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…what appeared to be an old storeroom. Dust obscured a damaged painting making it hard to understand just what the artist had intended.
“This could be a trick of some sort,” one said. “We might be going around in circles.”
“I don’t think so,” said the thoughtful one. “I think we’re supposed to think it’s a trick…that’s the trick.”
They all looked at me. “Yes,” I said. “I’m sure you’re right about that.”
With doubtful looks they left for…
- Images and text copyright 1985 by Christopher Manson
used with permission. [Purchase MAZE from Amazon]
Room Type: LOOP Doors: 3 18 27
Solution Summary: [COLLECTION CURATED BY WHITE Raven. SEE COMMENTS FOR ADDITIONAL SOLUTION PROPOSALS.]
● In the text the line “I think we’re supposed to think it’s a trick…that is the trick,” is meant to prime us to look for a couplet by the couplets “think” “think” and “trick” “trick.” The last two lines are a couplet the first devoted to the word “right” and the other to the word “left.” “Right” is in the same sentence as “Yes” and “sure,” while in the second sentence “left” is with “doubtful.” The right hand door, 18, is correct. [Independent Credit: David G | White Raven]
● The three men and the picture of the blind mouse go together to recall the nursery rhyme “Three Blind Mice.” A visitor says, “We may be going around in circles” – this recalls the blind mice chasing the farmer’s wife, who in turn captures the blind mice. The sword in the torn painting which is pointing to door 3 recalls the knife in the nursery rhyme used to cut off the tails of the mice. All this is to indicate that door 3 is bad. Door 3 = blindness, running in circles, and being cut with a knife. Alternately door 18 is flanked by a picture of sunlight. Door 18 = sight. [Independent Credit: vewatkin / David G | White Raven] [Note: This solution is incomplete]
This is a fascinating room, and I think I’ve figured out explanations for almost every object in it.
1. The damaged painting is a major clue that often gets overlooked. In the upper right corner, you can make out the silhouette of a horse’s head. In the printed book, faintly drawn lines suggest a mane and eyes. The torn edge of the painting forms the shape of a woman’s head and bare torso—this is probably a reference to Lady Godiva. In the legend, Lady Godiva rode naked through town to protest her husband’s taxation of the tenants. The townspeople respectfully looked away, except for one man—later called “Peeping Tom”—who was struck blind for looking. Hence the reference to the blind mouse here.
On the left side of the painting, there’s a Greek soldier, which, combined with the horse’s head, makes sense as a reference to the Trojan Horse. In the Trojan War, Odysseus and his soldiers hid inside a wooden horse to sneak into the city of Troy. The painting seems to be playing with two opposing ideas—on one side, you have hiddenness or deception (Trojan Horse), and on the other, you have naked truth or exposure (Lady Godiva). But even that exposure leads to blindness, creating a contradiction. This would tie into the text saying “it’s hard to understand just what the artist had intended.”
2. The objects near the doorway to Room 18 seem to follow a similar theme. The angel, the apple, and the star in the covered painting all relate to idioms associated with sight in some way, but more specifically to obscured or misleading sight. Even the leaves on the apple kind of look like a fly.
Here are the common idioms:
- The angel in my eyes
- The apple of my eye
- A fly in my eye
- Stars in my eyes
Each suggests vision, but in a way that isn’t clear or reliable.
3. The painting of the three men is probably a reference to American industrialists, or “robber barons.” A few things point to this. The shadow from the torn painting looks like udders or teats directed at them, which ties into old political cartoons that depicted robber barons feeding off America. The reference to the “three blind mice” also fits, suggesting they are blinded by greed.
The hole in the ground likely connects to Room 27, where someone asks where the workers who dug it are, and the guide responds:
“They must be ahead of us,” I said. “If we hurry, we can catch them… I mean, catch up with them.”
The key phrase here is “catch them,” which could also mean catching robbers.
4. The hidden painting on the right, with the star over a building, likely represents a city, and it appears to be sitting on dirt or mud. This could be a reference to the phrase “City upon a Hill” from John Winthrop’s famous sermon:
“As a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.”
This phrase became closely tied to American exceptionalism and imperialism in the 19th and 20th centuries, symbolizing both a beacon of truth and a misleading illusion. Depending on interpretation, it can represent guidance or deception—a false truth. This connects to the men in the painting, likely American robber barons, blinded by greed and caught between light and shadow. The imagery echoes many artistic depictions of radiant cities glowing in sunlight or starlight, projecting an ideal that is as much about perception as reality.
Altogether, this room plays with a really interesting sense of ambiguity. One side represents blindness or deception, while the other represents sight or seeing, but even that sight is unclear or misleading. Room 18 might seem like the “correct” exit, but in a way, it isn’t. Neither Room 18 nor Room 3 is on the true path, so the clues suggest that neither is the right way to go!
why is there a hidden lowercase “a” in the ripped painting? (Is this possibly part of a “riddle of the loop” maybe?)
It sure is a pretty good “a,” isn’t it? And then there’s that Apple and Angel through door “A”-teen…
This is probably outlined down below or in a Mazecast but I think the hidden “a” on Theseus’s side of the painting and the apple and angel refer to the beginning of the alphabet, and the apple and angel also refer to the book of Genesis, the first book of the bible. The message is that you have to go back to the beginning and door 18 is the way to get there. But the ripped side of the painting, which we assume to have had an image of the Minotaur, makes triangles, another element telling you that door 3 is the worse door. (We also know that Manson associates 3 with the Minotaur (trefoils), probably because of tripartite shape of the bull’s head.
STOP SAYING “WE KNOW”
ESPECIALLY IN INSANE CONTEXTS
I know it
Manson knows it
WR knows it
I wish he was still here…the first time I saw this website was in 2014 when i got Maze as a Christmas present. Back then there were much less people…and nobody knew it.
The Abyss is absolutely the place for crackerjack theories but your epistemological carelessness is abusive toward everyone trying to have an honest conversation. You do not know these things.
of course I don’t, that’s why it’s fun to try to solve Maze. I wasn’t trying to be mean or abusive. (I’ve never even heard of trefoils or the word “epistomological” before coming here)
Oh no, sorry, not you, I meant Sara. I wouldn’t talk to a human being deserving of respect and understanding that way.
I think Vince was addressing me there, Derek, with all my “I know”s. ;-)
I miss WR too! Maybe he’ll come by and say hi sometime.
The hole in the ground is obviously the entrance from room 27