Ball Maze of varying difficulty

The basic game is a 12 x 12 grid, modified into a maze.  There is only one path from the start circle to the square finish (both cut out of the base of the maze).  A steel ball bearing is steered through the maze by tilting the toy in the required directions.

There is a simple version in which the ball may travel down a dead-end path, but it never gets stuck or returns instantly to the start.

There is also a much more challenging, ball return version, where traps are set to catch the ball and drop it into a dungeon.  All traps send the ball back to a return disc, which the player rotates to place the ball back at the start of the maze.

For each version I have provided ready-to-print examples as shown in the photos.  I have also provided STEP files of the 12 x 12 grids, so anyone can turn these into a maze of their own design.

I used a ball bearing with a diameter of 4.76 mm (or 3/16th of an inch).  Balls of 5 mm or smaller in diameter should be fine.  I printed in PLA, using a 0.2mm layer height with a 0.4mm nozzle.  Sandwiched between the maze and the lid is a clear sheet, cut to 88 mm x 88 mm or slightly smaller.  The simple maze presses together quite securely without glue but the ball return version needs to be tightly held together so that the return disc aligns properly.  Without glue it is sometimes necessary to give the maze a slight squeeze to compress the parts together.  A few drops of superglue can be a benefit.