Question 1

Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Other Shapes Video Overview

Accepted Answer

Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Other Shapes Video Overview

Question 2

Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Oblique Video Overview

Accepted Answer

Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Oblique Video Overview

Question 3

How to use the Time Saver for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

Accepted Answer

How to use the Time Saver for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

The Time Saver for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D works for:

The Time saver consists of two distinct parts:

Batch creation of mazes
Advanced layouts options with grids up to 10x10 puzzles or solutions

Batch Creation of Mazes

There are several ways you can control the mazes that are generated by the Time Saver

Using Presets
Enter rows in the control grid
Add images for masks using the Quick Mask options

We'll discuss these different options in the paragraphs below.

Batch Creation using Presets

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Bgl3MfS42X/Mazes%202D%20Time%20Saver%20Presets.png (Mazes 2D Time Saver Presets)

To use this option, don't forget to click (check) the options "Use Time Saver" and "Use Time Saver - Preset Puzzles".

Click the tab "Preset Puzzles" on the Time Saver tab. At the left you can see all the presets for Mazes 2D. If they're not visible yet, click "Refresh List".

The presets shown here are presets that you have saved yourself. There are no built-in presets, since it's so very easy to create your own.

You can select one or more presets (using Shift / Ctrl to select multiple presets) and click "Add Selected". The default quantity for each preset is 1, you can change this by clicking on the number you want to change.

Preset puzzles can be combined with the "Fast" mode for the Time Saver.

Batch Creation using the Control Grid

When you use the Control Grid (the "Fast" option), The Time Saver will use most of the settings from the regular "Puzzle Settings". These will be overruled by the specific settings that can be entered in the grid.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/mOYcLeAuzp/Mazes%202D%20Time%20Saver%20Fast.png (Mazes 2D Time Saver Fast)

Select the maze type that you need, the quantity and the grid size (Rows / Columns)
Click "Add Row" to add a row to the Control Grid
Change options as needed in the Control Grid by clicking the number or item you want to change
Click "Create (TS)" to create the puzzles and optionally the Instant Puzzle Book

Batch Creation using Quick Masks in the Control Grid

If you have the Masks Add-On, you can use the Quick Masks option:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/v4rKADjwcp/Mazes%202D%20Time%20Saver%20Quick%20Mask.png (Mazes 2D Time Saver Quick Mask)

Set the maze type and grid size that you need. You should set the Quantity to 1, unless you want several puzzles with identical masks
Click "Add Quick Mask". This will open the file explorer on your computer, allowing you to select one or several images. For each image, a row in the Control Grid will be added
Change options as needed
Click "Create (TS)" to create the puzzles using the Time Saver.

How to use the Styling options for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

This tutorial applies to:

Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Squares
Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Oblique
Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Other Shapes

There are five different sections for styling, which are combined on 3 tabs, that can be found on the Style tab

Passage / Door Styling (Line Style tab)
Wall / Border Styling (Line Style tab)
Colors (Colors tab)
Solution Path Styling (Colors tab)
Start/End Settings (Start/End tab)

Line Style tab

Passages / Doors

The Passage / Doors settings control how large the openings between the different squares, circles or other shapes are. The maximum is 100% (completely open).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/8A1ihjmN47/Mazes%202D%20-%20Styling%20-%20Passage.png (Mazes 2D - Styling - Passage)

As you can see in the screenshot, changing the passages setting will create a different 'atmosphere' for the maze.

In addition to the Passage Width setting, you can also randomize the Passage Width and/or the Passage Position, resulting in a more chaotic looking maze:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Sh92ULE9XL/Mazes%202D%20-%20Styling%20-%20Passage%20Random.png (Mazes 2D - Styling - Passage Random)

Note: This setting is not used for the Small Circles mazes.

Borders / Walls

The Borders / Walls settings control the width (weight) of the lines between te squares, octagons or other shapes. The current maximum is 20% (of the square width).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/K7PzfLysWo/Mazes%202D%20-%20Styling%20-%20Walls.png (Mazes 2D - Styling - Walls)

As you can see in the screenshot, this setting makes the walls much more pronounced.

Additionally you can randomize the wall thickness (or width / weight). This will determine a different line width for each cell (square, octagon, circle, etc) and draw all lines around the shape with that line width, resulting in a more hand-drawn, stylish look.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/XgCnQZEk0C/Mazes%202D%20-%20Styling%20-%20Walls%20Random.png (Mazes 2D - Styling - Walls Random)

Colors tab

There are five different places to set the colors for Mazes 2D:

The (Wall) Line color (Line Style tab)
The Font color for Start and End symbols (Start/End tab)
The Canvas and Cell 'Floor' color (see below)
The Solution line color (see below)

Canvas / Background Colors

The canvas and 'Floors' colors are two ways to fill the background of an image with color. The canvas is shown everywhere where there is no cell (square or other shape), the Floor color is shown for every cell.

The example below shows an extreme coloring scheme:

In this example we chose the Easy Octagons shape to illustrate the use of colors. All the purple areas are not covered by octagons, the yellow areas are octagons.

For square or oblique mazes, the canvas color will be shown when you use a mask to define the maze contours, otherwise it will not be visible.

Solution Line Style

You can customize the look and feel of the solution path (which will only be shown in the maze solutions!):

You can set the color (for puzzle books printed in grayscale you can select a contrasting gray color)
You can set the width (weight / thickness) of the path, this is a percentage of the cell width
You can choose a dashed path
You can choose a curved path (which often looks better for non-square shapes)

Below you can see two examples with the dashed and the curved path.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/5ohsZv5pa6/Mazes%202D%20-%20Styling%20-%20Solution%20Dashed.png (Mazes 2D - Styling - Solution Dashed)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/AwBt1nYFRm/Mazes%202D%20-%20Styling%20-%20Solution%20Curved.png (Mazes 2D - Styling - Solution Curved)

Start/End tab

There are several options to customize the Start and End points in Mazes 2D:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/8JR1teg1iE/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20StartEnd%20Options.png (Mazes 2D Squares - StartEnd Options)

You can choose to let the outside passage / wall open. This is shown in the green circle, where the left and top edges of the square are left blank
You can set the font and font color for the Start and End letters - just click the font preview panel that says Arial to change the font and other settings
You can change the letters to be used
You can use images instead of letters.

Using images for Start and End

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/JvF1MxnEjt/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Start%20End%20Images.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Start End Images)

To use images for Start and End, you can drag and drop images on the two white panels (the Start/End Image Settings), or click the panels and select an image).

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Other Shapes

This tutorial applies to Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Other Shapes.

The tutorial "How to use Mazes 2D Squares" describes how to use the generic options for Mazes 2D.

The Puzzle Maker Pro module Mazes 2D Other Shapes offers two additional shape styles for your mazes:

Easy Octagons, and
Small Circles

Easy Octagons

Mazes 2D Easy Octagons

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/QyQAq3WZ7v/Mazes%202D%20Easy%20Octagons.png (Mazes 2D Easy Octagons)

The maze type 'Easy Octagons' will create a maze with octagon shapes. It's called "Easy" because the little squares between the octagons are not part of the maze, making it easier to solve. This maze type is great to provide some variety in your maze or activity books.

All the maze and styling options are identical to the Mazes 2D Squares options.

By playing with the color and line styling, you can create some outstanding designs, such as:

Mazes 2D Easy Octagons

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/3ROK56FSuw/Mazes%202D%20Easy%20Octagons%20Styling.png (Mazes 2D Easy Octagons Styling)

Small Circles

Mazes 2D Small Circles

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/o3tEjFaiRA/Mazes%202D%20Small%20Circles.png (Mazes 2D Small Circles)

The maze type 'Small Circles' will create a maze with small circles instead of squares. This maze type is also great to provide variety in you rmaze or activity books.

By playing with the color and line styling, you can create some unique designs, such as:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/PNmYsHfsZe/Mazes%202D%20Small%20Circles%20Styling.png (Mazes 2D Small Circles Styling)

Small Circles - Limitations

Due to the nature of the circles, it's not currently possibly to use the Style options to configure or randomize the passages between the circles.

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Oblique

This tutorial applies to Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Oblique.

The tutorial "How to use Mazes 2D Squares" describes how to use the generic options for Mazes 2D.

In this tutorial we'll explain the specific 'obliqueness' features.

Mazes 2D Oblique

The Oblique pattern was inspired by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, specifically her illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (which is definitely recommended).

Mazes 2D Oblique - Slant

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/j9KDlczj4K/Mazes%202D%20Oblique%20-%20Slant.jpg (Mazes 2D Oblique - Slant)

The slant for each line segment (each edge of a 'square') is determine by two settings:

Line Slant: the maximum slant for the line (either horizontally or vertically), and
Cell Edge Slant: the maximum slant for the cell edges

The values determine a percentage of the row height and column width. If you set it to maximum value (which actually is 30-40%), a row height (or column width) may be increased by up to that value. A row that would be 200 pixels high, may be approx 280 pixels high.

The Line Slant and Cell Edge Slant are randomized and added together for each cell segment. There's a maximum of 40% increase or decrease, to make sure that the cells are still large enough to create a maze.

The most extreme (highest / lowest) points of a line are randomly chosen along the line, but the sides are always at the set cell height or width.

This may sound complex, it's best to play with the sliders and previews yourself, and then read this again, if you need more information.

The Masks Add-On for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Squares

With the Masks Add-On for Mazes 2D Squares you can create shaped mazes. Mazes in the shape of anything you want.

This add-on supports three different styles of mask creation:

Quick Masks
Create masks in the Mask Editor using a silhouette
Create masks in the Mask Editor manually

Of course you can also combine the two: Use a silhouette first, and then manually edit the resulting mask.

You can find the mask options under the Mask tab.

Mazes 2D Squares - Mask Tab

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/MtMjI9wSGg/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Mask%20Tab.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Mask Tab)

To use a Mask, the first step is to click the “Use Mask” checkbox. That will let the software know that it should use a mask. (You can also uncheck it, to temporarily disable a mask that you’ve set up).

Whenever you switch the Maze Type, the mask will reset.

Note: the details may work slightly different for different shapes, but the main mechanics are the same.

This tutorial applies to the following products:

Masks Add-On for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

Quick Masks

The easiest option to create a mask, is the Quick Mask option.

First, you need to select an image. Either beither clicking the white panel below the “Use Quick Mask” checkbox, or by dragging your image onto that panel.

Next, click the “Use Quick Mask” button, and click “Next Preview”.

Mazes 2D Squares - Quick Mask

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/rGIxqazIvV/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Quick%20Mask.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Quick Mask)

When you do this, there can be different outcomes:

You get a shaped maze, like the example screenshot.
Nothing happens
You get a result, but it’s underwhelming

After the Quick Mask is generated, the “Use Quick Mask” checkbox will be unchecked automatically – Generating a mask from a bitmap image takes time, and you may not want to generate the same mask over and over, while you’re adjusting style settings (or selecting different tiles).

However, if you want to create a new mask with the Quick Mask feature, because you changed the grid size or the image, you have to manually check this checkbox again.

Quick Mask - Nothing Happens

The Quick Mask option will try to generate a mask, using the grid settings (the number of rows) and the image you selected. It will do so by analyzing the silhouette image, using AI to find settings that result in a "Connected Mask" is created.

Connected Mask – To create a maze, all the cells in the grid must be connected. When you use a mask that results in separate ‘islands’ of cells that are not connected, the mask cannot be used.

If the AI cannot find a Connected Mask the Quick Mask generator will give up, and there will be no mask.

Underwhelming Results

In many cases, especially when you’re first starting to use the Masks Add-On, the result may be a bit underwhelming. The screenshot shows an example of what can happen:

Mazes 2D Squares - Mask Underwhelming Result

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/UXRLQg5SpU/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Mask%20Underwhelming%20Result.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Mask Underwhelming Result)

Even though we started with the silhouette of a car, and a mask was created, the resulting image and the maze do not resemble a car. This is not a bug: The mask generator did what it’s supposed to do – each cell that has enough colored (in this case black) pixels, will be added to the maze.

However, when the grid is too small (in this case 12 rows) and the lines of the silhouette are too thin, the cells won’t be part of the mask. In this case the roof of the car, and the top of the headlights are not part of the mask.

You can increase the number of rows for the grid, to create a better mask, or optionally use the Mask Editor to manually create a good mask based on the silhouette.

Mask Editor - Using a Silhouette

To create a mask from an image, you’ll need an image that can work as a silhouette: You can set which background color(s) to remove from the mask, and all other colors will be part of the mask. The masks feature won’t work well with line-art images.

When you click “Edit Mask”, you’ll see the Mask Editor:

Mask Editor Overview

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/RQbQUfYO33/Masks%20Add-On%20Mask%20Editor.jpg (Mask Editor Overview)

The resulting mask. If you already had a mask selected, it will be shown here, otherwise all cells will be part of the mask,
The image selection panel. Either click here to select an image, or drag and drop an image onto the white panel
Depending on the image, you may need to adjust the background color
At the top you can see a status message. In the screenshot it’s green “Cells are connected”. If there are disconnected ‘islands’ of cells in your mask, it will show a warning in red.
After selecting an image, you can change the Mask Sensitivity to create a better result,
After changing the grid size or Mask Sensitivity, click “Scan Image” to create the new mask from the current image. This will overwrite any manual changes that you’ve made.

You can toggle each square (or tile) in the mask by clicking on it, or by using the advanced editing options:

Setting the background color

For regular silhouette images, the background will be either white or transparent. You can also select a different color, or even switch the foreground and background for a silhouette image. It’s also possible to use white and a selected other color and transparent as three different options to determine the background.

Changing the Mask Sensitivity

The Mask Sensitivity is the threshold for background pixels in each cell (square or isometric). If there are more background pixels than that threshold, it will be excluded from the mask. Otherwise it will be included. You can manually adjust the threshold to create a slightly different mask from your image.

Three examples of different Mask Sensitivity settings:

Mask Editor - Scan Sensitivity

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/I3rpsYCuEO/Masks%20Add-On%20Sensitivity.jpg (Mask Editor - Scan Sensitivity)

Create Masks Manually

Click on the “Manual Editing” tab (in the Mask Editor) to reveal the advanced editing options:

Masks Add-On Manual Mask Editing Options

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/zLPM5rq2AZ/Masks%20Add-On%20Manual%20Mask%20Editing%20Options.jpg (Masks Add-On Manual Mask Editing Options)

Action - Toggle will switch the color from black to white and vice versa. This will include or exclude the cell or range from the mask.
Action - Copy Color will copy the color of the clicked cell to all the cells in the range
Range Type: When you click on a single cell (tile), you can select whether just the cell, the row or the column have to change color
Range Size: Adjust 1, 3 or 5 cells, rows or columns at a time

The screenshot shows the result after two mouse-clicks:

Click on a cell with Action “Toggle”, Range type “Row” and Range Size “3”
Click on a different cell with Action “Toggle”, Range type “Column” and Range Size “3”

You can see that by using Toggle, some of the white cells in the rows have turned black again. By using “Copy Color” you can prevent this.

You can also see that the result of these two actions is a maze that is NOT connected (see the red warning at the top of the window). I’d have to do more editing to make this into a good shape for a maze.

Note: clicking the cells for editing is somewhat sensitive. If you move the mouse while clicking, the software will not know whether you want to move or click. (If you zoom in, using the mouse wheel, you can click and drag the image, to view exactly the part that you need to see best).

Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Overview

Mazes 2D is the 2022 update of our popular Mazes software (formerly Standard Mazes 2D/ Standard and Shaped Mazes 2D).

This option in Puzzle Maker Pro is the entry point for several current and new puzzle modules:

Standard Mazes 2D / Standard and Shaped Mazes 2D (if you have this module, the Mazes 2D Squares option will be available to you)
Mazes 2D Oblique - a Tangle / Doodle / Yayoi Kusama-style maze
Mazes 2D Other Shapes - Easy Octagons and Small Circles

Additionally there are some Add-Ons available for these mazes

The examples in this tutorial use the Mazes 2D Squares. It should be easy to use these options for the other shapes. For specifics, there are additional tutorials for each maze type.

Getting Started with Mazes 2D

Mazes 2D Squares Main Overview

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/TwQWXvoswn/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20Main.png (Mazes 2D Squares Main Overview)

Mazes 2D Squares Main Overview

Select Mazes 2D in the dropdown menu at the top. This will open the puzzle options for Mazes 2D
In the Puzzle Control section you can select the puzzle type, in this case Squares is selected. Here you can also set the number of puzzles (Quantity) and the puzzle size (rows and columns)
There are several tabs for the different maze and customization options. By default the Main tab is selected
On the Main tab you can control the maze generation options, such as the maze / solution complexity and the solution path (where the Start and End points will be chosen)
After changing the settings for the maze, click Next Preview to see a newly generated maze with the changed settings. (This is not done automatically, otherwise you may have to wait after each change)
The preview panel
By default the Solution is shown, use this switch to display the puzzle (without the solution path)

Info Tab

Solution Complexity

You can use the big red slider "Solution Complexity" to control how the maze is generated. There are several built-in algorithms that result in differently shaped mazes. These algorithms set some limits, within these limits the maze generation process is completely random.

To get an idea of the differences, here you see two extreme examples. It's best (and very easy) to experiment with this setting yourself.

Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 0

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/UsISAYEcCc/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Complexity%200.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 0)

Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 0

Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 100

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/fCcKZpppAP/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Complexity%20100.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 100)

Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 100

Solution Path

There are several options for the solution path (which is part of the maze generation process:

Default - Top Left to Bottom Right, this may be slightly different for certain maze types
Random - This will set a random starting point on one of the maze edges, and select an end point at an opposite edge
Longest Path - This will choose the longest possible path in a maze. Usually the Start and End points are not on the edges of the maze
Manual - you can manually select the Start and End points. To do this, right-click the preview panel on the maze cell (square/other shape) where you want the Start or End point, and select the appropriate option in the pop-up menu)

Mazes 2D Squares - Path Random

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/MbSBiXSzkZ/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Path%20Random.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Path Random)

Mazes 2D Squares - Path Random

Mazes 2D Squares - Longest Path

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/b4rBaUYtAq/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Longest%20Path.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Longest Path)

Mazes 2D Squares - Longest Path

Mazes 2D Squares - Manual Start

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/k1md7DgoHv/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Manual%20Start.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Manual Start)

Mazes 2D Squares - Manual Start

Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Other Shapes Video Overview

Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Oblique Video Overview

How to use the Time Saver for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

How to use the Styling options for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Other Shapes

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Oblique

How to use the Masks Add-On for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Squares

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D