MAZE: Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle

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MAZE: Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle (1985, Henry Holt and Company) is a puzzle book written and illustrated by Christopher Manson. The book was originally published as part of a contest to win $10,000.The premise of this puzzle book is akin to popular puzzle computer games such as Myst.

Unlike other puzzle books, each page is involved in solving the book's riddle. Specifically, each page represents a room or space in a hypothetical house, and each room leads to other "rooms" in this "house." Part of the puzzle involves reaching the center of the house, Room #45 (which is page 45 in the book), and back to Room #1 in only sixteen steps. Some rooms lead to circuitous loops; others lead nowhere. This gives the puzzle the feel of a maze or labyrinth.

The book was re-released as the computer game Riddle of the Maze in 1994 by Interplay. This version featured full color illustrations and voice-overs for the narrator. ^[1]

The contest has been void since late 1987, but the book may still be purchased (ISBN 0-8050-1088-2).

Contents 1 Parts of the Puzzle 2 The Contest 3 The Solutions to MAZE 3.1 The Shortest Possible Path 3.2 The Riddle in Room #45 3.3 The Solution to the Riddle 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Parts of the Puzzle

As Manson describes, this puzzle book "is not really a book,” but "a building in the shape of a book . . . a maze," whereby "Each numbered page depicts a room in the maze.” There are forty-five "rooms" (pages) in the Maze (book). In addition, "The doors in each room lead to other rooms.” With this structure established, Manson challenges readers to solve three tasks:

1. to journey from Room #1 to Room #45 and back to Room #1 in only sixteen steps,
2. to ascertain the Riddle hidden in Room #45 based on visual and verbal clues, and
3. to find the solution to this riddle hidden along the shortest possible path found in task 1.

[edit] The Contest

A contest to win $10,000 was released with the book in October, 1985. The contest ended September 1, 1987, which was an extension of the original contest deadline. It is uncertain if any money was ever awarded.

If inquired before November 1, 1987, Ventura Associates would have sent a letter containing clues to the Riddle found in Room #45. Here are the clues:

1. I’ll tip my hat if the two of you can solve this.
2. You can get into these two shoes only if you don’t go anywhere.
3. You will find two names on the table, and they go together like doughnut and hole.
4. You must choose between two pictures.
5. There are no two ways you can read this sign.
6. You can see that another two pictures demonstrate their own kind of symmetry.

[edit] The Solutions to MAZE

[edit] The Shortest Possible Path

The discovery of the hidden door to Room #17 on page 29 is key to finding the shortest path that the author had intended solvers to find. Via clues in the dialogue or through mapping shortest routes to rooms, the following sixteen-step path can be found:

According to the book, this path will "safely" take the reader from the entrance of the Maze, to its center, and then back outside again.

[edit] The Riddle in Room #45

Once in the center, the Maze's Riddle must be decoded in a rebus-style fashion using the images given on page 45.

1. "I’ll tip my hat if the two of you can solve this."

"Two of you" = "double you" ⇒ W

W + hat = What

2. "You can get into these two shoes only if you don’t go anywhere."

Two shoes: the horse shoe and the regular shoe

u + shoe ⇒ house (an anagram)

3. "You will find two names on the table, and they go together like doughnut and hole."

From the row of logs, the image of a sun, the "I am" poster with a shaking spear:

Wood + row + _____ + sun ⇒ Woodrow Wilson and

_____ + I am + Shake + spear ⇒ William Shakespeare

In both cases, "_____" ⇒ "will"

4. "You must choose between two pictures."

Choose between the picture of the awl ("all") and the picture of the nun ("none").

("awl" is a homonym of "all"; "nun" is a homonym of "none".)

". . . it is written on the wall for all to see . . ." indicates to choose "all."

5. "There are no two ways you can read this sign."

For the sign that seems to spell "Elvis": "ELVI" is an anagram for "LIVE".

This clue might mean that the sign does not spell "ELVIS", as it seems, but rather "LIVE".

6. "You can see that another two pictures demonstrate their own kind of symmetry."

("another" alludes to clue #4.)

eye ⇒ I and Z ⇒ N (when rotated right a quarter turn) I + N = IN

There is even a question mark in the illustration on page 45 to complete the sentence.

[edit] The Solution to the Riddle

1. Room #1: "Like" (Spelled backwards on scroll)
2. Room #26: "Atlas" (salt + a ⇒ Atlas)
3. Room #30: "you" ("Why" ⇒ "Y"; Y + O + U = you The "O" and "U" are already in the room.)
4. Room #42: "bear" (The taxidermied bear)
5. Room #4: "it" (Pictures of "fit", "sit", "split", "hit", and "lit"; and torch looks like "I" and gavel looks like "T".)
6. Room #29: "upon" ("Directions: UP + ON")
7. Room #17: "your" ("Why" ⇒ Y, "oh" ⇒ O, "You" ⇒ U; "are" ⇒ R.)
8. Room #23: "o" (From scroll on floor: "Everything right" ⇒ Okay, "Nothing" = 0 ⇒ O, and "The time is" ⇒ O'clock. Also, glove on coat rack is forming the American Sign Language motion for "E," but with the "E" readily available in room 37, this is probably a coincidence.)
9. Room #8: "s" (Pictures of sign, candle stick, stethoscope, light switch, smile, and a sign with "S" on it.)
10. Room #12: "u" and "d" (The letters "D" and "U" are in the room.)
11. Room #39: "r" (The letter "R" is already in the room.)
12. Room #4: "l" (Maze "ELL" ⇒ L)
13. Room #15: "h" (Pictures of house, hierarchy, heart, hare, hats, helmet, heroes.)
14. Room #37: "e" (Pictures of objects ending in "E": eye, table, sphere, bottle, vase, cone, dice.)
15. Room #20: "s" (Newspaper "s." It may appear that there are two "S"'s but one of them is "extra.")
16. Room #1: "." (Printed on scrolls)

"osudrlhes" is an anagram for "shoulders."

The symbol for the period in Room #1 could also be the symbol for Gaia, the goddess of the Earth from Greek Mythology.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

1. The MAZE Online, a hyper-linked version of MAZE that can be explored via your web browser.
2. Solutions to the MAZE Online. Click on "Hints" to see the Ventura Associates clues letter (printed above under "The Contest").
3. Solution and additional speculation from the rec.puzzles FAQ
4. Maze - An Analysis of a Most Curious Book.