Cartoonist Joe Wos has set out on a remarkably ambitious quest: to claim the Guinness world record for the largest hand-drawn maze. The rules are plain and rigorous. The maze must exceed ten square metres in area, remain solvable by a single route, and be drawn entirely by Wos himself. Each drawing session must be witnessed by no fewer than five people to satisfy verification requirements. The checklist reads like a gauntlet, but for Wos this is a milestone carried with him for decades. He describes the goal as a personal beacon rather than a whim, a private vow that blends artistic devotion with public accountability. This project sits at the intersection of craft and competition, a rare fusion of graphic storytelling, spatial reasoning, and performance. It invites not just admiration but participation, inviting observers to weigh design decisions as the piece unfolds.
Work began on July 27, and the maze has grown beyond a simple doodle. The page now brims with bright illustrations, winding corridors, dead ends, hidden passages, and motifs that reflect Wos’s love of comics and storytelling. Beneath the whimsy lies careful planning: the route must have a single solvable path, a clear entry and exit, and enough twists to keep a solver engaged. He handles every line by hand, shaping each curve and junction with the precision of a master draftsman. The process requires attention to scale, perspective, and layout so that the maze remains readable from start to finish while offering surprises along the way. Through every stroke, the artist balances art and logic, knowing that a successful record attempt depends on both beauty and fairness. Verification measures are built into the process: clear, visible witnessings, documented progress, and a path that can be traced and tested by others. The end product is not just a drawing but a navigable experience, a map that invites the eye to travel and the mind to reason.
On the question of who will solve the maze, the challenge remains, and the clock ticks in the imagination of puzzle aficionados. An average solver might invest around 40 hours to finish, depending on the chosen route and the solver’s experience with enigmas. So far, Wos’s family and close friends have politely declined the invitation to tackle the maze, preferring to observe from a distance and share in the moment of completion. Yet interest from curious strangers around the world continues to grow, and North American attention has increased the sense that this is more than a solitary artistic pursuit. The painter-puzzle maker has begun weighing the possibility of taking the maze on tour, offering puzzle enthusiasts across Canada and the United States a chance to test their skills against this monumental challenge. A tour could transform the project into a communal event, with venues hosting live drawing sessions and on-site solve-offs that fuse spectacle with hands-on learning.
Beyond the thrill of a record, the project highlights the value of patient, hands-on creation. A hand-drawn maze of this scale invites people to slow down, study lines, and appreciate how a single misstep can ripple into a new direction. It stands as a testament to the way art and puzzle culture can intersect, inviting schools, libraries, and community centers to engage with geometry, problem solving, and storytelling in tangible ways. The idea of an exhibitable maze tour offers a living classroom, a traveling gallery in which audiences interact with the artwork as it travels from venue to venue, and a reminder that creativity often begins with a simple line on a page that refuses to stay simple for long. Would you be tempted to try solving the world’s largest hand-drawn maze if it appeared in a city near you? This project is more than a spectacle; it is a conversation between art and logic, a testimonial to persistence, and a reminder that some dreams require more than talent alone. For puzzle lovers and casual observers alike, it presents a rare blend of craftsmanship and curiosity, inviting people to imagine how many steps it takes for a line to become a path that challenges the mind while pleasing the eye.”