Maze: Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle
This website is a web version of Christopher Manson's 1985 book, Maze: Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle. The rooms are implemented as clickable HTML image maps, but you are free to move to any room by clicking the numbers at the bottom of each page.
I'm Al Sweigart. I write books that teach beginners to program and put them on my website for free. I began playing Blue Prince in May of 2025 and was absolutely astounded. Blue Prince is a masterpiece; the fulfilled vision of 1993's Myst. Looking into the history of Blue Prince led me to one of its key inspirations, the 1985 book Maze by Christopher Manson, who also contributed artwork to Blue Prince.
I'm now engaged in exploring Maze, and created this website to share this out-of-print book with others.
Special thanks to Jack for helping me create this site.
Text from Back Cover:
I invite you to enter my Maze. I say it is mine, because despite who else I might be, I am the architect as well as your guide. Your first goal is to find the shortest route through the Maze—a simple task, I assure you, if you know what to look for. I have planted clues throughout for your interpretation-or misinterpretation. Indeed, you will be fascinated by the Maze's ambiguity, stimulated by its mystery, stymied by its riddle. But fear not! I will be with you all the way. Fear not, that is, if you truly believe that my clues or I can be trusted.
Enter room 1. Which door should you take from here? Someone in the narrative uses the word "story," and the same word appears above the door to room 20. Is that the connection? Is there a connection? Give it a try and go to room 20, which is peculiar in its own way. Just inside the door to room 27 you see what looks like the bottom half of an archer's arrow—an arrow pointing the way perhaps? I will not tell. Perhaps it wouldn't help if I did. It is up to you to decide, as you move from room to room, hoping that fact is not illusion and that your best judgment has not led you astray.
Tempted? Test your wits against mine. I guarantee that my Maze will challenge you to think in ways you've never thought before. But beware...one wrong turn and you may never escape.
Additional information about Maze:
- Wikipedia entry for Maze
- Maze - Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle by Christopher Manson (hosted on the Internet Archive)
- Escaping the Maze, the "world's most challenging puzzle" (Boing Boing article, July 2015)
- Interpreting the Abyss: An Ode to Christopher Manson’s MAZE (Angus Stewart, May 2024, contains spoilers)
- The Crying of Page 45 (Reif Larsen, January 2011)
- Maze: beautiful, inspirational, unsolvable (Jason McIntosh, March 2008)
- Maze by Christopher Manson (Jeff Somers, December 2010)
- Into the Abyss (a website devoted to visual puzzles, especially Maze)
- Mazecast: A podcast about Maze by Christopher Manson
- mazecast.wikidot.com (contains solutions and spoilers)
- Mazecast YouTube channel
- Welcome to the Maze (another web version, from 1996)
The critically acclaimed 2025 video game Blue Prince is heavily inspired by Maze and the 1993 video game, Myst:
- Wikipedia entry for Blue Prince
- Puchase Blue Prince on Steam ($29.99, Windows only as of June 2025)
- Interview with Blue Prince creator, Tonda Ros (Inverse, April 2025)
- Al Sweigart's No Spoiler Beginner's Guide to Blue Prince
- Wikipedia entry for Myst
- Purchase Myst: Masterpiece Edition on Steam ($5.99, as close to the original 1993 experience, with optional modernization features)
- Myst, full gameplay video (YouTube, 2h 9m, no commentary)
- Myst is (Still) Genius, And Here's Why (by Hbomberguy, Patreon subscribers only, $2 a month minimum, worth it, but also available on the Internet Archive for free)
Direct any questions or comments to [email protected]
The source of this website (including an offline version) is on https://github.com/asweigart/mazewebsite
This unofficial website is not affiliated with Christopher Manson or Henry Holt and Company.