Have you ever taken a wrong turn and found yourself at the end of a sidewalk or street? Then you had to retrace your steps to start all over?

This might happen on a hike in the woods or when someone is driving and they are uncertain where to find the destination. You may have thought you were in a maze, which is a puzzle filled with dead ends that has you taking different turns to find an open way to the endpoint.

Mazes on paper, using a pencil or pen, allow you to tackle a problem in a visual way. When solving a maze you have to look two or three steps ahead to make sure you don’t run into a dead end, or wall, as you curve the line toward the finish.

People have used maze designs for decorations, and for entertainment. Hedges shaped into mazes date back to Roman times. In recent centuries formal gardens and estates in England have had have shrubs cut into the shape of a maze to provide privacy and add whimsy to the landscaping. One of the most famous hedge mazes is at Hampton Court in England. The shrubs grow higher than the height of visitors so no one can see to the other side of them.

In the fall rural communities often create corn mazes, which are pathways through a cornfield. It can take people a few hours to find their way through a corn maze depending on how big it is and how many twists and turns it has.

It’s time to try solving a maze for yourself. Download our maze pack today and try not to get stuck.

You might need a pencil so you can erase it when you have to backtrack. Begin drawing a line from the starting point until you get through to the end without going through a line or wall.

Have an a-maze-ing time!