Lesson 5: Building a maze and Competition

 

Introduction to this lesson

In this lesson we will cover how to build a maze using the skills you have learnt in the previous chapters. You will then be tasked for building a maze given a specific set of rules (such as having using a maximum of 100 blocks). You will then be able to compete with fellow students to see who can escape the mazes the quickest.

 

Building the maze

In this final lesson, you will learn how to build a maze in Python for Minecraft. Although the task may sound difficult, it in fact builds on everything you have learnt in the previous lessons. You can refer to them at any time to help you build the maze.

The easiest way to start building a maze is by creating blocks that act as the edges of the paths inside the maze.

For example:

mc.setBlock(0,1,1,block.WOOL.id)

This will create a block of grass at position 0 blocks along the x-axis, 1 block along the y-axis and 1 block along the z-axis. You can even change the color of the block by adding a number after the id.

For example:

mc.setBlock(0,1,2,block.WOOL.id.12)

This would create a brown-coloured block of wool. (Note: make sure to import the relevant libraries at the top of the program file in order for the functions to work).

In theory, you could now create a maze just by re-writing the above lines of code and changing the x,y and z position of each block. However, that can be very tedious especially if you want to add a large number of blocks! An easier way of doing it is by implementing a recursive function that can help create longer stretches of blocks, such as walls, like in lesson 3.

For example:

1 for y in Range(0, 5):

2    if y == 0 or y == 5:

3         for x in Range(0, 2):

4              mc.setBlock(x, y, 1, stone)

5         else:

6              mc.setBlock(0, y, 1, stone)

7              mc.setBlock(2, y, 1, stone)

 

 

 

This would create the structure seen below. You can notice that we have created a one-path maze surrounded by walls on all sides! (In practice, you may want to include an entrance and exit to the maze)

 

Maze task and competition!

Your task is to build a maze using a maximum of 100 blocks (remember you can build walls using iterative functions but each square counts as one block).

Once you have built your maze you can then proceed on to the competition stage: find another classmate who has already completed a maze and see who can escape each other’s maze the quickest! (I.e. you try out your classmate’s maze and they try out yours). The winner is the one who escapes the maze first!

Maze extension

If you want to further explore mazes and their construction, try building an even bigger maze! For example, by using 1000 blocks. At this point you could try testing if you can complete the maze yourself, as the sheer size of it will make it harder for you to memorize the paths. It will also be useful in checking that you can reach the exit of the maze from the entrance!