Summary: Foldable mazes and word searches also play in the browser, as a 3D shape you can turn in your hand. This guide covers the controls: watching the net fold, turning the shape, drawing a maze route or selecting words over the edges, jumping between the shapes of a maze chain, and checking your answer.
Overview
When a foldable puzzle opens, its flat net folds itself into a cube or a box in about a second and a half. From there you turn the shape to see every face and solve on it directly, just as you would with the paper version. Nothing to install: it runs in the browser on a computer, tablet or phone.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Watch the Fold (or Skip It)
The net folds on load. Tap the shape to skip straight to the folded shape. Replay fold plays it again at any time.
Turn the Shape
- Drag empty space around the shape to turn it freely. In a maze, dragging from any cell that is not on your route turns it too.
- The ◀ ▶ ▲ ▼ buttons turn it a quarter turn at a time. On a keyboard, click or Tab into the player first, then use the arrow keys.
- The face buttons 1 to 6 bring that face to the front, the right way up.
- Net view unfolds the shape flat so you can see every face at once; press it again to fold it back.
- See-through back fades the near faces so you can see the far side through them.
Draw a Maze Route
Press on the start circle and drag. The route steps to the open neighbouring cell nearest your finger, and it carries on over an edge onto the next face. With Follow switched on (the default), the shape turns by itself so the face you are drawing on stays in view.
- To carry on after you let go, press the end of your route and keep dragging.
- To back up, drag back over your route, or press an earlier cell of it: the route is cut back to that cell.
- If the route stops at an edge, the next face is pointing away from you: turn the shape a quarter turn toward it, press the end of your route and keep going.
Reach the square and the line under the controls says Solved!
Jump Between the Shapes of a Maze Chain
A maze chain shows one shape at a time.
- Draw onto a numbered disc and the view jumps to the next shape: the new shape folds in, facing the disc with the same number, and your route carries on from there.
- Tap the disc at the end of your route to undo the jump (the view goes back to the earlier shape), and tap it again to redo it.
- Click a disc your route has not reached to peek at where it leads; the view comes back by itself.
- The lettered buttons under the controls (A, B, and up to D) show any shape; the one on screen is highlighted, and shapes your route has visited are underlined.
Find Words
There are two ways to select a word:
- Drag: press on the first letter and drag along the line. The selection follows the straight line nearest your finger, around the edges and, on Hard puzzles, diagonally within a face.
- Tap, turn, tap: tap the first letter, turn the shape with the buttons, then tap the last letter. Use this for words that run round onto a face you cannot see at the same time. Tap the same letter again to cancel.
Let go on a listed word, in either direction, and it is marked found and crossed off the list; the line under the list counts your progress. A selection that is not a listed word simply clears.
If the puzzle has a secret word, a box under the list shows how many letters it has. Type the letters no word covers, in order: face 1 to 6, top row first, left to right.
Check Your Answer
The line under the controls says Solved! the moment you finish. Check gives the same answer on demand: a maze needs a complete route from the circle to the square, and a word search needs every word found plus the right secret word. Reset starts the puzzle over. Checking, resetting, the timer and working through a set are covered in How to Play Puzzles Online.
Outcome
You can open any foldable puzzle in the browser, turn it, solve it on every face and check it. Try one: a Foldable Maze or a Foldable Word Search.
Putting Them on Your Own Site
Publishers with Creative + Interactive or Productivity + Interactive of Foldable Mazes or Foldable Word Search export the same puzzles as playable 3D games for their own website, alongside the printable sheets. The how-to is in How to Create Foldable Mazes and How to Create Foldable Word Search Puzzles; the editions are compared in Puzzle Maker Pro Editions Explained.
FAQ
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Drag with one finger to turn the shape or draw, and tap the buttons for quarter turns and faces.
My route stopped at an edge. What now?
Turn the shape a quarter turn toward the next face (or switch Follow back on), then press the end of your route and keep dragging.
How do I select a word that wraps out of sight?
Tap its first letter, turn the shape, then tap its last letter.
Can I undo a portal jump?
Yes. Tap the disc at the end of your route to undo the jump, and tap it again to go back through.
Why can I not see the 3D shape?
The player needs 3D graphics in the browser. If the browser cannot run them (a very old browser, or hardware acceleration switched off), the player shows a message instead; try another browser, or print the puzzle.