The Maze of Games: An Interactive Puzzle Novel

A project in Seattle, WA by Lone Shark Games
000days 
:
00hours 
:
00minutes 

Funding Successful

An interactive puzzle novel written by Mike Selinker, with enchanting illustrations by Pete Venters.
Backers: 2630
Average Pledge Per Backer: $65

Funded: $171,146 of $16,000
Dates: Jan 28th -> Mar 14th (45 days)
Project By: Lone Shark Games
Tags:
cooperative gameillustrationbookspuzzle +Suggest

Suggest Tags

Begin typing to search or pick from a list. You can add multiple tags at the same time!
SubmitCancel
Saving your suggestions...
Suggestion Saved Successfully
Thank you for your help! The Kicktraq gnomes will get to work on your suggestions very soon.

Please keep in mind not all suggestions may be used, and repeated re-submissions may result in being rejected automatically (and we don't want that to happen).

If you have any questions, have a good idea for a tag, or a more in-depth suggestion - please feel free to let us know!

Ok
Hrm... something went wrong.
Hey, bad things happen to the best of us. Don't worry, the gnomes have been dispatched. Maybe try again in a little while.

Ok

$171,146

current pledge level
Last Updated: March 14 @ 17:01 -0400 GMT

1069%

of goal
funding period ended

$0

trending toward
Trends are not projections. Read More >>

0%

of goal

(loading your very own snazzy kicktraq chart)

(loading your very own snazzy kicktraq chart)

(loading your very own snazzy kicktraq chart)

(loading your very own snazzy kicktraq chart)

(loading your very own snazzy kicktraq chart)

Now you can share!

Help your backers reach your daily goals and help others see how you're doing. It's easy, with Kicktraq Mini.

Here are a few quick snippits of code you can use to embed your personalized widget on your website, in your blog, and even on your favorite forum.

HTML for websites & blogs
Copy HTML

BBCode for forums
Copy BBCode

Reddit code for... well, Reddit
Copy Reddit Code

Special Note: Kickstarter recently disabled remote embedding for images on project pages, so embedding code doesn't work on project pages (yet) - just everywhere else.

You can read more about it here.
Latest News

Maze of Games

March 16th - via: dicetowernews.com
I had the great pleasure to sit down and speak with Mike Selinker, the developer of such board game classics as Betrayal at House on the Hill, Pathfinder the Adventure Card Game, and my personal favorite, Gloria Mundi. Interestingly, Mike noted that he declined to be involved in the creation of Betrayal at Baldur (Read More)

The Maze of Games Returns to Kickstarter With Some Epic New Twists!

March 14th - via: blog.puzzlenation.com
Less than a month ago, we wrote a blog post about The Maze of Games, an interactive puzzle novel first published in 2014, designed by Mike Selinker of Lone Shark Games. After four years, an intrepid team of puzzlers had finally conquered all five labyrinths in the story and freed the Quaice siblings from the clutches of the diabolical Gatekeeper and his many puzzly challenges. (Read More)

New novel by Renton author challenges readers to 'solve your own adventure'

August 8th - via: rentonreporter.com
RENTON, WA - You pick up a novel: a story set in 1897, about a 14-year-old bookworm and her older brother. During a visit to the mythology section of the Upper Wolverhampton Library, Colleen and Samuel accidentally awaken an ancient Gatekeeper who traps them in the world of his book, “The Maze of Games,” demanding they solve a gauntlet of puzzles in order to return home. (Read More)

Enter The Maze of Games, A Novel Made Of Puzzles

August 5th - via: io9.com
The Maze of Games plunges you into a tale of Victorian-era siblings lost in a strange, fantastical maze filled with more than 50 linked puzzles, goaded by the ghastly Gatekeeper. Author and puzzlemaker Mike Selinker gave us a peek into the maze, and shared a clip of Wil Wheaton's audioboook narration. (Read More)

Penny Arcade - “The Maze of Games” Available In Our Store

August 4th - via: penny-arcade.com
I would say that the best part of being “Tycho” is that I get to meet interesting people who are always doing amazing shit. Tabletop legend Mike Selinker is in that elite cadre of Amazing-Shit-Doers. (Read More)

Is 'The Maze of Games' the best puzzle book of all time?

July 31st - via: bellevuereporter.com
You pick up a novel: a story set in 1897, about a 14-year-old bookworm and her older brother. During a visit to the mythology section of the Upper Wolverhampton Library, Colleen and Samuel accidentally awaken an ancient Gatekeeper who traps them in the world of his book, “The Maze of Games,” demanding they solve a gauntlet of puzzles in order to return home. (Read More)

The Maze of Games & A Magical Partnership

July 10th - via: puzzlepile.com
Mike Selinker, one of the creative minds behind the upcoming puzzle story book, The Maze of Games, announced the progress of the successful Kickstarter project and a newly minted partnership. (Read More)

You have questions? We have answers!

April 3rd - via: kickstarter.com
We have been asked five questions over and over since the end of the Maze of Games Kickstarter campaign. We like questions, so keep asking them! But I'll take a shot at answering those five so you don't have to ask them again. "Why have you abandoned... (Read More)

The Gatekeeper has left the building

March 14th - via: kickstarter.com
Happy Pi Day, everybody! We've come to the end of our campaign, which was very successful by any measure. Thanks to everyone for sticking with us all the way through. Everybody's out of the cage, meaning that the Conundrucopia will be jam-packed with... (Read More)

Our final hours

March 14th - via: kickstarter.com
We're excited to see all the love we've received in the last couple of days. It's been a thrill ride, and we're glad you could come along. We're going to put one more stretch goal out there: If we reach $180,000, I will design an Uncle Wiggly-style... (Read More)

New artwork, hints, and the Gamesmaster badge

March 13th - via: kickstarter.com
Pete has graciously shared three more pieces in progress for The Maze of Games, which he dubs "The Ladies(?) of the Labyrinth." These aren't final. Forthwith, here are The Orc Scouts Den Mother, The Sphinx, and the Vampire. Open up the hint... (Read More)

T-minus 48 hours (ish)

March 11th - via: kickstarter.com
We're in the last two days of The Maze of Games campaign, and we expect some of you are coming back for the first time. Here's what you missed! We converted most everything to add-ons. Basically, you start by choosing one book type: ebook ($20),... (Read More)

Did someone say "Will Shortz"?

March 11th - via: kickstarter.com
In the final 72 hours of this Kickstarter campaign, we are locking up a last group of puzzlemakers. The Conundrucopia will be expanded by 8 pages and will contain these luminaries, should we make our funding goals: John Chaneski and Greg Pliska, the... (Read More)

The Gatekeeper's Literate Challenge

March 10th - via: kickstarter.com
Every week, the Gatekeeper will post a challenge to our readers. Last week it was to reveal a celebrity's superheroic identity. The Gatekeeper wrote, "Come up with a real-life famous person's name and then anagram it to reveal their hypothetical... (Read More)

Peeling away the layers

March 8th - via: kickstarter.com
Mike's at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament hobnobbing with the puzzle stars, so we asked Pete to tell us more about the art. We think you'll like what's inside his head. I just made my stealth check to get past the army of puzzle ninjas... (Read More)

Announcing the Maze of Games soundtrack!

March 6th - via: kickstarter.com
When your books arrive, we sincerely hope you will enjoy reading and solving The Maze of Games in the quiet of your home. We expect that some of you might want it to be a little less quiet. So we present this amazing announcement. Some of you are... (Read More)

A Maze of Games ... RPG?

March 5th - via: kickstarter.com
Last month, after bribing me with cupcakes, campaign manager Liz Smith said, "I know this is very hard to do, but would you write a Maze of Games RPG?" Then she had to get the paramedics to revive me. But when I came to, I realized she had a... (Read More)

The Maze of Games: the puzzle novel I wrote eighteen years too early

February 26th - via: penny-arcade.com
As a writer, sometimes you just know you’ve done something right. You know you’ve captured a moment, the stars aligning so that your unique vision cannot be ignored. Sometimes you just know. This is not one of those times. This is the story of the story that was not right for the times in which I wrote it. It’s the story of The Maze of Games, and Ben has kindly let me tell it to you. (Read More)

Entering Maze of Games’ Victorian-Era Puzzle Adventure

February 25th - via: argn.com
Hidden within the storied halls of the Upper Wolverhampton Library in Victorian-era England, a musty book lies in wait, ready to entrap the first hapless souls... (Read More)

Choose your own adventure: Authors turn to Kickstarter to fund their stories

February 18th - via: pandodaily.com
Game designer Mike Selinker had a dream back in 1995—to bring his puzzle solving fantasy adventure, a book called The Maze of Games, to market. It was, he believed, a story that Narnia fanatics would eat up. No one he knew thought he could sell it, so Selinker put his manuscript in the proverbial drawer for eighteen years. Then he decided to try Kickstarter. (Read More)

Kickstarting the Maze of Games

February 6th - via: wired.com
Mike Selinker is a legend in the worlds of puzzles and games. He’s worked on countless games, including Pirates of the Spanish Main, Lords of Vegas, and the revised edition of Axis & Allies. He was a creative director at Wizards of the Coast when they released Dungeons & Dragons 3E. He’s also one of the main contributors to Wired’s own Decode department. (Read More)

What a Dolorimeter Measures

January 31st - via: wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com
Sometimes the hardest thing about blogging puzzles is limiting yourself to picking out only a few of the things you like about a puzzle. I know, poor me; it's such a hardship to relish a puzzle and then have to write about it, isn't it? But I can't reveal all the answers or they will lock me in the coat closet {No, the coat closet is for missing deadlines; cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush is for revealing all the answers - Ed.}, so I will do my best to pick out the best of this wonderful, crunchy puzzle by Josh Knapp. How do I do it? I MANAGE. (Read More)

If you have additional news that doesn't appear here, shoot us a link!