!!!).

Step 4 - Complete all pathways

Complete all pathways, ensuring that you have made a viable solution !

Step 5 - (Optional) - Add directional arrows or shadows

If you believe the final version of the Weaving path maze you have made has paths that might confuse the solver you have the option to add arrows at any dimensional intersection to clarify the path can be taken. I think this maze does not need any arrows. I also sometimes use shadows to show where a pathway goes under another pathway (best seen in my Pipe maze example).

Step 6 - Complete the Finishing Touches

Add the Start and Goal arrows (could be done sooner), and delete the background guide template.

Step 7 - (Optional) Create a Background

Make the maze completely black. Copy and shift it and return it to the original coloration to create a shadow background. I think this helps to make the maze look more dimensional and easier to follow for a solver. Notice that this also makes the pathways look darker (I did not change the color between steps). Depending on what colors you use this color dynamic will change.

Step 8 - Draw the Solution

Highlight the correct path in the final version of the maze to create the final maze solution (shown here in red).

Additional Weaving Maze Examples

The below example of a weaving path maze was made without a template guide. It has irregular spacing between pathways and many large gaps vs. the improved method. Depending on how you want your final maze to look will determine if you use the guide or not. One other thing to note about this version is that the black and white pathways on a white background make it difficult on my eyes. I would actually prefer this maze more if the pathways had a color.

One more example made with a guide and even spacing, no gaps. This also adds some color and a new shape. I did not use a background. Obviously the template used to make this had the same shape as the final maze.

That inspired me to show you a few examples of weaving maze templates. Get creative on your own templates. Just an additional note - make sure to fill in all spaces to create the shape when you are actually making the maze. It requires a little more on-the-go planning as you create the maze.

Another example that I did for Christmas, a Weaving Christmas Stocking Maze. It uses multiple colors and a unique shape.

And my last example showcases a large version of a weaving maze. This is difficult maze but a lot of fun to solve.

For additional examples, explore the 10 different types of weaving maze styes, including pipes mazes and see which you prefer:

What is Your Preferred Weaving Maze Style ?

I also created a method to help create a complicated weaving maze that I found very helpful when making this maze type for adults:

Creating a complicated Weaving Maze - an updated method

I did a 3 part blog series on maze constructions if you want to design your own type of maze. Part 2 speaks about pathway options including weaving pathways !

Part 1 - Starting and Ending a Maze - Speaks to the 9 most popular ways to start and stop a maze

Part 2 - Maze Path options - Explores the 12 different pathway options for a maze

Part 3 - Conditional Path options - Speaks to 11 different conditional options to add to a maze to make it more enjoyable

Interested in learning how to make or draw other types of digital mazes ? I have step by step instructions on how to make over 40 different maze types.

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

How to Make an Unsolvable Maze

In a series of posts I will show you how to make a maze in a wide variety of design constructions. The 39th example will look at the Unsolvable Maze construction. It is one of the most enjoyable maze constructions to make. Let’s define what I mean by Unsolvable Maze, then get into the example. Every example will use the sample basic outline (the state of Ohio) to better illustrate the differences between each maze type.

Unsolvable Maze - A maze that doesn’t have a solution.

(ALTERNATIVE definition) A maze so difficult that the solver gives up rather than continue solving it.

There are 2 completely different options to create an unsolvable maze; Option 1 - Create a maze with no solution, and Option 2 - Make a maze with extreme difficulty. Let’s review the steps for each making each type of maze:

HOW TO MAKE AN UNSOLVABLE MAZE - Option 1: No Solution

• Step 1 - Choose Your Maze Construction

This step-by-step will be much different than previous “How to Makes”. An unsolvable maze can come in ANY maze construction. So determine which construction you prefer.

• Step 2 - Follow the Step by Step Instructions

• Step 3 - Close off any Solutions

And there it is. When you make the maze do not leave any solution possible. This is mean. But maybe that is why you are here. To make this even more difficult close up a point in the middle of the maze (not at the end). If you close all possible solutions pathways near the exit, a backward solver will easily figure this out. I assume a designer of this would want to be at their most terrible.

Below is an additional example. Unless this is for April Fool’s Day, or you made a mistake, creating a maze like this is not advisable.

Below I will discuss how to make an Arrow Maze that is very difficult. But there is also the option to create an Arrow Maze with dead ends (unlike other maze types, a properly designed Arrow Maze does not have any). In this first example there is NO solution and if you try to solve it you will eventually find yourself in an everlasting loop ! Try it for yourself.

HOW TO MAKE AN UNSOLVABLE MAZE - Option 2: Extreme Difficulty

This second option is a variation on the above instructions with a variation only in step #3.

• Step 1 (same as above) - Choose Your Maze Construction

This step by step will be much different that previous “How to Makes”. An unsolvable maze can come in ANY maze construction. So determine which construction you prefer.

• Step 2 (same as above) - Follow the Step by Step Instructions

• Step 3 - Make it REALLY difficult to solve

Make a maze that is extremely difficult to solve using the following 9 things in your toolbox:

9 Designs Decisions That Make a Maze Difficult to Solve:

1. Make it very large because the larger the maze the more difficult it can become. The more dead ends. The more pathways to keep track of. Just more.

2. Make a very high number of intersections. The more choices the solver has to make, the more often they will make a wrong turn. Simple math.

3. Make the dead end pathways very long. When you create a dead end, don’t make it obvious just after the choice is made. Make the dead end take a long time to be discovered.

4. Make many branches off of the dead ends pathways. So you take a long dead end pathway but do not discover it for a long time so you backtrack to your last intersection and take the other branch and it is a dead end also. So you backtrack again to the previous intersection and take the other direction and it is a dead end also ! etc.

5. Include a few looping dead ends. What do I mean by this ? Well, have an intersection that breaks off into two directions (again, preferably these are long pathways), which both lead back to the exact same spot in the maze. The more looping pathways, the more difficult the maze to solve. It may make the maze less frustrating depending on the temperament of the solver. Would you rather hit a dead end, or not hit a dead end and return to where you started ?

6. Consider using weaving pathways. These paths go under and over one another and make seeing dead ends “early” much more difficult. Weaving Mazes and Pipes Mazes both use this construction method.

7. If you are making a specialty maze, give the solver an exponential number of possible moves they can make (see the Slide Arrow Maze example below). An intersection with 4 choices is more difficult to keep track of than an intersection with only 2.

8. Design the maze in TWO directions. This prevents a person from backtracking to solve a maze from the goal to the start.

9. Add Rules. The more you need to think when solving a maze, the harder it becomes. For example: Puzzle Mazes have rules of movement to follow based on the rules of the maze. Conditional mazes make the order you move down pathways important. Left turn only mazes speak for themselves in their title.

I do NOT suggest using this method to make a maze unsolvable:

• Make the pathways very small or in poor colors (because both are difficult to see), with the need to strain your eyes to solve it. Don’t make a maze designed to be difficult to follow/see, make a maze design that is difficult to SOLVE because it is a complicated puzzle.

EXAMPLES OF VERY DIFFICULT MAZES

The first example is a Slide Arrow Maze. In this type of maze you start at the red arrow and you may move to any block that it is pointing to (but no jumping gaps). So your first move can be to either of the two blocks below it. If you pick the first block below you have 3 subsequent choices. If you pick the second possible arrow you will then have 8 possible next moves. Why this maze is so difficult is that there is only one correct solution, so with so many choices each move you are bound to make many mistakes and get stuck ! Try it. I WANT the solver to get frustrated.

And this second example I did for a project. This is a regular Arrow Maze, but it is also the largest Arrow Maze in the world (probably). This is difficult because of its sheer size. I gave a few checkpoints along the way (the blocks with the black background). It also includes hundreds of loops. I think it is a fun maze, but I think many people will get frustrated and stop. If you do try to solve this maze, time yourself and send me a note on how long it took you ! This maze is one of The 5 Hardest Mazes on this Website.

Here are the solving rules if you have never done an Arrow Maze:

Good Luck designing an unsolvable maze !

Interested in learning how to make or draw other types of digital mazes ? I have step by step instructions on how to make over 40 different maze types.

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