Welcome to Walter's Maze Mansion! :-)

The computer can make creating and solving Mazes much easier. In addition to hand made Mazes, I've created many with the assistance of the computer. A few are quite large, and some have been published in various sources.

Ripley's Believe it or Not: I wasn't on the TV show, but I and one of my Mazes were featured in their cartoon! This image is scanned from a June 11, 1988 newspaper.

I wasn't on the TV show, but I and one of my Mazes were featured in their cartoon! This image is scanned from a June 11, 1988 newspaper. News article: This is an article from a local paper about the same Maze featured in the Ripley's cartoon. Yes, I did name the Maze after the actress. Hey, I was 15 at the time. :-)

This is an article from a local paper about the same Maze featured in the Ripley's cartoon. Yes, I did name the Maze after the actress. Hey, I was 15 at the time. :-) Even larger Maze: This is a picture of my room from 1988. The stack of paper on my bed is one long, thin Maze. It's a continuous stream of paper over a half mile long, where the 3031 pages had to be spliced together with tape in a few places when reams ran out. The printout above and to the right is a Maze the same size as The Maze of Theseus below. The Maze above and to the left is one twice the size; it's called the Maze of Perseverance, and I created it the weekend before I saw the movie Labyrinth for the first time. The Maze on the ceiling is called the Maze of Eternity, and is over five times the size of the Perseverance Maze. Note also the Escher type room in the corner and the Labyrinth movie poster over the window.

This is a picture of my room from 1988. The stack of paper on my bed is one long, thin Maze. It's a continuous stream of paper over a half mile long, where the 3031 pages had to be spliced together with tape in a few places when reams ran out. The printout above and to the right is a Maze the same size as The Maze of Theseus below. The Maze above and to the left is one twice the size; it's called the Maze of Perseverance, and I created it the weekend before I saw the movie Labyrinth for the first time. The Maze on the ceiling is called the Maze of Eternity, and is over five times the size of the Perseverance Maze. Note also the Escher type room in the corner and the Labyrinth movie poster over the window. The minotaur quest: Starting in 1991 I played on the MUD Darker Realms, became a wizard, and put online an area and quest based on the Greek myth of the Minotaur, in which you get to deal with King Minos, solve the Labyrinth, and face the Minotaur yourself. (One other MUD I made wizard on was Kerovnia, where my quest there was to find the secret of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.)

Starting in 1991 I played on the MUD Darker Realms, became a wizard, and put online an area and quest based on the Greek myth of the Minotaur, in which you get to deal with King Minos, solve the Labyrinth, and face the Minotaur yourself. (One other MUD I made wizard on was Kerovnia, where my quest there was to find the secret of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.) Maze club: There is a techno music club in San Francisco called "Maze". I gave them permission to use my Tangent Maze in this ad card of theirs.

Here is a gallery of Maze graphics. Unless otherwise specified, all of these were created circa 1990 on a old TRS-80 Color Computer. They're either designed by hand on the computer, 100% computer generated using one of several Maze generation programs I've written, or in most cases a mixture of the two. Some of these images were originally shared on the Usenet group alt.binaries.pictures.misc.

Sarah Maze: You start outside the Maze, and your goal is to reach the castle at its center. I manually drew the boundary, the solution through, and the main blind alleys, then had the computer randomly fill in the rest. It has 1074 dead ends in it.

You start outside the Maze, and your goal is to reach the castle at its center. I manually drew the boundary, the solution through, and the main blind alleys, then had the computer randomly fill in the rest. It has 1074 dead ends in it. Tangent Maze: You start outside the Maze at the bottom, and your goal is to reach the center. This Maze has no dead ends in it, and is called a purely multiply connected or "braid" Maze, where all passages are connected with each other in ways designed to run you around in circles instead of block your way. It's probably harder than it looks, where the traditional method of following a wall to solve a Maze will not help here, as you'll just go around in a circle around the center and find yourself back at the start again! This Maze is 100% hand made, where I planned it out on paper first, and then drew the finished result on the computer.

You start outside the Maze at the bottom, and your goal is to reach the center. This Maze has no dead ends in it, and is called a purely multiply connected or "braid" Maze, where all passages are connected with each other in ways designed to run you around in circles instead of block your way. It's probably harder than it looks, where the traditional method of following a wall to solve a Maze will not help here, as you'll just go around in a circle around the center and find yourself back at the start again! This Maze is 100% hand made, where I planned it out on paper first, and then drew the finished result on the computer. Maze of Theseus: You start outside this huge Maze, and your goal is to reach the castle in the open area at the center. There are three main and obvious entrances, at the south (bottom), west, and east sides, but if you look closely, there are a number of smaller entrances around the perimeter as well. I created it in July, 1992. The boundaries, the solution through, and the main blind alleys, I drew manually, then had the computer fill in the rest. It has 4296 dead ends in it, and a number of closed circuits too. This Maze is very hard, and not just because of its size! It's four times the area of the Sarah and other Mazes here. If it were life sized (5' passages) it would cover over 1 million square feet, or 20 football fields, and have over 30 miles of passages. Another challenge you can do once you've reached the center, is to enter through the south entrance, and try to find a way to the east entrance.

You start outside this huge Maze, and your goal is to reach the castle in the open area at the center. There are three main and obvious entrances, at the south (bottom), west, and east sides, but if you look closely, there are a number of smaller entrances around the perimeter as well. I created it in July, 1992. The boundaries, the solution through, and the main blind alleys, I drew manually, then had the computer fill in the rest. It has 4296 dead ends in it, and a number of closed circuits too. This Maze is very hard, and not just because of its size! It's four times the area of the Sarah and other Mazes here. If it were life sized (5' passages) it would cover over 1 million square feet, or 20 football fields, and have over 30 miles of passages. Another challenge you can do once you've reached the center, is to enter through the south entrance, and try to find a way to the east entrance. Lunar Maze: You start outside the Maze, and your goal is to reach the crescent Moon shaped room at the center. Note the small "bite" out of the center Moon next to and to the right of the crescent is not the solution; it's just a dead end, although you can try to find a way to it too for fun. I created the Maze not long after the Sarah Maze. The boundary, the solution through, and the main blind alleys, I drew manually, then had the computer randomly fill in the rest. It has 904 dead ends in it, and at least half a dozen closed circuits so you can go around in circles some in addition to bumping into blocks.

You start outside the Maze, and your goal is to reach the crescent Moon shaped room at the center. Note the small "bite" out of the center Moon next to and to the right of the crescent is not the solution; it's just a dead end, although you can try to find a way to it too for fun. I created the Maze not long after the Sarah Maze. The boundary, the solution through, and the main blind alleys, I drew manually, then had the computer randomly fill in the rest. It has 904 dead ends in it, and at least half a dozen closed circuits so you can go around in circles some in addition to bumping into blocks. Crack Maze: You start at the entrance on the left hand side of the Maze, and your goal is to work your way to the exit at the right hand side. Unlike most Mazes that have right angle passages arranged on a grid, this "crack" style Maze has walls everywhere at random angles, with irregular passages between them. It looks much like the surface of a leaf, and as the smaller and smaller wall segments are only limited in number by the bitmap resolution, this can be considered a fractal Maze style too. It's 100% computer generated by one of my programs.

You start at the entrance on the left hand side of the Maze, and your goal is to work your way to the exit at the right hand side. Unlike most Mazes that have right angle passages arranged on a grid, this "crack" style Maze has walls everywhere at random angles, with irregular passages between them. It looks much like the surface of a leaf, and as the smaller and smaller wall segments are only limited in number by the bitmap resolution, this can be considered a fractal Maze style too. It's 100% computer generated by one of my programs. Unicursal Maze: You start outside at the upper left corner, and your goal is to reach the exit at the lower right. This Maze is of a simple and special type called a unicursal Maze, meaning it has no junctions in it (and no dead ends either). It's just one long snake like passage running throughout every section of the Maze. It's 100% computer generated by one of my programs.

You start outside at the upper left corner, and your goal is to reach the exit at the lower right. This Maze is of a simple and special type called a unicursal Maze, meaning it has no junctions in it (and no dead ends either). It's just one long snake like passage running throughout every section of the Maze. It's 100% computer generated by one of my programs. Akimbo Maze: You start in the open space at the very middle, and your goal is to reach one of the other four open spaces surrounding it. (Ignore the two remaining open spaces, at the upper left and at the lower right, they're just for decoration.) The boundary, the solution through, and the main blind alleys, I drew manually, then had the computer fill in the rest randomly. This Maze has a long and involved solution, and there's a minor trick to it too (it is solvable, where the title of the graphic is a clue). It has 1024 dead ends in it, and one or two closed circuits in addition to some isolated unreachable sections.

You start in the open space at the very middle, and your goal is to reach one of the other four open spaces surrounding it. (Ignore the two remaining open spaces, at the upper left and at the lower right, they're just for decoration.) The boundary, the solution through, and the main blind alleys, I drew manually, then had the computer fill in the rest randomly. This Maze has a long and involved solution, and there's a minor trick to it too (it is solvable, where the title of the graphic is a clue). It has 1024 dead ends in it, and one or two closed circuits in addition to some isolated unreachable sections. British Maze: This Maze is mostly hand made, where the computer filled in the few remaining areas. Just follow the instructions, in which I actually consider it a challenging Maze for its size. This graphic is featured in Cliff Pickover's book "Mazes for the Mind", page 5. It has 549 dead ends in it.

This Maze is mostly hand made, where the computer filled in the few remaining areas. Just follow the instructions, in which I actually consider it a challenging Maze for its size. This graphic is featured in Cliff Pickover's book "Mazes for the Mind", page 5. It has 549 dead ends in it. Secret pattern: One of the purposes of a Maze is to cause the ordinary person to get lost, but allow the initiated to get through it easily. Hence Mazes can have a secret pattern, where if you know it, you can go through it without error, even if life sized. This is an ordinary Maze, where you try to reach the center. Its solution has a pattern, where whenever you have a choice, go left, then right, then right again, and repeat the pattern until done. I designed the solution, and all nearby passages to force the pattern, and let the computer fill in the rest. It has 461 dead ends in it.

One of the purposes of a Maze is to cause the ordinary person to get lost, but allow the initiated to get through it easily. Hence Mazes can have a secret pattern, where if you know it, you can go through it without error, even if life sized. This is an ordinary Maze, where you try to reach the center. Its solution has a pattern, where whenever you have a choice, go left, then right, then right again, and repeat the pattern until done. I designed the solution, and all nearby passages to force the pattern, and let the computer fill in the rest. It has 461 dead ends in it. Easter Maze: Help the Easter Bunny pick up each of the 6 eggs, then place them in the Easter basket. This is another Maze where I did the solution and the main dead ends by hand, and let the computer fill in the rest. It has 222 dead ends in it.

Help the Easter Bunny pick up each of the 6 eggs, then place them in the Easter basket. This is another Maze where I did the solution and the main dead ends by hand, and let the computer fill in the rest. It has 222 dead ends in it. Hallmark Maze: You start in the room in the lower left corner, and your goal is to reach the room at the upper right corner. This is the only Maze in this section I did not design myself. The plan is from an old Hallmark puzzle, where I manually created this bitmap based on the puzzle's picture. It is another "braid" Maze with no dead ends in it.

You start in the room in the lower left corner, and your goal is to reach the room at the upper right corner. This is the only Maze in this section I did not design myself. The plan is from an old Hallmark puzzle, where I manually created this bitmap based on the puzzle's picture. It is another "braid" Maze with no dead ends in it. David Bowie Maze: You start at the top and finish at the bottom. This is a small Maze, measuring only 29 by 21 passages, but I have it here because it's the picture I included for my entry when signing the David Bowie 50th birthday card.

You start at the top and finish at the bottom. This is a small Maze, measuring only 29 by 21 passages, but I have it here because it's the picture I included for my entry when signing the David Bowie 50th birthday card. Seattle Robotics Society Maze: The Seattle Robotics Society has had contests where member built robots would run through a small wood Maze, seeing who could make it through in the shortest time. One year I designed the plan for their Mazes using their available boards, and rendered the plan in a 3D picture for their newsletter for good measure. Also in that newsletter I wrote a small article titled What is a Maze. A 3D Maze picture from another of their contests can be found here.

The Seattle Robotics Society has had contests where member built robots would run through a small wood Maze, seeing who could make it through in the shortest time. One year I designed the plan for their Mazes using their available boards, and rendered the plan in a 3D picture for their newsletter for good measure. Also in that newsletter I wrote a small article titled What is a Maze. A 3D Maze picture from another of their contests can be found here. Astrolog 6.50: This is the Maze that appears at the top of the Astrolog homepage. I created the outline of it myself, along with the route through and a couple of the dead ends, and had the computer fill in the rest. Then I manually colorized it and added it to the Web site.

This is the Maze that appears at the top of the Astrolog homepage. I created the outline of it myself, along with the route through and a couple of the dead ends, and had the computer fill in the rest. Then I manually colorized it and added it to the Web site. Torus Maze: This is a Maze that used to be the background image for this page. It's a Maze on the surface of a torus, without a specific start or finish, in which the left and right edges meet and the top and bottom wrap too. The result is a nice mosaic appearing to be one large Maze without bounds.

This is a Maze that used to be the background image for this page. It's a Maze on the surface of a torus, without a specific start or finish, in which the left and right edges meet and the top and bottom wrap too. The result is a nice mosaic appearing to be one large Maze without bounds. Tilt Maze: This is the design that appears as the background for the main Think Labyrinth page. It's not really a Maze, but just random diagonal lines. It does however make an interesting pattern of unicursal loop passages.

This is the design that appears as the background for the main Think Labyrinth page. It's not really a Maze, but just random diagonal lines. It does however make an interesting pattern of unicursal loop passages. Largest Maze on the internet! This as far as I can tell is the largest, most complicated single file Maze graphic on the internet today. It measures 16383 by 16383 passages on a 32767 by 32767 bitmap, and has 27213436 dead ends. You start in the upper left and end in the lower right. The file itself is a 77 megabyte .zip file which unpacks to a 127 megabyte Windows bitmap.

This as far as I can tell is the largest, most complicated single file Maze graphic on the internet today. It measures 16383 by 16383 passages on a 32767 by 32767 bitmap, and has 27213436 dead ends. You start in the upper left and end in the lower right. The file itself is a 77 megabyte .zip file which unpacks to a 127 megabyte Windows bitmap. Larger Maze on the internet: This is the second largest Maze bitmap on this site, and was formerly the "largest Maze on the internet". It measures 5000 by 5000 passages on a 10001 by 10001 bitmap, and has 2534438 dead ends. You start in the upper left and end in the lower right. The file itself is a 7.5 megabyte .zip file which unpacks to a 12.5 megabyte Windows bitmap.

This is the second largest Maze bitmap on this site, and was formerly the "largest Maze on the internet". It measures 5000 by 5000 passages on a 10001 by 10001 bitmap, and has 2534438 dead ends. You start in the upper left and end in the lower right. The file itself is a 7.5 megabyte .zip file which unpacks to a 12.5 megabyte Windows bitmap. Large Maze on the internet: This is the third largest Maze bitmap on this site, and was another former "largest Maze on the internet". It measures 2884 by 2884 passages, and has 842900 dead ends. Note that even this smaller file is so large (3.3 megabyte .gif) your browser may not have enough memory to display it, in which case you may need to download the file and display it in some other graphics program. :-)

Links to downloadable Maze creation programs or algorithm files.

Links to other Maze related downloads such as game levels or algorithm files.

Links to sites allowing dynamic creation of random Mazes, where often you can interactively solve them too.

Links to sites containing static Mazes, in which you can interactively solve them online in your browser.

Links to sites containing static Maze pictures.

Links that no longer work. These sites are still listed for history and in the hope they will someday work again.