Easy Hand Marble Maze

This is a fun game to challenge your family and friends with. It produces a great game to play when you're stuck in quarantine! It is inspired by Timothee Gillier's marble labyrinth design. https://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Marble-Labyrinth/

The materials you will need:

• cardboard
• glue (quick dry or hot glue works well)
• paint (I used spray paint but any will do)
• black marker
• paper

Recommended tools:

• Cutting tool (sharp blade knife, scissors, paper cutter etc.)
• .75-1 inch drill
• ruler
• straight edged object
• pencils

First thing you will need to do is trace out two 12 inch by twelve inch squares onto your cardboard. I found it easier to measure one, cut it out, and trace the second square. It will make more even cuts that are quicker. Also, I used a wooden piece as a straight edge while cutting to keep my lines crisp.

Cut out four 12.25" by 2.5" pieces and four 11.75" by .75" rectangles.

Now you will need to cut out four 1.25" by 11.75" rectangles for the for the interior supports of the maze. Then you will cut out four 0.75" by 11.75" rectangles for the exterior edges of the marble catcher. I traced them all out first and then cut them all at once.

Next you should take one of your 12" by 12" squares and trace out the maze walls and the holes. There are many layout inspirations with an internet search! You can choose one path to the finish or many. Be creative!

For this you need to cut 0.75" by 12" rectangles for the walls. You can cut them before hand or as you go. What I found to be efficient is to cut out one, fit it too the walls and cut and label them and then when that runs out cut another 0.75" by 12" piece and repeat until all of the walls have been labeled.

Now take your drill with the .75" to 1" drill bit and drill your holes in the cardboard. Be very careful while drilling especially near the edge. The cardboard will tear. Also I found if you drill over a small box there is more support and less mess.

You want to start by gluing your 0.75" by 11.75" rectangles onto your maze. Make sure they are glued on top of the floor of the maze and not the outside, this is so it fits nicely into the marble catcher. Then take the pieces you labeled and glue them on in their desired spot. In the end it should look like the second photo.

You will now need to take one of the 2.25" by 12.25" rectangles and cut out a square on the bottom left corner big enough for your marble to easily fit through. Mine is about .75" by .75" in size. You will then take one of your 0.75" by 11.75" rectangles and trace and cut out the same size hole as the previous one.

Next, you will take the 2.25" by 12.25" rectangles and glue them on the outside of the second 12" by 12" square. As you are doing this take the 0.75" by 11.75" rectangles and glue the to the walls. These are used to support the top piece of the maze.

While the Marble Catcher is drying take the maze and paint it. While this is optional It will add flare to your project and you can add your own personal touch. I used spray paint but anything will do.

First you will cut out a 2.5" by 2.5" square. Then for the walls cut two 2.75" by .75" rectangles and one 2.5" by .75" rectangle. You will glue these one the outside of your 2.5" by 2.5" square. You will then glue the holder to the Marble Catcher as shown.

Now that your paint is dry you can make the start and finish for your game. I took a sticky note and a sharpie to make the sign and then glued it on my maze. But, again be creative with it!

This is another optional step, but I painted my Marble Catcher to match the maze.

Now you can grab your marble and test it out.