Mirrors play tricks in this haunted house, and so do the monsters. Some only show up when you look straight at them, others only in a reflection. Undead Mirror Maze unblocked hands you a grid of diagonal mirrors and empty rooms, and you must work out which creature lurks in each room.
Steffen Bauer wrote this puzzle, called Undead, for Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection. David Millar's earlier Haunted Mirror Maze inspired it.
How to play Undead Mirror Maze
Every empty square holds exactly one ghost, vampire or zombie. The totals for each type are shown above the grid. Numbers around the border are sightline clues: start at a clue, look into the grid and follow the line as it bounces off mirrors. That number equals the creatures visible along the whole route.
What you see depends on the monster. Zombies can always be seen. Vampires are only visible before the line hits its first mirror, since they have no reflection. Ghosts are the opposite and only appear after at least one bounce. If a path crosses the same square twice and sees the monster both times, it counts twice.
Select a square and click a monster icon above the grid, or press its letter key. Pencil mode lets a square hold several candidate monsters at once. Ready-made sizes include 4x4, 5x5 and 7x7 boards in a range of difficulties, and Custom handles anything else.
Controls
| To… | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place a monster | Arrow keys to a square, then G, V or Z (or 1, 2, 3) | Click a square, then click a monster at the top or type its letter | Tap a square, then tap a monster at the top |
| Clear a square | Backspace or 0 | Select the square and click the same monster at the top again | Select the square and tap the same monster at the top again |
| Add or remove a pencil mark | Enter to switch to pencil mode, then a letter | Right-click a square, then type a letter or click a monster | Press and hold a square, then tap a monster |
| Grey out a finished clue | — | Left-click the clue | Tap the clue |
| Switch pictures and letters / change the count style | A / C | — | — |
| Undo, redo, new puzzle | U / R / N | Undo move, Redo move and New game buttons | Undo move, Redo move and New game buttons |
Tips
- Mine the zero clues. A 0 forces ghosts on the direct part of the path and vampires after the bounce, since anything else would be seen.
- Start with mirror-free lines. On a straight path with no mirrors, ghosts never count, so only vampires and zombies matter.
- Trace slowly. Follow each bounce square by square before you commit. One wrong turn throws the whole count off.
- Watch the totals. When one monster type is used up, every remaining square must be one of the other two.
- Grey out solved clues. Marking finished clues keeps your eyes on the ones still in play.
Undead Mirror Maze questions
Can I switch the monster pictures to letters?
Yes. The game's preferences include a letters option, which some players find easier to scan on a busy grid.
What do the numbers by the monster icons mean?
They give the total count for each creature type. You can switch them to show how many are left to place, and each one fades to grey when that type is complete.
Does it work on a touch screen?
Yes. Tap a square and then tap a monster to place it. The grid resizes to fit phones and tablets.
