"Logic Mazes" a.k.a. Theseus and the Minotaur

February 3, 2001 4:13 PM

"Logic Mazes" a.k.a. Theseus and the Minotaur -- Spinnwebe led me to this site, where I spent about four (non-continuous) hours trying to solve the fourteenth maze. Don't follow the link unless you have some time to kill.
posted by UrineSoakedRube (19 comments total)

oh noooooo... 15 minutes in and I already sense I'll be up all night.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 8:17 PM on February 3, 2001

ahhh, crap....I want my life back. Damn you, evil game, damn you!!
posted by Optamystic at 1:39 AM on February 4, 2001

Having only looked at the first maze, this appears to be awfully similar to one of the games at PopCap... Prior art, anyone?
posted by palnatoke at 2:45 AM on February 4, 2001

btw, Rube...you made it all the way to fourteen? Impressive...the sixth one's schoolin' me at the moment.
posted by Optamystic at 3:13 AM on February 4, 2001

Actually, spinnwebe linked to the fourteenth maze, which I did first. After that, it was comparatively easy to do the 6x6 and 8x8 mazes. Maze number 15 took a while, though.

croutonsupafreak and Optamystic: hey, I warned you guys. Still, you'll feel great every time you solve a maze.


posted by UrineSoakedRube at 10:22 AM on February 4, 2001

As Maze #14 is based on a maze from a 1990 book, I doubt they were stealing anyone's ideas. Just sayin'.
posted by snarkout at 6:47 PM on February 4, 2001

beth, I haven't solved level 2, but you don't have to make a move at first; you can hit "d" to forfeit a move.
posted by Avogadro at 12:24 PM on February 5, 2001

Just solved "2", it's possible (even for a dunce like myself). The delay option is very useful.
posted by Avogadro at 12:31 PM on February 5, 2001

beth>At least it only took me to level two to find out what a crock this was - from what I can tell, level two is unsolvable

Delay, Delay, 3 Lefts, 3 Ups, Left, 2 Ups, 2 Downs, Right, 3 Downs, 2 Lefts, 4 Rights, 2 Ups, Right, Up, Down, Left, 2 Downs, Right, Delay, 3 Lefts, 3 Ups, Left, 2 Ups, 4 Rights, Down, Right
posted by UrineSoakedRube at 1:35 PM on February 5, 2001

So who wants to tell me how to beat level three, then? :)
posted by daveadams at 3:27 PM on February 5, 2001

The key is getting used to those scary cheek-to-jowl horizontal moves. He really is half-blind, and can't smell ...
posted by dhartung at 6:42 PM on February 5, 2001

Level three, for educational purposes only:

Delay, Delay, Right, Up, 3 Lefts, Down, Right, Down, 2 Lefts, 2 Downs, Left, Down, 4 Rights (!), 4 Lefts, Up, Right, 2 Ups, 2 Rights, Up, Left, Up, 3 Rights (!), 3 Lefts, Down, Right, 2 Downs, Right, 2 Downs, 2 Rights.
posted by dhartung at 6:50 PM on February 5, 2001

beth>Okay, I guess I'm a certifiable friggin' idiot, then. The thing still cheats, dammit! It moves vertically *then* horizontally. Or it moves horizontally twice, or vertically twice. I'm not kidding! They could at least get the rules right, sheesh!

For cryin' out loud, beth, read the instructions carefully. They are very clear. After you move one space, the minotaur gets to move up to two spaces. Whenever possible, it will move horizontally. If it can't move horizontally (because of a wall or because you are both on the same column), it will attempt to move vertically. If it then can't move vertically, (because of a wall or because you are both on the same row), it doesn't move at all.

I have never seen the program fail to follow these rules. If you can detail an instance of it cheating, let us know.

posted by UrineSoakedRube at 3:38 PM on February 6, 2001

Beth: I haven't seen it cheat: it's move-order is just a preference. Read the rules more closely.

Optamystic: level 6: L, L, L, L, L, U, R, R, R, U, R, R, U, U, U, D, D, D, L, L, D, L, L, L, D, R, R, R, R, R , DELAY, L, L, L, L, L, U ... and this is the important part: R, U, D, U, R, U, U, U, L, D, L. Done.

posted by sylloge at 3:44 PM on February 6, 2001

stewart, you don't know how tempting it was to use your instructions for "6" (yes, I'm one of those folks who reads the last page of a mystery first).
posted by Avogadro at 10:16 AM on February 7, 2001

sylloge: the last part of your explanation should be "L, L, D, L, Done", right?
posted by pnevares at 3:03 PM on February 15, 2001

pnevares: Yep. (Talk about a lag in the conversation ...) Embarassing to make a type after all that.
posted by sylloge at 5:00 AM on February 16, 2001