So What Do You Think of Mazes as Art ?

I stumbled upon this article by 538: Americans Disagree On The Definition Of Art. If you don’t want to read it (but you should), here is a summary with some commentary.

• Americans disagree about Art ? Americans disagree about everything. That’s all my commentary.

• The post was written based off of a YouGov poll. According to the poll 49% of people considered themselves at least somewhat artistic. Really ? And 85% of them think they are above average drivers. What can a somewhat artistic person make ?

• In general Americans do not think Modern art is art. A majority of Americans think they can replicate some specific modern works of art, and that means it isn’t art to them.

That brings me to the purpose of this website. Is there such a thing as maze art ? I think there is and one day would like to open a maze museum. I used Starryai to create some possible photos of it, here is one example of what it might look like:

What I do have a problem with is defining it. Here are my 4 possible definitions from my blog on how to make maze art.

Maze Art - A solvable maze of a subject that is good enough that someone would consider hanging it on the wall as an art piece.

Maze Art - A piece of art that just so happens to contain a solvable maze.

Maze Art - A solvable maze made to look like something that is not a maze, like an object/thing/person/place/landscape.

Maze Art - A solvable maze made to look aesthetically pleasing or interesting and not just to be solved.

What do you think the definition of maze art is ?

Back to the original article. Do readers think they can maze the mazes I make ? I think some of you certainly can. And if you do reach out ! I love to be inspired.

Happy maze-ing !

Maze of the Week #82 - Mexican Door Maze

Maze of the Week #82 is a bit different than my typical maze because it deals with a scene, specifically a scene of a door in Mexico. You may or may not know that I have spent a few Winters in Mexico to get out of the cold. It’s wonderful. This particular door was made as a conglomeration of many different doors I have seen around the country. My reference pictures came from Querétaro and Oaxaca where I have spent the most time. The main picture used was from a house in Oaxaca. This is my 5th maze from Mexico and my 2nd “scene” in the country:

Part 1 - Chichen Itza

Part 2 - Museo Soumaya

Part 3 - QRO walking street

Part 4 - Templo de Sangre de Cristo

Photos: The main door used for the structure of the maze (Oaxaca). A little bit of brick, concrete, stones…typical for Mexico.

Flowers typically found on the sidewalks crawling up the building (Queretaro).

Colorful door with window used in the maze (QRO).

My old neighbor. One version of the electrical you find in Mexico (QRO).

A typical rooftop Water tank (OAX)

The Maze: I changed the colors many times and am still not satisfied…anyway here it is (for now). Start and Goal are in yellow (INICIO and META in Spanish)

Mexican Door Maze

I hope you enjoy the maze. Maze download is available on the homepage. Don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel where you can watch this maze being made and solved!!

Coming next week:

A maze of a museum in the news this week !

Arrow Mazes: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fun and Challenging Puzzles

I have written over 20 different blog posts about Arrow Mazes, including a 14 part series on just about everything you imagine. But I have never written about why I love them so much, so let’s do that, and despite the long time between them let’s consider this Part 15 in the series. Below I will go through the series so far with some additional notes to guide you. First, let’s define what an Arrow Maze is:

ARROW MAZE - A MAZE THAT INVOLVES FOLLOWING ARROWS IN THE DIRECTION SHOWN WITH A FEW DECISIONS ALONG THE WAY TO CREATE THE MAZE SOLVING ASPECT. A WELL DESIGNED ARROW MAZE HAS NO DEAD ENDS, BUT RATHER LOOPS THAT RETURN YOU TO AN EARLIER PART OF THE MAZE.

If you want to make and design your own Arrow Mazes you should read to original blog post “How to Make an Arrow Maze” and also read Parts 1 - 4 below which take you through the main parts of an Arrow Maze and how they are used:

Arrow Maze Construction and Design:

• Part 1 - Start Locations and Options

  • In this post I discuss the placement of the Start block and how it effects the solving and options for solving the maze.

• Part 2 - Using Creative Shapes

  • I show how you can use blocks and some creativity to create some interesting shapes/themes. More on this below with examples.

• Part 3 - Intersections

  • A discussion of how to make an Arrow Maze more difficult by using decision blocks.

• Part 4 - Using Loops

  • An explanation of loops, which are used instead of dead ends in an Arrow Maze.

The second section of the series in Parts 5 - 12 explores the different types of Arrows that can be used (different Arrows allow different movements through the maze) and special blocks that can be placed in the Arrow Maze. For the most basic Arrow Mazes you would only need to read Part 5.

Arrow Maze Components:

• Part 5 - Regular Arrows

  • The core and most basic element of an arrow maze is the basic regular arrow. It points in 1 direction which you follow. Most Arrow Mazes are made of a majority of these arrows.

• Part 6 - Double Arrows

  • An arrow that jumps you over the block or gap in the direction the double arrow is pointed. Great to get you out of tight spots as a solver and to hide “pathways” better as a maze creator.

• Part 7 - Using the START GOAL

  • This block adds a new twist to solving the maze because the solver must determine which block is the START and which block is the GOAL. You must find a path between the 2 to solve it.

• Part 8 - Return to Start Block

  • Exactly what it says. If you land on this block you must return to the Start of the Arrow Maze.

• Part 9 - Using Warp Zones

  • Landing on the block allows you to Warp (or jump) to the same shaped Warp block across the maze. When you land on a Warp block you can warp across the maze OR you can choose not to warp and move in any direction off the block (like a Start block)

• Part 10 - Slide Arrows

  • Landing on a Slide Arrow means you can slide to ANY block it is pointing to (but you can not jump gaps). If you want to learn how to make a maze completely out of this type of arrow: How to Make a Slide Arrow Maze.

• Part 11 - All Ways Arrow

  • When you land on this type of arrow, you may move off of it in any direction

• Part 12 - Long Arrow Use

  • The Long Arrow is the name of an infinite number of arrows that are 2 or more blocks long. It replaces a series of regular arrows.

And the final part of the series shows how you can make Arrow Mazes more fun and challenging, typically by using an exaggerated number of special blocks Part 13, or making it very large Part 14. Not part of the original series, but a supplement to Part 14 was a 5 part series of hints to help people solve the Largest Arrow Maze in the World.

Extreme Arrow Maze examples:

• Part 13 - Kitchen Sink Examples

• Part 14 - The Largest Arrow Maze in the World (I think)

  • The Largest Arrow Maze Hint #1

  • The Largest Arrow Maze Hint #2

  • The Largest Arrow Maze Hint #3

  • The Largest Arrow Maze Hint #4

  • The Largest Arrow Maze Hint #5

And finally we have today where I attempt to pull everything together.

Overview:

• Part 15 - Why I Love Arrow Mazes (this post)
  

While I seem to like Arrow mazes more than most people, I also feel like most people have never tried one. When I introduce them to new people I get a good response. They have never caught on, but I am hopeful some day they will.

7 Reasons Why I Love Arrow Mazes

1 - Arrow Mazes are for all Ages

Regular mazes come with varying levels of complexity and so do Arrow Mazes. However, even most complex Arrow Mazes are quicker to solve because the blocks take up more space on the page. So a complex Arrow Maze can be solved by a child more easily than a regular maze. You can trial and error your way to success because…

2 - There are no Dead Ends in an Arrow Maze

You can read more about the concept in Part 4 of the series - Using Loops. Instead of dead ends, wrong decisions lead you back to where you started…so you can course correct your direction the next time !

3 - No Writing Utensil is Needed to solve an Arrow Maze

Have you ever thought about buying a maze book for a kindle ? Of course not. How would you solve the maze on the screen…except there is a maze book for kindle for sale, of my Arrow Mazes ! You solve an Arrow maze using your eyes or finger. No pencils needed.

4 - Arrow Mazes have cool shapes

Not that regular mazes don’t, but making an arrow maze, built by blocks in interesting shapes helps keeps things fun and interesting ! Check out these 3 examples:

5 - Arrow Mazes are fun to create and solve

I really enjoy making them. I have personally made over 500 Arrow mazes over the years, including the aforementioned book for sale on Amazon. I have additional volumes ready for publishing should I want to launch them. As far as solving, the use of loops vs. dead ends enhances the enjoyment. The complexity that can be created with use of the advanced blocks (see Part 13) can make things very interesting. Good luck avoiding the “Return to the Star” blocks !!

6 - They can be themed !

I have made Arrow mazes for specific holidays. Here are a few basic Christmas examples for kids.

7 - They can be Optimized for Mobile !

Just make them skinny.

Additional Maze Arrow Examples:

Here are a few more mazes for you to try. Hopefully you find them enjoyable ! I have also included instructions that I made for my book to help you understand some of the moves you will be making !

I have already made The Arrow Book Volume 2 but it is sitting on the shelf. Let me know if you would be interested in the book (form below).

If you are interested in being emailed when I launch the Arrow Maze Book Volume 2 (and possibly Vol 3), submit your information below.

Kids Book Review - The Labyrinth of Doom by Stuart Gibbs

The Labyrinth of Doom (2022) AMZN

157 Pages, for ages 7-10

by Stuart Gibbs, illustrated by Stacy Curtis

Today I review The Labyrinth of Doom by Stuart Gibbs and Stacy Curtis, which is the second book in the "Once Upon a Tim" series. The story follows Tim, a knight-in-training, and his best friend Belinda, as they embark on a quest to save Princess Grace. The princess needs rescuing again (also in book 1 of the series), and Tim and Belinda must face a series of challenges as they traverse a labyrinth, including menacing beasts like the minotaur and treacherous obstacles like chasms filled with cave sharks. Yes, cave sharks. I enjoyed the writing style a lot (maybe I like kids books ?) and found the story to be engaging. The illustrations are also fun by Stacy Curtis.

This is a great book for kids, that I recommend.

Other blog posts you might like:

The 12 Best Maze and Labyrinth Movies Of All Time

Watchmojo's Best Maze Movie Scenes

How to make over 40 types of mazes