Customizable Magnetic Maze game
Customizable Magnetic Maze game
3D
Published 2020-03-30T16:55:14+00:00
This is a maze game in which one player creates a maze and a second player trys to solve it in the quickest amount of time or turns.
As a youngster I played a game called THE PUZZLING PYRAMID. I loved playing that game. You can read about it at https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/53630/puzzling-pyramid . This is my attempt at creating a game that is somewhat similar to it and hopefully just as fun to play.
AGE:
The game is probably best for ages 6 and up.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS:
Can be played with 2 or more players.
OBJECT:
Find the secret path from the entrance slot at the bottom of the game board to the exit slot at the top of the game board.
PLAY:
The game consists of a game board, a steel ball, a magnetic wand, and a quantity of walls.
To start the game the first player turns the playing board upside down. They then place walls between the posts on the back of the board so as to leave a winding path from the entrance at the bottom to the exit at the top. BE SURE THERE IS AT LEAST ONE UNINTERRUPTED PATH FROM THE ENTRANCE TO THE EXIT. After the player has completed a path, the board is placed back on the base.
The second player starts the steel ball at the entrance slot, sliding the tip of the wand along the top of the board. The ball follows the wand beneath the surface of the board. The player traces a path on the board with the wand until the ball hits a wall and rolls back to the ball return tray, or until the ball emerges from the exit slot at the top of the board, thus solving the maze.
SCORING:
There are several options for scoring. Each option involves players taking turns creating and solving mazes. Suggested scoring options are:
VARIATIONS:
POSSIBLE FUTURE UPGRADES:
The current version of the game is pretty rough and could use some refinement. If I ever feel like it, I may consider one or more of the following:
- Round the corners and edges on the game board and base to make a more professional looking/feeling game. This may require porting the design to OnShape or some other CAD tool.
- Add storage for the walls, ball, and wand.
- Add electronics to keep track of and display the number of tries and/or the amount of time to solve the maze.
- No supports should be needed for most of the parts. The exception is the wand, which may require supports for the magnet space.
- I printed all the parts using a 0.2mm layer height. It would be nice to print the game board using a 0.1mm layer height due to the entry and exit ramps, but 0.2mm works OK.
- The playing board surface contains markers to identify the extent of the playing surface, the location of the entry and exit slots, and the location of the posts. These markers are indented from the surface of the game board by 0.6mm. I would recommend printing the playing board with at least the first 1.2mm bottom layers as solid. Using contrasting colors for the first 0.6mm of the print and the remainder of the print will help the players visualize the extent of the playing surface and the location of the posts.
- Be sure to use an opaque filament for the game board so the players won’t be able to see the location of the walls.
- I recommend printing the walls using a flexible filament. This allows for less wear between the posts and the walls, and also reduces the possibility of hearing a click when the ball strikes the wall which could be used as a cheat.
- I used the octagonal version of the wand because it printed better for me. I would recommend printing the wand horizontally since if printed vertically it will not be capable of sustaining much lateral force before breaking. It will also print much quicker if printed horizontally.
- At least 20 walls will be needed for the 4 x 4 version to cover most circumstances. However, since the walls are small, they tend to be easily lost. Consider printing 30 or 40 walls to start with.
| Date published | 30/03/2020 |