" I was almost asleep when I had my "idea," and in the light of day I realize that it is nonsense, like trying to explain a dream, sorry about that everybody, as you were. "

" You're certainly correct that asking people unfamiliar with Maze or Manson increases the relevance of these results. Question #2 seems like a good idea to me; I assume this is what you intended, but make sure these questions are revealed sequentially, and that no suggestion... "

" "NYS" as "New York State" makes more sense to me than the bull's-head-IN-SLY stuff, but it also seems a bit farfetched. Although the book was published in New York, it just isn't clear why Manson would think this detail so salient that he wanted to... "

" I have a plan. Ritz's foolproof "is there a bull?" plan. I am going to find 30 people completely unaffiliated with MAZE and ask them all the same 5 questions. I will record their answers and generate statistics for each question. Question 1: What do... "

" Upping the solution meter to six! "

" But this is kind of a moot point because they can be traced back to the same origins: Trapdoors were named after traps. So TRAP-door being construed to sound like "trapdoor" isn't that exciting. "

" I think having wildly different perspectives isn't wholly fruitless. Yeah, it creates noise, a lot of which Manson probably didn't intend, but it can still prompt discussion. Anyways: I think the message COULD spell "in sly." But hear this: the two letters in "in sly"... "

" P for peroxide "

" That apology was to ritz, not Aria. Aria should still be ashamed. "

" Sorry, that was needlessly impolite. I think my vigorous disagreement is fair and is also generally well received; campaigning to have dissenting views ignored is both mean and lazy. I apologize. "

" The only thing that is truly obvious is me and a red herring. "

" You might as well be arguing with David Gentile, ritz. There is always an excuse for why things don't make sense, a claim to understand how Manson's mind works and what he was thinking, and an enthusiastic expression of unwarranted certainty in whatever gives a... "

" But, we're omitting other letters from the map too. Wouldn't that mean ignoring non "IN SLY" letters is nitpicking as well? "

" (Also:) vewatkin on 28 August, 2015 at 2:59 pm said: The objects spell out “devil,” discuss amongst yourselves. "

" The thing is, though, this is not a representative collection of Masonic tools. Notably missing is the trowel, for example. What connects them is that these are all tools that are good representations of letters. The "d" in the mallet is the worst but note... "

" Okay, so: the publishing company is listed on this page. The letters are in the order "N, Y, S." It could be "NYS" or "New York State," referencing the book's origins. "

" In my estimation, the S, N, and Y seem pretty certainly to be intended letters, not only because they very clearly look like those letters but because they are roughly the same size and close together--they just look like part of a common message. The... "

" I think pulling letters from the objects is a losing battle... "

" I see the "IN" and I see the "SLY." These seem plausible to me because of the orientation of the letters. I'm still not completely certain on the bull head. I don't see the word "deVIL" and if we're using the masonic tools to get... "

" Ritz, the answer to your question is "no." Don't mistake Aria as representing the Maze readership generally, or common sense. "

" We’ve got IN, we’ve got SLY, and we’ve got the tools and curled edge of parchment, which give d, e, V, I, and L. Maybe it’s “in sly devil,” which has the benefit of being an actual expression and also more clearly describes where the... "

" So we're certain the maze spells "IN SLY...?" "

" There are no references to the word "Christopher" in this book which is confirmed by Manson himself. "

" Yes. You've given me an idea I don't have the time or ability to lay out fully now, I'm leaving this note just to remind myself to write about this later. "

" "Faint voices came from down the hall" sounds rather reminiscent of the 37/10 connection (if that's what you're referencing). "

" (Room 4 may well imply such a crossing, to be fair.) "

" What if THAT'S the second overarching puzzle? "

" Well, there are ways around the narrative difficulties in the book, it just wasn't designed with a continuous narrative in mind. The route didn't have to be circular, it didn't have to cross the same room twice, a room could use time paradoxes to describe... "

" I agree for the most part, but: having events repeat is a product of it being a book. I imagine if it was a video game, the group might say "haven't we been here before?" or something along those lines. For the narrative conclusion: the... "

" I think it's true that readers are intended to identify with the group--to an extent the book explicitly invites it, by having the Guide address you directly on the back cover, and telling you in the directions that your guide awaits you. But it really... "

" Okay, so... the readers of the book = the party in the book but from a different perspective- and maybe characters are kept intentionally vague as to let the reader identify with them. Both realities kind of have to come together to navigate the maze-... "

" They can see the room numbers, as implied in a few places, such as in room 13 where superstition is discussed presumably because of the room number. However, they cannot necessarily solve the puzzles, because the puzzles can rely on the narrative text. "

" The hand pointing to the bell is a "right" hand. The very first puzzle of the book was "all of these are left hands but the one pointing in the direction you want to go is the right hand." The MAZE is a trial, but... "

" BELL THEORY: If you take the 16 step path, it starts with ringing starting (Room 1/26), and ends with ringing stopping (Room 20). If you take a path to the TRAP (and eventually end up here) it ends with the Guide's BELL-owing laughter. The mazegoers... "

" Can the people traversing through the maze see the numbers on the doors? How else are they expected to solve the puzzles? But, if they can see the numbers, why do they think they are close to the center? It is obvious this is a... "

" A lot of the TRAP rooms give hints to the Guide's identity. It might be because there isn't much noise in these more linear rooms so more time is devoted to Guide clues. Also- yeah. The dismal atmosphere of the TRAP, the themes of despair... "

" "Hidden trapdoors occasionally appear in fiction, as entrances to secret passageways, dungeons, or to secret tunnels. They also appear as literal traps into which a hapless pedestrian may fall if he or she happens to step on one." -Wikipedia "

" The TRAP is the lowest part of the maze. A door that leads to the TRAP would be a "TRAP-door." Trapdoors grant access to the lower tier of a building "

" Being frustrated with MAZE alone was one thing, but now I'm just frustrated along with others? It feels so anticlimactic to say it like that though "

" sounds like you're quite the "ruminant" "

" I'm not sure how exactly to articulate this, but it almost feels that anyone associated with the maze is a part of its story, in a way? The people traversing the maze seem to be stand-ins for the reader(s), and they are referred to as... "

" That's the idea I'm proposing, anyway. You'll grow old and die waiting for Manson to make the next Maze. If we want more Maze in the world, we're going to have to put it there. "

" MAZE (1985) by Christopher Manson is a magnificent and utterly beautiful book. It stands out as unique in many ways. It aspires to achieve the rare world-class integration and harmony of text and illustrations as in Winnie The Pooh, and triumphantly succeeds. The quality and... "

" Don't just propose your ideas--make them happen! "

" I would love a maze sequel the ideas that were shown in the interview were amazing. I would love to propose my own ideas but they would have been thot of already or been done better please make a maze sequel for us! "