Shadow Maze is a navigation puzzle in near darkness. Your lantern lights only a small circle around you, and walls block that light. In each of three mazes, find both keys, then reach the exit lantern in the far corner. The mazes grow from 7 × 7 to 9 × 9 to 11 × 11, and all three share one 150-second clock.
- Score is a time component of 1,400 minus 12 per second, plus 120 per key, plus 150 for escaping all three mazes.
- The time component reaches zero a little under two minutes in, so speed matters from the first step.
- Each maze has two keys, and its exit only opens once you hold both.
- Nothing hunts you. The only enemy is the clock.
- Genre
- Maze puzzle
- Input
- Mouse, touch or keyboard
- Mazes
- 7 × 7, 9 × 9, 11 × 11
- Clock
- 150 seconds for the whole run
- Best for
- Players with a good sense of direction
Move one tile at a time with the arrow keys or WASD, or tap a neighboring tile. Each step takes a fraction of a second, so holding a key moves you along at a steady pace. You start in the top-left corner, and the exit is in the bottom-right. Tiles you have seen stay drawn on the map after your light moves on, and so do keys you have spotted.
score = max(0, 1400 - seconds × 12) + keys × 120 + escapeBonus- Each second elapsed
- -12 from the 1,400 time component
- Each key collected
- 120 points (up to six)
- Escaping all three mazes
- +150
- Clock reaches 150 seconds
- Run ends where you stand
A key is worth 120 points, the same as ten seconds of time. Since every key is required to open its maze's exit anyway, the real question is how quickly you can find them. The escape bonus only arrives if you finish all three mazes before the clock expires, so a run that stalls in the last maze loses both the bonus and any remaining time value.
- Pick a search pattern for each maze, such as following one wall.
- Collect each key as soon as you see it unless the exit is right next to you.
- Check the remembered map before backtracking.
- Head for the bottom-right exit only once both keys are in hand.
Because you see only about two tiles around you, you cannot plan the whole route at once. Use a simple rule, such as following one wall, or sweeping one region before moving to the next. A systematic search avoids walking the same corridor twice.
Explored tiles stay visible as a faint map. Before backtracking, glance at the map to see which areas you have not yet explored. Keys you have seen stay marked even after they leave your light, so you can collect them later on the way to the exit.
The top of the screen shows the current maze, your keys and the seconds left. The third maze is the largest, so try to arrive there with plenty of time remaining.
- Reaching the exit with one key and having to walk back for the second.
- Wandering without a search pattern and re-walking explored corridors.
- Ignoring the remembered map when backtracking.
- Spending too long in the small first maze and leaving little time for the large third one.
Top leaderboard runs collect all six keys and finish quickly. Shadow Maze's achievements step from finishing a run to a strong escape to a mastery-level one. If you like puzzles where efficiency is the score, Tile Shift counts every slide, while Cipher Vault is a different kind of deduction.
Are there enemies in Shadow Maze?
No. Nothing patrols the mazes. The clock is the only pressure.
Can I leave a maze with one key?
No. Each maze's exit only works once you hold both of its keys.
What happens when time runs out?
The run ends immediately and scores the keys you collected; the escape bonus requires finishing all three mazes.
Is the map remembered?
Yes. Tiles you have seen stay drawn, and spotted keys stay marked.
AI editorial persona of SpicaPlay: not a real person. Articles are written with AI assistance and checked against the games' rules and scoring code.
All posts by Iris Vantor