Maze Books Made by Dad When He Was a Kid:

MAZE CRAZE - Volume II

Multi-screen arcade games finally inspire a Multi-Maze response in the sixth book of Maze Craze, with mazes dedicated to Gauntlet, Tron, and the arcade classic Major Havoc!

Maze Craze #206

Book Number 6 - Republished Oct. 15, 2021

Maze Craze - Major Havoc

1986 was a busy year for me for maze-making. It's far and away the year I made most of these books. It's also the year that, looking back, I can se myself starting to take the drawing more seriously.

This book is ostensibly a "Multi-Maze Extravaganza" inspred by 80's classic 80's arcade games with multiple screens with unqiue gameplay. Each set of mazes will have an overall maze key that applies to all the mazes within that game theme. This key will always be available to you on a tab above the maze, where you would also find the answer. This is much like they way the Time Machine Chase maze book was presented here.

I'm especially proud of this one. I feel like I finally got Tron right and I feel like the artwork got a bit more attention this time, which included "full screen" dedicated Win Screens for each maze. I also have remained unreasonably fond of Atari's Major Havoc throughout my childhood to this day, and was happy to adapt it into maze form.

MAZES:

Maze Craze - Gauntlet
  • Gauntlet
  • The great epic quarter-muncher of Gauntlet deserves a multi-maze homage complete with keys, potions, lobbers, and Death himself!
  • Tron
  • My third stab at adapting Tron into maze form finally nails the mark with a multi-maze that takes its inspiration from the various screens of the Tron arcade game.
  • Major Havoc
  • I cannot overstate my unaccountable fondness for the original, vector graphics Major Havoc arcade game. Major Havoc was the primary inspiration for a multi-screen maze book.
Major Havoc Arcade Cabinet

The Lost Land of Arcade Purity

Two of these game-inspirations are not like the other. Two of these games are kind of the same. Both Tron and Major Havoc were of the "Old School Arcade Game" model where one quarter bought you a fair shot at playing through one or more of the entire cycle of screens the game had to show you, based on your skill. Repeats of those screen with increasing difficulty awaited you afterwards if you were good enough. Gauntlet, on the other hand, was part of the new wave of games that emphasized the ability to "Continue" your game for another quarter. This was the original debut of video game micro-transactions, and Gauntlet was an early eggregious offender with a health meter that constantly ticked down over time but allowed you to buy more hit points with more quarters! It was insidious! I never could afford to see the end of Gauntlet myself, I only witnessed it in a Tilt one time with a crowd of other entranced poor kids.

Maze Craze #206 PDF

Text Link to PDF Version