My 2021 Year in Review

I wanted to write a year end review for the website to reflect on what I accomplished for the year. Yes, I made a lot of mazes, but I did more than that, expanding what I did and how I did it. This post might just be for me, but I am happy to take you along on the journey. Enjoy. And since I did this exact post the year before…why not show 3 years !!

Daily Mazes posted:

640 in 2021 vs. 366 in 2020 vs. 365 in 2019

I was up against a leap year from 2021 so I was destined to be at 365…until I decided on April 1st to create the Spanish Language section of the site (Laberintos) which added 275 additional mazes. Some of these had no changes but I am not going to count individual translations.

Blog Posts:

291 vs. 102 vs. 26

Some of my most popular content is still from 2020. In 2021 I tried some new things to improve my SEO and that included deleting large sections of the website and creating 100 blog posts, each featuring a best maze from 2018-2020. This did not work. But I did blog significantly more than LY and that did work, My goal was 3 times a week or 156 posts and even after dropping the 100 maze project I crushed that number,

Name Mazes Made

4 vs. 247 vs. 1,499

The SEO on this section of the site dropped off significantly this year. You can read about how I chose the names HERE. So 2021 meant only doing requests when they were submitted, and not many were, although this may become a project for 2022…maybe…

Books posted online:

12 vs. 8 vs. 19

In the 2 years prior to this one I created a lot of free downloadable content. By my count that was 27 books, some of which have been retired or improved. For 2021 while I started off with a few monthly books, I got away from this to focus on other content. Somehow I still managed to make 12 books !

Books Published on Amazon:

0 vs. 3 (13 versions) vs. 0

I published my first 3 books on Amazon. And with a bit of help I translated 2 of them into 3 additional languages. I also have one of the few Kindle maze books available since Arrow mazes are solved with your finger/eyes and not a writing utensil. My books did not sell very well so I have 3 additional books sitting on the shelf, ready for publication if I come up with a marketing plan.

Website Traffic growth:

242% vs LY, +1000%+ the PY

The website traffic grew year over year by 242% and it has the potential to grow by the same in the future as I learn more about image SEO. I am also looking at changing the future content of the site to attract different people.

Different countries visiting the site:

100 vs. 99 vs. 20

Well this was a weird category that I really wanted to grow in 2021…and I did technically grow it. But I lost 11 countries along the way (none with high traffic in 2020) while gaining 12 new countries. My largest new country was Barbados, followed by Guatemala. Thank you ! While I thought my largest growth would come from Spanish speaking countries (it did not), it was instead from Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Vietnam and Singapore.

Requests for Maze use:

About the same to slightly higher

YouTube Videos Created and watched:

Zero created, but views were up !

YouTube Subscribers:

Up.

RSS Subscribers to the blog:

Up +18. Has bounced around during the year…

Books Sold on Amazon:

Slightly down

So that is my year in review. I learned a lot. I hope to continue growing the site, making more books, and of course posting some interesting mazes !!

Stop back on Thursday for my 2022 website outlook. There will be changes to the site coming on January 1 !

Hidden Message Maze Letter Design templates

So you want to design your own hidden message maze, but you want a little extra help. Today I show you 4 different mazed alphabet sets that I have made. Each was a grid background that will help you make the letters on your own. Some letters are consistently difficult to make into a maze form….I think B, K, G, N, X and Z always seem to be difficult. Every once in awhile if you have an odd letter size you will have trouble with an E.

Mazed Alphabet #1:

A collection of standard “mazed” letters. I will say that these letters are actually labyrinths because there are no choices to be made once you enter a letter (vs. the choices you would find in a maze). To give these a maze feel add some gaps in the letters that lead into false pathways. You may also add gaps inside letters that have closed sections (A,B,D,O,P,Q, and R).

And here is a few examples of alternative constructions that can be used if you prefer how they look ! They also give different alignments if you are spelling something and want a different exit/entrance combination.

Click below to download the template as an svg file. Available for personal use ONLY, no commercial use without prior consent.

Mazed Alphabet #2

And here is a larger size template at 15x19. Notice that I did include gaps for false pathways in the letters A, B, D, O, and Q. Just like my example above of alternative letter alignments, many of these letters can be re-configured if you like. The bottom of the G could be done back and forth so that it ends at the bottom instead of higher up.

Click below to download the template as an svg file. Available for personal use ONLY, no commercial use without prior consent.

Mazed Alphabet #3

And with my third template I have made an even larger group of letters. It includes multiple versions of L, T and Y. Almost all letters have entrances and exits that align for easy combining (P can be adjusted - check some of the other templates for examples).

Click below to download the template as an svg file. Available for personal use ONLY, no commercial use without prior consent.

Mazed Alphabet #4

The fourth template uses Alphabet #1 and puts it into an Axonometric grid to give it a dimensional effect. I also added a few false exits in some of the letters if you want to make the hidden messages more hidden ! For stand alone mazes (non-hidden words) you could add a depth to these letters to give them a 3D look.

Click below to download the template as an svg file. Available for personal use ONLY, no commercial use without prior consent.

If you get stuck making your own letters, use these as reference.

You could use these letters to make a maze of your name. I have 5 different How-to make a maze of your name versions that would might interest you. And if you just want to print out your name as a maze, I probably have it done already in my name maze section, and if I do not you can request it !

Math Maze Template

So you want to make your own Math Mazes but you want a bit of a help. Well, I will assume you have already read my blog post How to Make a Math Maze. I have made 6 different templates (11 total including variations) to get you started on making the math mazes you want. I do not include any math, just empty, ready to go templates. These templates can be used from anything from simple addition, to order of operations, fractions, counting, and much more !

Math Maze Template #1

This template is a 3 x 4 in landscape with pre-stated Start and Goal in the corners. It also includes some extra diagonal pathways for additional possible answers. Questions go in the rectangles, and possible answers on the pathways leading from the rectangles. The template will print in landscape.

Math Maze Template #2

A similar maze template in landscape in 3x4. This template uses ovals and has less options of movement between them. Again, the math equations go in the ovals while the answers go in the pathways !

Math Maze Template #3 (2 versions)

This template is oriented in portrait and uses a 3 x 5 grid with a pre-selected Start and Goal. The version on the right includes extra branches for more possible answers.

Math Maze Template #4 (2 versions)

This is a large format maze template, in portrait, 4 x 7 with a flexible Start and Goal. If you want to make a large math maze, this is your template !

Math Maze Template #5 (2 versions)

Landscape 5x4 templates. The first with simple branches, the the second with more possible pathways for possible answers.

Math Maze Template #6 (3 versions)

This format works best for children’s counting mazes. There is extra space at the top of the template to write the directions to solve the maze. An example would be, count and move by 2’s to solve the maze, or solve the maze moving only between numbers divisible by 3. This does not work for mathematical equations per say, but for counting, it works well. Comes in 2 sizes, plus an option to draw in your own Start and Goal items for kids. Some examples would be a rabbit to a carrot, a leprechaun to a pot of gold, or a dog to his doghouse. I’m sure you can think of many more !

Handcuff Maze

Of all the difficult mazes I’ve made, this is the weirdest, the Handcuff Maze. This is the 100th and final maze in the maze book collection.

UPDATE: This maze has been replaced in the book by a clock maze to be more kid friendly. A motley medley mixed maze book of miscellaneous mazes

A little bit of information on this maze: The difficulty level is hard and the maze construction is a Standard Equal Maze construction.

Previous Mazes in the collection:

Part 1 Animals (16 mazes) Links to Final maze with full list

Part 2 Food (28 mazes) Links to Final maze with full list

Part 3 Misc. (9 mazes) Links to Final maze with full list

Part 4 Rarely Made

#54 Covered Wagon Maze

#55 Statue of Liberty Torch Maze

#56 Cigarette Butt Maze

#57 Jukebox Maze

#58 Light Bulb Maze

#59 Pink Flamingo Maze

#60 Ear Maze

#61 Bow Tie Maze

#62 Smashed Can Maze

#63 Brain Maze

#64 Thunderbird Maze

#65 King Tut Maze

#66 DB Cooper Maze

#67 Script Ohio Maze

#68 Violin Maze

#69 Tea Kettle Maze

#70 Camera Maze

#71 Record Maze

#72 Fighter Jet Maze

#73 VCR Maze

#74 Bubble Gum Machine Maze

#75 Crayon Maze

#76 Safety Pin Maze

#77 Sewing Machine Maze

#78 Pi Maze

#79 Can Opener Maze

#80 Bed Maze

#81 Ax Maze

#82 Guitar Maze

#83 Kazoo Maze

#84 Zipper Maze

#85 UFO Maze

#86 Wheelchair Maze

#87 Pawn Maze

#88 Lighthouse Maze

#89 Radio Maze

#90 Rook Maze

#91 Golf Ball Maze

#92 Dollar Bill Maze

#93 Jester Hat Maze

#94 Food Truck Maze

#95 Red Barn Maze

#96 Bishop Maze

#97 Scotch Tape Maze

#98 Bike Maze

#99 Umbrella Maze

If you are interested in learning how to make a maze on your own similar to this one:

How to Make a Standard Equal Maze

You may also like this free Kids Maze book: available in English and Español

EASY MAZES FOR KIDS BOOK

A free downloadable book featuring 30 different mazes. Includes standard mazes, mazes where you need to avoid items, and mazes where you need to collect items ! A nice beginning maze book.

File Size: 2,013 KB

LIBRO DE LABERINTOS FÁCILES PARA NIÑOS

Un libro descargable gratuito con 30 laberintos diferentes. Incluye los laberintos estándar, los laberintos donde usted necesita evitar los artículos, y los laberintos donde usted necesita recoger los artículos! Un libro del laberinto del comienzo agradable.

Tamaño del archivo: 2.003 KB

Additional popular posts you may like:

36 Different types of Mazes and Labyrinths

Comparison of the Top 10 Maze Generation Websites

The Top 18 Movies Containing Mazes or Labyrinths