For saying something.
This and that.
- Image copyright 1985 by Christopher Manson
into the abyss . net
Solving Christopher Manson's MAZE and the Genre of the Immersive Puzzle
For saying something.
This and that.
- Image copyright 1985 by Christopher Manson
In regard to the sun/light being a generally reliable indicator of the correct exit, I’m not seeing this maybe as clearly as I should. The way I see it:
1 The sunlight perhaps can be interpretted as part of a clue for the correct door, but it shines on the wrong ones.
3 The sun is on the correct door.
4 The sun is above the wrong door; light sources are above the wrong door.
8 The light source is above and nearest the wrong door.
10 More light comes through a wrong door than the right one.
12 Dark is correct, light is bad.
14 Correct door’s environs are slightly darker.
15 Interplay of light and shadow may form part of a clue to the right door, but “SVN” is on the wrong door and the sunlight does not inherently indicate the right exit.
17 The correct door is the brightest, but an incorrect door is bordered by images of the sun, and another wrong door has a face that might be the sun.
18 Correct door is slightly brighter.
19 Sunlight does not indicate the correct door despite featuring prominently in the room (presumably forms part of a clue); Sun Man seems to indicate the wrong door.
21 Mostly brightly lit door [number, at least] is wrong.
23 Light accurately indicates the correct door. The sun is above the correct door. An incorrect door is the source of sunlight in the room, and is brightly illuminated.
24 worst place in the Maze is devoid of light.
25 Light suggests an accurate ranking of best to worst doors. Illumination of door numbers, however, is not consistent with this ranking.
27 Door topped by the room’s light source is incorrect.
28 Brightest exit is wrong. (However, I believe the outside view is false.)
31 Correct door is slightly better illuminated.
33 Light from below is irrelevant or not associated with the correct door.
34 Correct door is brighter than the others.
36 Light may suggest the correct exit.
37 Shadows may form part of correct solution.
I probably missed a lot of things other people find relevant, but there certainly seem to be plenty of places where sun and light are not asassociated with the correct exit. To say they’re part of puzzles suggesting the correct exit seems beside the point to me, since the vast majority of objects in the rooms are part of some puzzle that indicates the correct exit.
Rather than settle for nothing, I would be thrilled to have a “glossy cardboard miniature to scale insert slot A into slot B kit” along with individual “room size prop kits”.
I would buy that!
Fellow Abyssians,
I catch up on the happenings of this site each month, but have refrained from diving into the GoogleHangouts, in-site discussions, etc. due to my infrequent access to the Abyss. With that being said, I’m coming off the bench with an idea I’ve had since rediscovering the depths of MAZE 5 years ago and seeing White Raven’s Maps of the Path, Loop, Trap and their interconnection.
I wanted to poll the community and see what kind of interest there would be in the creation of a MAZE Tribute Museum, turning Manson’s pages into a building that could be physically experienced. A building that could pay homage to Manson’s masterpiece, allowing fellow Abyssians to enjoy the manifestation of what we’ve come to enjoy so much, while offering newcomers an exciting introduction to MAZE. There could be an informational area, dedicated to Manson’s life, works, and inspiration for MAZE, along with a corporeal version of the MAZE structure.
Modifications would have to be made of course- it would not be prudent to create such an adaptation of Manson’s visionary work to have an indefinite “Trap” in Room 24; rather a simpler puzzle could be used as an escape in Room 24, perhaps with a time limit or number of tries before being automatically granted access to the “Safety Corridor”. The accuracy of the MAZE Tribute Museum to the book and its images would be dependent on funding for the project.
A Kickstarter could be utilized to assist in fund raising, but only once opinions from fellow Abyssians (And Mr. Manson if he would be so intrigued to warrant a comment of approval or rejection) have been shared.
So I ask for your feedback. Would you support such an endeavor financially? Would you come visit to experience MAZE if a tangible structure was created? What ideas do you have for the project concept? Please share any and all comments- I look forward to your input and insight.
Respectfully,
-Eule
Eule,
A building. An actual physical building.
First, that would be amazing!
Second, wouldn’t that cost a lot. Let’s say instead of 45 rooms we were to pare it down to a minimum functioning level, let’s say about 20 rooms. Once you have added the necessary maze of hallways the square footage would still be over 18,000. With a very low construction estimate, not including the puzzle aspects or wall decoration, wouldn’t such a building cost over 3 million dollars to build?
Third, that would be amazing!
It would be amazing. I would come and pay to experience it.
I probably wouldn’t contribute money to fund it, however, because I wouldn’t believe it would ever be built. A traversible recreation of the Maze seems essentially impossible, given the ways the rooms interconnect. We’re talking dozens of hallways going over and under each other, outdoor areas, not to mention the bottomless pit and the giant Room 14.
A more realistic approach might be to ignore functionality and just make three-walled recreations of the rooms without actually connecting doorways. Like a museum of rooms missing a fourth wall, letting us look inside just like we do in the book. But that takes a little magic out of it, doesn’t it?
I still suspect that cost would be so high and the support so low that it would be throwing good money after bad to fund it. But I suppose that could all change if you could show a model of how it could be done and an estimation of what it would cost.
In regard to costs with such a project, I believe the most feasible solution would be to look at building MAZE beyond a 1:1 scale. The entire building has intersecting corridors that go over and under one another- traditional architecture does not allow for such anomalies, rather a surreal creation to match Manson’s own vision would be needed.
Imagine Lewis Carol’s “Alice in Wonderland” or Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” with some rooms that are enormous, while in others visitors must stoop to pass through. Door mechanics could be easily achieved using an “auto-locking egress” approach for one-way doors. Twisting passages and rooms that are able to interconnect due to the nonlinear approach is part of the great madness behind MAZE.
With that said, MAZE could be conceptualized on a much tighter budget if the rooms and passageways were smaller than they appear in the book, allowing visitors to explore the connections rather than being able to enjoy lounging about in props like the bed in Room 10. WhiteRaven threw out 3 million dollars as an estimate to conception costs- I agree that this would be needed for a 1:1 version of MAZE, but with the miniaturized accessible version (And some volunteer labor to construct it) I believe it could be created with under 1 million dollars.
I know this is a large idea, but I cannot help but dream of its step into tangible reality; it would be a truly fantastic and magical experience. Thank you for your comments and any more that follow!
If you could construct a physical model of the Maze on ANY scale, I would be impressed. Forget about props and interior decor–if you can make the 45 rooms and the connections between them in a physical space, even in the space of a small dollhouse, it would be an accomplishment.
vewatkin,
I’ll work at creating an EXTREMELY small model from my plans. Once finished I’ll add a link to the pictures for you all. Perhaps a “Dollhouse” size with removable rooms/compartments is the feasible extent of the idea, but I’d like to think it could be physically toured one day.
Somebody around here must be an eccentric billionaire. Where’s Hidden Mystery?
I would be interested to see how you connect rooms to 24, or 10 to 35, etc.
Of course if you meant a square dollhouse with 3 walled rooms that are not actually “connecting” then yeah I think this would be a cool project.
Alternately, forget the hallways and instead make the maze a matter of choosing the correct doors in sequence. Then the rooms can be laid out in a grid reducing the footprint of the maze to a third or a fourth the size. This would also resolve the handicap accessibility issue. Make about 12 rooms and rotate the puzzles so the game changes every month or so. A simple 12 room layout with a starting room (the museum great room) with a choice of four starting doors would have at least 72 possible routes. You would still need an eccentric millionaire but less so.
The Mazeum could even have guides to “lead” groups through in character!
White Raven- I like your 12 Room Sequence alternative; it would make the project significantly more feasible financially.
vewatkin- Exactly. The staff “Guide” for the Museum could even walk through the series of rooms with the visitor, offering lines from the text as clues or herrings. I think the Guide is part of what makes MAZE so intriguing beyond its rooms and riddles- his role certainly adds more zest to the experience! Update for your model challenge- I intend to take some time this weekend to transfer my notes into a string model, then create a cardboard and wood version from there.
Room 24 can dump you off right into the gift shop…
Brilliant! :D
Worked on “look”…discovered what the “EYE” actually is and a whole lot more …I’ll post as soon as I get 9 pages of notes into a few understandable paragraphs.
OK-I’ll take a look!
Gee, I’m sure glad I asked you guys to straighten me out…lol I think what just happened is the refresher button just got pushed-that’s a good thing-we may have been operating in a frenzy and were too locked into a solving formula.
Meanwhile, I have some solution thoughts on another room I’ll get posted.
Well, all things considered now, the mood has changed here-I think we need to keep in mind that MAZE was not created for Phd’s but rather for 10 year olds and up to enjoy the challenge and I think the true challenge lays in using your wits by applying some logic and being clever enough to interpret the rooms to the point where after the theme of each room is determined an overall theme will emerge that supports the identity of the Guide. So there is still a lot of solving and satisfaction that awaits discovering the “mystery of Maze” as Manson terms his work.
The “weight of the world” yes, could be an emotional/mental condition … but … “the weight of the world” physically is “gravity”.
OK so here is the last tidbit for this conversation. I promised to go back to silently MAZEing. But I ran the 3 suggestions by him: my “man” suggestion from 40, WR’s “weight of the world” and Vince’s recalled “mind”:
David:
All those alternates could work, but they are not what I had in mind.
Thank you for your interest.
Every time he mentions keeping the mystery which is like every time – I question slightly if we are even SUPPOSED to be trying to figure this out. But then how else would one enjoy the book? I guess there just can’t be confirmed solutions all over the place so that there is plenty to wonder about and/or argue about.
Well, it seems kind of silly to try to guess what he’s thinking when the Riddle is apparently broad enough that Manson thinks all of those suggestions work. It’s like playing a mental variant of I Spy: “I’m thinking of a house that all will live in, that you and Atlas bear on your shoulders, but also maybe something that isn’t a house that all will live in and/or that you and Atlas don’t bear on your shoulder, either literally or figuratively.”
STILL, you’re right, Dave, that’s what we’re here for. I kind of suspect that ninety-some percent of everything we do here and feel good about is really just the equivalent of coming up with an unintended solution to the Riddle of the Maze, and there’s not much of a way to tell the difference between the solutions Manson intended and the ones he didn’t, unless he says so. You still want to try to come up with something reasonable, that you feel an author would have intended, but we know full well (see Room 45, uncontroversially) that there are unreasonable solutions in here that we wouldn’t have guessed, a priori, that anyone would intend.
SO, do we say, “Forget about being rational, then, let’s just cook up whatever we can, it’s all good and fun.” I don’t know, sometimes, sometimes that’s fun. Relating “all vs. none” to the infinity sign in the Path and the zero in the Loop was essentially me doing that; I think it’s an interesting reading, but I can’t seriously suspect that Manson meant that. But completely abandoning reason and just embracing whatever junk you can stick together is unsatisfying not because it’s dishonest but because it’s EASY. With a sufficiently permissible attitude you can find a room-wide solutions for any room cluing any door you want. (It is kind of fun and funny sometimes, though, to do just that.)
Saying the opposite, though, “We’re only looking for reasonable and clearly deliberate solutions,” means that you’re pretty much guaranteed to be overlooking existent solutions on principle. I don’t know whether that’s problematic. I don’t think we’re very likely to hit upon unreasonable-but-intended solutions anyway, at least judging by the Riddle of the Maze and the Riddle of the Path, but even if we did we couldn’t distinguish them from unreasonable-and-unintended solutions. So does it really do any harm if we adopt a method that only excludes solutions we would never be able to identify as intended anyway?
(Of course, a clear objection to that may be that Manson has been willing to provide some guidance with regard to solutions, so it might not be impossible at all to identify unreasonable-but-intended solutions.)
Or maybe a better question is, does it do us any GOOD to identify unreasonable solutions? Does it enhance our enjoyment of the book? I think that’s actually a tough question, although I’ve already agonized about that in public enough. The nature of the book, and enjoying the book, is that you want to get as much information about it as you can, even if the information ends up disappointing. Wouldn’t it be much more interesting if we DIDN’T have an official solution to the Riddle? Didn’t we prefer it when we thought maybe we could put the words together a different way and make something better? Or weren’t you even more intrigued when you had no clue what the room meant at all?
Those aren’t rhetorical, and I don’t have the answers either.
Oh, man, just ignore all that.
I don’t have an “ignore” button. lol.
My take on what he meant by “they all could work” – Raven’s idea works for what it is – an interpretation of the answer – not dissimiliar at least to Manson’s interpretation. My wall 40 answer works as what it is – the answer to wall 40, or close. Your suggestion is a reasonable possible answer to the actual riddle – which also works in its own way – but none of these were what he was thinking of as an alternate answer.
But I think you are slightly over pesemistic. Room 45 was unsolvable without guidance – but it is not without rational once seen – and as I’ve said the parts that seem slightly unreasonable right now, like the emphasis on “will” and the ambiguity of all/none – very likely make sense when larger parts of Maze are worked out around it. For example even though the contest answer was “all” we know Manson made this without a contest in mind. I think he wanted “All will live” or “None will live” to be live options – so that when all of MAZE is solved we get the message of responsibility – we all live together in the world or die together -or something close to that. And I think room 45 can be a bit of a Rosetta stone to read other rooms. The more we learn – the more we have that learning to fall back on to apply to other parts of MAZE. I think we could in the long run have fair confidence we understand most things. But, yes, without confirmation some questions would remain forever open.
Well, I think it’s wishful thinking to suppose there’s a bigger picture in Maze that’s going to bring much clarity to Room 45 and the Riddle of the Path (not that I’m opposed to wishful thinking).
I understand there’s rationality underlying 45′s construction–speaking or rational and irrational solutions was probably not the correct way to speak. I’m not sure what words to use. I’m probably conflating two different problems too: 1) the puzzle being unsolvable, and 2) the solution not being convincingly correct even when discovered.
If we had no confirmation or clues on Room 45, for instance, but all these solutions were somehow floating around as suggested (but not exhaustive) possibilities, I don’t think many of us would settle on “What house will all live in?” as the correct answer. Without an official word on the subject, what would we have done?
I suppose what we would have done would be pretty close to what we’re doing now with every other room. We would be doomed to failure but have no idea.
I agree we would have been doomed to failure with 45 apriori – I think we are far less doomed elsewhere with that in our tool kit. It will just take a long time and lots of trial and error. Some rooms I think we understand well already – others – not so much. But I do agree complete certainty will never happen.
And as far as the larger picture – I don’t personally think it is wishful thinking because while I’m sure I have something wrong on wall 40, I believe I probably have enough right to get the main point of it. “I measure man by a sole truth” I am reasonably certain that I’m close…but then I am less certain…until the last wall where it is “answer = world” and/or “man = answer”. The theme makes good sense of 45 – All will live in the world or all will die in the world and as Raven supposes “the responsibility is ours – we bare the weight on our shoulders” and as I have on the last all “man” (humanity) is the answer. We all need to live together is the message. Now, if that is anywhere close to correct “will” in 45 makes perfect sense because in is about the future and “all/none” being ambiguous also makes sense. .
Yeah, but your certainty comes at the price of beings nuts. I guess you’re at least getting something out of being nuts, though, whereas my being nuts doesn’t do me a damn bit of good.
Actually, the biggest incentive to keep believing in solvable puzzles comes from White Raven’s identification of the guide. As a real, multi-room puzzle that it wasn’t a priori clear even existed, the Riddle of the Guide’s solution by an actual human being without outside assistance suggests there’s real work to be done here. That’s the prize to put your eyes on.
I suspect you will think WR’s solution to the guide is about equally nutty as my better solutions once you see it – but we shall see in time.
On that note – that eye in room 6. Since it does not transport us out like I suspected – and since it is not part of a room exit indicator for WR, and since this room we all know is about the guide – we need to do something with that eye. Connect it to birds maybe – or something. There is also that eye in 45 and the bit about “looked and looked” in 45. And the guides bit about the way things look in 6. Nothing more than that at the moment.
Dave, I’m supposed to be the one smashing hopes.
The eye in 6 is probably just an indicator that you need to start at 1 again. Last year I wouldn’t have accepted the simplicity of it but unless it’s a clue to the Guide, I can live with it.
It’s almost certainly guide related, and it’s probably our best starting point on the Riddle of the Guide.
Also probably related: Look look – this is very important in 29.
Marianne – you’ve got this one I know it – put all the looks and eyes together for us. I’m thinking words before or after “look”??? I’ve had too many apple martinis to do it tonight….
No “weight of the world” huh? Crap. I liked that metaphor. :\
Actually weight of the world might be just fine as a valid interpretation. It just was not a contest winning final answer. I’m guessing “planet” now in addition to earth globe and world
SKIN
WE ALL BEAR IT
WE ALL LIVE IN IT
BOOOM
Vewatkin,
Taking it all the way:
Skin + The World = “skin of the world” (ie crust)
pain/fire in my eyes = holes in the crust (ie volcanoes)
volcanoes… BOOM! :)
The two pictures are a pair: holey & holy.
William Wilson and his doppelganger William Wilson will fit together nicely in the chair…my dual persona at work.
OK – so now we have this:
I asked::
Is this the exact intended solution or is there something slightly wrong about it?
———-
MAZE CONTEST SOLUTIONS
1-26-30-42-4-29-17-45-23-8-12-39-4-15-37-20-1
What house will all live in?
Like Atlas, you bear it upon your shoulders.
(The World-Earth-The Globe)
———-
Manson kindly replied:
Hello David:
The riddle as stated in the contest solutions below is correct, as is the “Atlas” hint. The answer below is correct, but there is another answer as well. I believe it is published somewhere. If that answer can’t be found, I will maintain the mystery.
———–
My only guess as to the other answer at this point is my “Answer = man” thing.
Well White Raven also has this, which makes good sense:
the answer is not just “the world” but “the weight of the world.” The saying “The weight of the world” is meant to convey a high degree of emotional or mental difficulty of handling multiple responsibilities, or a single overwhelming responsibility.
Again, like the deeper solution to room 45, the message is not about “the world” as in “earth” but “the world” as in “life.” By replacing “it” with the deeper solution “the weight of the world” we can phrase the message in full:
“Like Atlas, you (the reader) bear the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
Haha, all this fussing about choosing questions, and Dave just shoots Manson an email. Take that, Gordian knot!
The best alternate answer I’ve heard, and I apologize for forgetting the source (it might be this site, even) is one’s head, or mind or brain or whatever. It’s actually a more sensible solution than the world, since we don’t all bear the world on our shoulders either literally or figuratively, but our consciousness is a product of brain activity or however you want to phrase that.
“The weight of the world” isn’t a house that all will live in. It may be the correct metaphorical interpretation of “the world” in the Atlas clue, but it is not a separate correct answer to the Riddle.
Andrew Plotkin helped me out with a link to a bunch of images he scanned related to MAZE. The most amazing among them is a list of clues that were released before the six we’re all familiar with–I didn’t even know these clues existed! He also has a scan of the paper he received with the official solutions on it.
http colon slash slash eblong dot com slash zarf slash mazebook dot html
The clues are stunningly unhelpful:
“Three things should be thrown out;
“Three things come in pairs.
“You’ll find two people in the room;
“They must sit in one chair.”
Nice. Thanks for the legwork.
Not exceedingly helpful – but not to hard to interpret. Throw out the table and the chair and one of the pictures – all or none. (Another interpretation here – is that EITHER “all” or “none” was acceptable). That would relate well to what I think is on wall 40 – “man” is the answer – either we all live in the world together or we all die – etc…
Pairs:
shoe + U
EYE + N
ALL + NONE
Two people are obviously William Shakespeare and Woodrow Wilson.
OK – the last bit is weird. I assume it is supposed to help us get “will” but….
I don’t see any way in the world these clues could have helped someone put together the Riddle of the Maze, but we might be able to learn something from them in hindsight.
Two people in the room–presumably William Shakespeare and Woodrow Wilson, and “sit[ting] in one chair” I guess relates to…
Man, how would you even identify the two people in the room without also noticing that both names are missing a common element? It doesn’t seem possible. And if you know about the missing element, how exactly does–
How does putting them in one chair metaphorically represent taking the common element missing from their names? I honestly started writing this comment with the thought, “Oh, well, it’s pretty bizarre, but these clues suggest that the chair in the room, which we couldn’t previously explain, is there so that we get the idea of two people having only one place to sit, and therefore we combine their names together to get the answer.” But it just doesn’t make any sense!
What are the three things we throw out? The nun, apparently, the table, perhaps…I’d suggest the chair, and maybe the chair is right, but that makes it kind of confusing when he suggests that the chair is part of another riddle. But those are the only three things not used in generating any of the words, right?
Three things in pairs–the shoes, presumably; the Eye and Z; the W and Hat? I guess, those are the combined objects.
Doesn’t it seem odd that half of these clues/lines seem to relate to one word (“will”) of the six-word solution? It’s not as though once you get “will” everything else falls into place; to the contrary, as WR has noted, the word barely has any semantic import at all in this riddle!
Oops, sorry, crossed posts with you there, Dave.
I think “will” in not important to the riddle by itself – as it has been noted – “In what house do all live?” would make sense. But I think it connects to wall 40, as I said – the future of humanity and all that will we live or kill ourselves off – etc…
The Far Right Wall I read as an answer of sorts to the rest of the wall. “Earth = answer” but also can be read “answer = man”.
I take it as a humanist message.
Maybe it is just that chair and pair rhyme well – no more meaning than that.
Well – OK – besides the rhyme which may be most of what that is about – we DO have to force the two men together to get one word – so a metaphor of packing them into one space or chair works – if you know the answer and are working backwards. We have to squish two men into one word.
You know, it says “three things comes in pairs,” not that there are three pairs, or that six things come in pairs. That suggests that each pair is of one thing: for instance, there is a pair of shoes, and a pair of signs indicating single letters (eye, N), so those are two things that come in pairs.
But how do we name the W and the Hat [picture] as two examples of one thing? They get paired together, but they aren’t a pair OF anything.
Even before these clues, that always seemed like a difficult point. There’s either proximity or symmetry in the other groupings, but how could we guess to use the W with the Hat? If anything, the Hat seems to mirror the ? and the W seems to mirror the chair.
V W: The third pair is almost certainly the all/none. The W/hat/? is a trio not a pair imo. Whyhow do they group? The principle that seem to work here and elsewhere is first put the w and that ? together because they touch, then go to room symmetry. So, this trio gives us “What?” – and no it is not neat and tidy, because we have to move that “?” later.
Does anyone here have access to an early edition of Maze that includes the contest rules? I’ve requested one through my local library, though who knows whether any library in the network will even have so old of a copy.
The option for comments seems to have been removed from the Maze Games page, so I’ll post it here: you should look into Antichamber and link to it (especially its wiki); it’s a wonderfully Escher-like maze and puzzle computer game like none other.
So, last year I set up a little Maze yahoo group but never really invited anyone to join. But I now believe it could be useful. This site is very well done and good for posting possible results, and others have more chat and social oriented sites – but neither suits long thoughtful discussion perfectly – and an e-mail list is better for that. So, with that said all interested can go send to maze-cmanson-subscribe at yahoogroups dot com to subscribe. Thanks.
You know that little index of MAZE links that runs along the side of most of the pages on here? It’s notably absent from some pages, like Ask Manson and Recent Comments, where it would be convenient to have it.
The lack of the sidebar was a style choice, I didn’t think it would be useful on those pages. But I bow to your wisdom outgoing Cluemaster General, the sidebars have been added.
A suggestion for WR: When a comments needs approval, either because it contains a link or because it is from a new person, it remains unseen for a bit, often until after several other comments have been made. But when you approve it, it appears in the recent comments according to when it was originally made, not when you approved it, which means that those of us who regularly check the recent comments miss some of them, because they appear below comments we’ve already seen. Would it be problematic to date new posts according to when they actually appear?
Good suggestion! :)
In this year’s MIT Mystery Hunt, a coauthor and I made a puzzle that’s inspired by MAZE: http://web.mit.edu/puzzle/www/2015/puzzle/beth/
It doesn’t have the depth of MAZE, because it was in a round geared for less experienced puzzle-solvers, and because we needed to err on the side of solvability. If you take the “puzzle vs mystery” dichotomy (http://gamechurch.com/the-player-as-artist-in-kentucky-route-zero/ — basically a puzzle is one where all the data points you find add up to lead to one undeniable answer, but a mystery is one where the data points lead you down fascinating rabbit holes without resolution), we had to lean more heavily than MAZE towards “puzzle” rather than “mystery”, because that’s the kind of puzzle that the Hunt involves. It also makes pretty heavy use of outside-of-the-puzzle knowledge.
Anyway, I’m still rather proud of it, because my coauthor’s art is fantastic and I think that the solution (and the identity of the maze and narrator, which isn’t part of the puzzle per se but should be deduceable after solving the puzzle) is pretty clever :) I’d love it if folks here took a look at!
It’s interesting that you mention the puzzle/mystery dichotomy; I wanted to talk about your puzzle on a webcast (that ended up not happening this weekend) regarding that point exactly. (I don’t know whether my Facebook invite to you was unseen or simply beneath contempt, but I’M USED TO IT, NO WORRIES.)
I agree that it’s a good puzzle that people here should check out. It has started my friends and I down a long, slow road of working our way through the MIT Puzzle Hunt, which we probably won’t come anywhere close to completing before next year’s rolls around.
bookmarked
Episode 23 – Room 22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5BrCpt9J3I
I guess we are officially back on the horse. Or pawn, as you will find out in this episode.
Hey all, we should be doing another podcast tonight (hopefully). We’ve fallen off our regular schedule lately but we plan on getting it up and running again. Stay tuned!
It finally happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEq-fUaAWjw
What’s next on the podcast? Rooms with birds for Thanksgiving?
Haha, that’s a great idea! I tell you what, Thail, I’m still recuperating from back surgery, but if you’ll agree to appear and host the show, we’ll make it happen, whenever you want.
I alluded to this briefly in an earlier episode of the mazecast, but I’m currently suffering from some debilitating back problems (yes, please, weep for me), and it has made me fairly unreliable for Maze work for the past few weeks…or is it months now? I can barely remember a time when I was able to walk and live among other humans…
I know it SEEMS like not being able to do much besides lie down should actually provide me a lot of opportunities to work on Maze stuff, but I’m mainly struggling to complete my ordinary daily duties (family, career, oh, boo hoo hoo) while periodically stopping to be in a lot of pain. Also, muscle relaxants! Hey, chill out, they’re not narcotic, they just loosen me up, but they can make me sleepy as hell, and I’ve been falling asleep a lot in situations where sleeping is not an appropriate activity.
WELL NOW THAT I’VE NO DOUBT EVOKED A SENSE OF PITY IN YOU ALL I want to ask for some help from those of you abyss regulars (or casuals) who have hitherto not decided to join the Maze hangout or participate in the Maze podcast. I’m afraid that if things start to taper off that they’ll just keep going this way, and the more crippled and/or drugged up I become, the easier it’s going to be for me to just say to hell with everything and see you later.
Now is the time! Not only can you join the community, advance the cause, make friends, have fun, and discuss Maze, but this is the best chance you’ll get to be on a Maze podcast without me talking for thirty minutes about why I don’t like some solution Manson already confirmed. Meet Alex, sing with Greg, learn to draw with Barry, wonder why a grown man is sometimes referred to as “Beelzebibble”!
Seriously, let us know, any of us, through any means, if you’d like to get involved with the Maze hangout or podcast. I’m trying to stay in the game, but I’m a bit of a sinking ship, and I don’t want to take the whole…remainder of this metaphor…down with me.
I’m wondering why Beelzebibble is sometimes referred to as “a grown man”!!!
vewatkin,
A moving plea. I am sorry to hear about your back trouble – I have been there, muscle relaxants and all.
I highly recommend this group to MAZE fans – they are a great group of people!
Google+:
https://plus.google.com/b/101780515948223486855/101780515948223486855/posts
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/christopher.manson.maze
White Raven
Podcast 20 online:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu6JMPlmtqI
Beelz debaucherously butchered my solution but I thought it was fun to watch him slowly put it to death with each word. Another way (I prefer this) that gets the number 7 is the number of times “to” appears (if you also count the one “too”). I actually came up with this “solution” by looking at the circle shapes above the doors as degrees signs, not from the text at all as Beelz mentions in the episode.
To be honest this is just a joke solution, I was trying to come up with an explanation for degrees, so vewatkins’ reaction to it was totally warranted imo.
Another way to justify that it is 44 degrees Fahrenheit in this room as apposed to any of the other “degrees”, is because it’s autumn in this room, not winter. Please also note that outdoor rooms seem to be in different seasons.
Next week is 12 and 26 – the deja vu rooms! Next week is 12 and 26 – the deja vu rooms!
Podcast 20: Little Treehouse of Horrors # 1
Podcast 19 is online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K7IZHPDpso
Beelz and Gregor go into Room 18.