The Solution to Manson’s MAZE: Part III – The Riddle of the Path

The Riddle of the Path:

The rooms of the 16 room path to the center and back have hidden words and letters that make a sentence. The answer to this sentence is the solution to MAZE.

Room 1: “LIKE” – The word “LIKE” is on a scrap of paper hanging on the wall.

Room 26: “Atlas” – Salt is being poured on the letter “A.” SALT + A = ATLAS

To this Dave Gentile offers the following further explanation: “Saturn has a moon called Atlas, discovered in 1980, and both Saturn and a large moon can be found in this room. (The reason for the moon being large is discussed in the walkthrough). The moon is an “A-ring” shepherd. And the room contains both the letter “A” and a bell (which rings).The devils are emerging from the stage in 3 stages = 3 stage Atlas rocket. [ . . . ] The narrator also asks, “Which way now?” and to answer that, one might consult an atlas.

Room 30: “YOU” – In the room is an “O” and a “U.” One of the guests says, “Why ‘O’ and ‘U’?” As in “Y” “O” “U.”

Room 42: “bear” - There is a big stuffed bear in the room. There is no way to get this one until you have the other words and are searching for something in this room that will fit.

Room 4: “IT” – The candle and the hammer next to each other looks like “IT” plus several objects in this room suggest words that end in “IT” – “fit” (the pegs), “split” (the wood with the ax), “lit” (the candle), “hit” (the hammer), and “sit” (the chair). There is also a hidden letter in this room to pick up on the way out (described below).

Room 29: “UPON” –  On a sign is written “UP & ON.” Take out the little “&” and it is “UPON.”

Room 17: “YOUR” – On a sign on the wall is written “Why, oh _” and “You are _” as in “Y” “O” “U” “R”

Room 45: This room has the center puzzle and nothing else.

Room 23: The text mentions the word “shoulder” to put the word in the reader’s mind. Entire route out is devoted to spelling out the word “shoulders.” The “O” in shoulders comes from here. “Everything Right” is O.K., “Nothing” is zero — an “O,” and the “The Time Is” o’clock. [Thanks to Owen Hammer for clarifying this with Mr. Manson.]

Room 8: “S” – On the wall, not at all hidden. “E” – In the table legs, barely hidden, but see Room 37 below.

Room 12: “U” “D” – Not hidden.

Room 39: “R” – Not hidden. (Early solutions found the “O” here in the white wall tire.)

Room 4: “L” – In an image of the maze is hidden “ELL” which sounds like “L”

Room 15: “H” – Most of the objects in this room are “H” words: Heroes, Hat, another Hat, Heart, House, Hare, Helmet.

Room 37: “E” – All of the objects end with “E” — Eye, Table, Sphere, Bottle, Vase, Cone, Dice (or die), rope. (The text gives the clue to look at things from all sides).Also the dice facing us has a five on it, “E” is the fifth letter of the alphabet, the rope ladder looks a little bit like an “E.” None of these are as compelling as the “E” in the table legs in Room 8 but including the “E” from Room 8 means there is no letter in this room.

Room 20: “S” – There are two “S”s in this room but one of the “S”s is on a newspaper labeled “Extra!” (i.e. it is an extra “S”) so there is only one “S.”

The resulting phrase is:

“Like Atlas you bear it upon your OSUDRLHES.” OR

“Like Atlas you bear it upon your OSEUDRLHS.”

So then you move the letters around to spell:

“Like Atlas you bear it upon your SHOULDERS.”

According to the publisher the acceptable answers were:

“World”   “Globe”   “Earth”

 

Next: Part IV – The Lesson of the Maze >

6 thoughts on “The Solution to Manson’s MAZE: Part III – The Riddle of the Path

  1. As someone who loves logic problem books by USA today I was completely destroyed by the visual elements of the book which are my weakness. Congratulations to those who solved it and thanks to the author for a great work.

    LIKE(4)
  2. I have been puzzling over the path to room 45 ever since I was 17 years old in 1985. I had turned the page upside down many times and noticed the numbers, yet I’ve never noticed the door! Thank you!

    LIKE(2)
  3. I have corresponded with Christopher Manson, and according to his solution, here are a few “corrections” (if we can assume that the author’s solution is the “correct” one).

    Room 4: The “IT” comes from fit (the pegs), split (the wood with the ax), lit (the candle), hit (the hammer), and sit (the chair).

    Room 23: The O in shoulders comes from here. “Everything Right” is O.K., “Nothing” is zero — an O, and the “The Time Is” o’clock.

    Peace

    LIKE(2)

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