Theseus and the Minotaur is a type of

logic maze Logic mazes, sometimes called mazes with rules or multi-state mazes, are logic puzzles with all the aspects of a tour puzzle that fall outside of the scope of a typical maze. These mazes have special rules, sometimes including multiple states of th ...

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...

, the king of Athens who is attempting to escape the

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by t ...

. The main difference between this and the standard type of labyrinth, beyond the fact that it is set on a

grid Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to: Common usage * Cattle grid or stock grid, a type of obstacle is used to prevent livestock from crossing the road * Grid reference, used to define a location on a map Arts, entertainment, and media * News ...

, is the fact that the maze is not empty, but also contains a Minotaur who hunts the player down, taking two steps for every one the player takes. While the Minotaur is faster than the player, his moves are predictable and often inefficient: they are determined by checking to see if he can get closer to the player by moving horizontally, then checking to see if he can get any closer by moving vertically. If neither move would place him closer to the player, the Minotaur skips his turn. Theseus may also skip his turn. This type of maze was first published in 1990 in Robert Abbott's book ''Mad Mazes''. The idea was later published in the British magazine ''Games & Puzzles''.

References

{{RefList Logic puzzles