A maze puzzle challenges the player to try the different paths in the image to find the way to a goal.
Types of Maze Puzzles
A classical maze puzzle is typically a square in which many different paths have been drawn. There is one entrance and then you have to follow a certain path to make it to the goal. The paths can be blocked by walls which force the player to make a detour to escape a dead end. More complex maze puzzles have one-way doors, which means that once you use a door you cannot go back if you discover you’ve entered a trap you cannot escape. The only thing you can do is start all over again.
Round puzzles typically challenge the player to make it to the center of the maze.
In loops and traps mazes the player has to follow the directions indicated by the arrows printed on the board or paper. Sometimes the goal can be to find the exit or, more commonly to return to the starting point.
Block mazes present themselves as grid with black and white cells in an apparently random pattern. There are two starred cells on opposite corners of the grid. The goal is to pencil in four of the white cells and create a route linking the two stars. You can only go up and down, left or right. You cannot move following diagonal lines, which would be the easiest way to go from one corner to the opposite one.
Number mazes do not have paths. You move around by jumping over a number of squares as indicated by the number in each cell. The player starts from the star typically placed in the left upper corner and can only move horizontally or vertically. The goal is to make your way back to the star.
Real Life Maze Puzzles
Fans of this type of puzzles can test their observation skills by trying to find their way out of the many real life mazes built as tourist attractions around the world. Most of them are created with hedges, but there are also some indoor mazes, like the one at the Gardens Shopping Mall in Dubai, which is considered the world’s largest indoor maze.