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Season 4 is cutting now: Bridges & Loops See this month's build

Everything we know about how kids learn to plan a route, in one box a month.

Laser-cut birch parts, three challenge cards, and one maze that takes about 40 minutes to build. No glue, no batteries, no screen.

Start a box, $34/mo Book a classroom demo

Free shipping in the US and Canada. Skip or cancel any month before the 20th.

The Switchback tilt labyrinth, birch walls raised, a steel ball resting one turn short of the exit.
Switchback Ages 8 to 10 · 22 parts · one steel ball · no glue
  • 41,200 boxes built since 2023
  • 1,280 classrooms on a standing order
  • 92% of subscribers finish the build
  • FSC-certified birch, water-based finishes, cut in Portland

This month

Season 4, Box 2: Bridges & Loops

One sheet of punched birch becomes a two-level maze with a crossing bridge and a loop that sends the ball back to the start if the route is wrong.

Punched birch sheets beside a half-assembled maze frame, parts still numbered in their sprues.
Sheet 1 of 2, punched and numbered in build order. Sprue tags carry the part number for free replacements.

  1. 22 parts, pre-sorted

    Punch-out birch walls, two axles, a bridge deck, four gates and a steel ball. Numbered in build order.

  2. 3 challenge cards

    Route it in under nine moves. Add a dead end that fools a grown-up. Make the loop unbeatable, then beat it.

  3. 40 minutes, diagram-first

    Instructions are drawings, not paragraphs, so a six year old can lead the build and read the plan out loud.

  4. 0 glue, screens or leftovers

    Walls pull back out. The same frame rebuilds into 40 more routes with the cards in Studio.

A birch sheet on the cutting bed, maze walls scored and ready to punch out.
Cut
Loose birch parts laid out beside the half-built frame they belong to.
Sorted
A hand holding an assembled interlocking birch puzzle, no glue used.
Built
A flat kraft mailer, the shape every box ships in, sized for a mail slot.
Shipped

How it works

Three rooms, one kit

The same box has to survive a kitchen table, a class of 24, and a library program with a five minute setup window.

A child's hands closing the last curve of a birch ball track on the living room floor.

At the kitchen table

One box lands between the 4th and 9th of each month. Open it, build it, then wreck it and build a harder one. Parts replaced free, forever.

See the family plans
A class of eight and nine year olds working in pairs at low tables, each pair with its own maze frame.

In the classroom

Classroom Packs ship sorted by station with a teacher guide, a wall poster and standards mapping for K to 8. Purchase orders and net-30 welcome.

Classroom Packs
Two students comparing two different solutions to the same maze at a library program table.

At the library or co-op

Reusable frames plus printable Print & Path packs mean one purchase runs a drop-in program every week without new consumables.

Printable packs

On a standing order in 1,280 classrooms

Districts, charters, co-ops and library systems across 3,400 towns.

  • MAPLEBROOKSCHOOL DISTRICT
  • CascadeSTEM ACADEMY
  • Hollow PinesELEMENTARY
  • RIVERMILLCHARTER
  • NorthshoreLIBRARY SYSTEM
  • Cedar RidgeMONTESSORI

I have 24 kids and 40 minutes. The pack arrives sorted by station, which sounds like nothing until you have tried handing out 500 loose parts on a Tuesday. Two of my quietest students spent the whole block arguing about which route was shorter. Nobody asked for a tablet.

Nia Whitcomb Nia Whitcomb Grade 4 teacher, Maplebrook School District
A teacher sketching an alternate route beside a student's finished maze plan.

  • Third box in and the first one is still on the shelf getting rebuilt. That has never happened here.

    Dana Whitfield Dana Whitfield Parent of two, Boise

  • The build is genuinely hard in the right places. My eleven year old failed the loop twice and came back to it after dinner.

    Marcus Bell Marcus Bell Homeschool co-op lead, Raleigh

  • We run a drop-in program on Saturdays. One case of frames, printed warm-ups, zero consumables to reorder.

    Ines Duarte Ines Duarte Youth services, Northshore Library System

Why MazeCrafts

Same 40 minutes. Different Wednesday.

We are not competing with tablets. We are competing with the photocopied maze on the substitute folder.

The printout

Photocopied maze, 6am

printed at 6am solved in 4 minutes answer on the back
  • Solved in four minutes by the kid who needed it least
  • One answer, and it is on the back
  • Nothing to hold, nothing to change, nothing to argue about
  • In the recycling bin by lunch

The kit

Building with MazeCrafts

  • Parts arrive sorted by station, in build order
  • Every route has a second solution, and the cards ask for it
  • Walls pull out, so a solved maze becomes the next problem
  • Replacement parts are free, forever
A parent and child mid-build, parts still in their station tray, plan sheet under the frame.

Average build time 35 to 50 minutes, measured across 41,200 shipped boxes.

Pricing

Pay per box, not per promise

Every plan includes free shipping in the US and Canada, free replacement parts, and a 30-day guarantee. Skip or cancel any month before the 20th.

One kit per month, graded by age band: Trailhead 5 to 7, Switchback 8 to 10, Labyrinth 11 and up.

Monthly

$34 /mo

Billed monthly

  • One kit a month
  • Studio access
  • Skip or cancel by the 20th
  • Free parts replacement
Start monthly

Most ordered

6 boxes, prepaid

$29 /mo

$174 once, saves $30

  • Six kits, shipped monthly
  • Studio access
  • Pause up to 3 months
  • Bonus Print & Path pack
Prepay 6 boxes

12 boxes, prepaid

$26 /mo

$312 once, saves $96

  • A full season, all 12 builds
  • Studio access for two kids
  • Pause up to 3 months
  • Storage case included
Prepay a year

Gift, 3 boxes

$99 once

No renewal, no account needed

  • Three kits, one age band
  • Printed gift card
  • Ships in 2 business days
  • Recipient picks the start date
Send a gift

Renewal, skip and cancellation rules in full: Subscription & Billing Terms. Delivery windows and returns: Shipping & Returns.

Studio and the classroom side

Made for how you actually teach

The portal exists to print things, log progress and answer an administrator. It is not a place we want kids to sit.

Studio Print & Path library Site licence
  • Bridges & Loops, warm-up Gr 3 to 5 Ready
  • Dead ends and detours Gr 2 to 3 Ready
  • One-way gates, set A Gr 5 to 8 New
  • Route in nine moves Gr 4 to 6 Ready
182 packs, letter and A4 New pack every Friday
A printed labyrinth sheet with a wooden pawn resting one turn short of the centre.
Print & Path sheet 12: a single-route labyrinth for the Trailhead band, walked with a finger before a pencil.

Standards, written out

  • NGSS K-2-ETS1-1, define a simple problem
  • NGSS 3-5-ETS1-2, compare possible solutions
  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1, persevere in solving
  • ISTE 1.5, computational thinking

Every guide names the standard it hits and the evidence a walkthrough observer can see.

Safety and materials

  • FSC-certified birch plywood, water-based finishes
  • ASTM F963-17 and EN 71 tested, CPSIA compliant
  • Age bands 5+, 8+, 11+ printed on every box
  • Small-parts warning on bands 8+ and 11+

Cut in Portland, Oregon. Test reports available on request.

Safety & Compliance

Procurement without the phone call

  • Purchase orders, W-9 and net-30
  • Same-day quotes for 6 stations and up
  • Sole-source letter on request
  • Free parts for the whole school year
Email the schools team
The Portland workshop bench: offcuts, jigs and a sorting tray of finished maze walls.

Try it

Generate a maze, then watch it get solved

This is the same generator behind the Print & Path packs. Pick a size, print it for tomorrow morning, or let it show you the route.

Generating a 15 by 15 route.

Every kit ships with a Studio code. Teachers print warm-ups from this generator; kids get the version without the answer.

Questions parents and teachers actually ask

Before you subscribe

Still stuck? [email protected] answers within one business day.

What ages are the kits for?

Three bands. Trailhead for 5 to 7, adult hands help with the first frame. Switchback for 8 to 10, the sweet spot. Labyrinth for 11 and up, which includes the multi-level builds and the gate logic sets. You pick the band at checkout and can switch it any month before the 20th.

How long does a build take, honestly?

Between 35 and 50 minutes for a first build, measured across 41,200 shipped boxes. The replay is where the time goes: walls pull out, so the same frame rebuilds into roughly 40 routes using the challenge cards and Studio prints.

A part snapped. Now what?

Email [email protected] with the box name and the part number printed on the sprue. Replacements ship free, forever, including for kits you bought two years ago. No receipt needed.

Can I skip a month or pause?

Yes. Skip any month before the 20th and you are not charged. You can pause a subscription for up to three months and keep your pricing. Cancelling takes two clicks in the account page, and you keep every kit and every printable you already have.

Do you invoice schools?

Purchase orders, W-9 and net-30 invoicing on every tier. Quotes come back the same business day for 6 stations or more, and we will write a sole-source letter if your district needs one.

Is there any screen time in this?

None in the kit. Studio is a printing and record-keeping tool for the adult: printable packs, solution keys and the path builder. Nothing in a box asks a kid to open an app.

Do you ship outside the US and Canada?

Not yet. Physical boxes ship to the US and Canada only, with duties prepaid for Canada. Print & Path packs and Studio work anywhere, and the school site licence has no geography limit.

Start with one box. Keep the parts either way.

If the first build does not earn its place on your table, tell us within 30 days and we refund it. The birch stays with you.

Start a box, $34/mo Download the free sampler
  • 30-day guarantee
  • Free shipping, US and Canada
  • Cancel by the 20th
  • Parts replaced free, forever