How to play Mazes

What you need

• A pencil and an eraser
• The printed maze, or squared paper to draw your own
• One player, or two racing on copies

How to set up

The maze has a gap in its outer wall at the top (the entrance) and one at the bottom (the exit). There is exactly one way through.

1. 1. To draw your own, start with a rectangle, leaving a gap in the top wall and one in the bottom wall.

2. 2. Draw walls inside so that one winding way joins the two gaps.

3. 3. Add more walls to make side branches that end in dead ends.

4. 4. To solve one, draw a line from the top gap without crossing a wall, rubbing out dead ends.

How to play

• Draw your pencil line through the gaps between walls.
• At a fork, look ahead along each way before you choose.
• In a dead end, rub out back to the last fork and try another way.

How to win

Find the way from the entrance to the exit without crossing a wall. You win when your line reaches the exit. Racing a friend? First one out wins.

Tip Stuck? Solve it backwards from the exit, or trace the dead ends first and shade them out.

Variants

Small

6 by 8 squares: a quick stroll.

Medium

8 by 11 squares, with more dead ends.

Large

10 by 14 squares: a proper puzzle.