this started as a solo challenge mod for MazeWars+, the old Macintosh game descended from the Imlac Maze War. i kept the maze navigation, removed the shooting and network parts, and changed the view so one person can race the whole board.

the result is Maze Extreme: five bright mazes, numbered flags, and a clock that is much less friendly than the colors. later stages hide most of the board, switch rainbow gates while you move, charge time for wall hits, and finally charge for backtracking too.

arrow keys or WASD move the happy face. R restarts the current stage. every retry uses the same maze, and each timer includes the shortest route plus any unavoidable return trips between flags.

14/04 update: v1.3 is the final build. Sunday Drive has eight more seconds, its backtrack charge is lower, the restart key is fixed, and map flashes now happen at every flag. the link below has been replaced with the newest copy.

>> PLAY THE DEVELOPER BUILD <<

is this actually from MazeWars+? the movement feels familiar even with the overhead view.

yes. my copy is the old Mac version. the maze rules were the useful part, so i rebuilt those as a single-player route game and left the eyeballs and shooting out.

level two is vicious. i reached the exit first and only then noticed flag 1 was in the opposite corner and flag 2 was behind me.

v1.1 is up. flags have big numbers now, Cloverleaf has both flags, and wall hits show the time charge immediately.

Rainbow Loop hiding the board after GO is evil. i wait for the twelve-step flash and still forget the next corner.

keep the bright walls and dotty fog. it looks like a school web game right up until it starts taking the map away.

R sometimes restarts and immediately spends one move to the right if i am still holding the key.

v1.2 posted. restart now clears the input properly, help pauses the timer, and the Switch Yard gates change on an even six-step beat.

Sunday Drive is ridiculous. tiny view, gates every five moves, and the backtrack charge follows you between flags. made the exit as zero appeared and still lost.

all five clear on v1.2. level four took more attempts than level five because i kept trusting the open rainbow shortcuts.

v1.3 final is linked now. added eight seconds to Sunday Drive, lowered its backtrack charge, and fixed the zero-second finish check. no maze seeds changed, so earlier clears still count.

total time across all 5 stages: 2:14.8. level 4 switch timing took me 20 restarts to memorize.

the happy face smiling while the timer counts down into negative red numbers is pure psychological warfare.

runs silky smooth at 85Hz on my Diamond CRT. no input lag on keyboard at all.

finally beat Sunday Drive with 0.8s on the clock. hands down the most addictive puzzle game on the board.

v1.3 backtrack tuning made Sunday Drive much fairer. clear without touching any red penalty walls.

the map flash on flag pickup is a lifesaver for level 3. great design JuneBug.

thanks for the times and feedback everyone. archiving this as a finished build.