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I recently discovered the concept of fractal mazes from this question about running mazes without maps, and I'm incredibly interested, as I think it'll fit the unsettling tone I'm going for in my current campaign beautifully.

However, I'm the first to admit that math is my absolute weak spot, and fractals often just make my brain hurt. I'm not asking for advice on how to run a maze, I think I have it figured out, but I'm trying to confirm that a fractal maze is inherently unsolvable by regular means (meaning, by just walking through the maze to the end like you normally would).

If it makes a difference, the maze I'm using as a model is this one, screenshotted in case of link breakage:

a picture of 2 levels of a fractal maze

However, I would prefer to clarify more generally regarding fractal mazes: Can they actually be solved?

Cooper
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    I'm not an expert in fractal mazes but it seems like this may be a question that is not inherently about RPGs or that we can use RPG expertise to solve. This seems much more like a puzzle or math question. – Rubiksmoose Feb 12 '19 at 15:29
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    Are you asking whether any algorithm exists for solving fractal mazes, or are you asking whether there exists an algorithm for solving a fractal maze that a human being can use to solve the maze without computer assistance in a reasonable amount of time? Because those are very different questions. – Oblivious Sage Feb 12 '19 at 15:29
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    Despite my love for fractal mazes (and my amazement that somebody actually liked that answer!), this does strike me as off-topic for RPG and so I've voted to close it; I don't know whether puzzling or math or one of the programming sites might be a better fit? (Also, definitely hit me up in [chat] if you want to geek out over fractal mazes a bit!) – nitsua60 Feb 12 '19 at 15:31
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    @Rubiksmoose I honestly wasn't sure either, since it's about a math concept, but it's about a specifically tabletop games question, and the puzzles stack seems to be mostly used for posing puzzles for other users to solve, and I was frankly worried that the question would be marked as me not putting in enough effort over with the math people. – Cooper Feb 12 '19 at 15:39
  • @ObliviousSage Since this is on the RPG stack, the question is definitely about whether or not a normal human being (as in, a player at my table) could figure it out, although it's a moot point anyway atm. – Cooper Feb 12 '19 at 15:42
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    I feel like the question unasked (how to run a fractal maze) would be on-topic here. I believe Math SE is a better home for this one. – Ifusaso Feb 12 '19 at 15:42
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    @L.S.Cooper A question about how to use fractal mazes to generate RPG mazes would probably be closer to on-topic, but would also need a lot of elaboration on how you wanted to use them and what your design goals were. It also seems very distinct from this question. The way it is written now, there is no RPG component for an RPG expert to engage in since it deals purely with the mathematical concept. – Rubiksmoose Feb 12 '19 at 15:43
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    @nitsua60 Thanks for inspiring me, even if I have a hard time wrapping my mind around stuff-- I actually just went and re-read your answer, and realized that your first bullet point is "There's obviously no way that the maze can be solved by the characters or players", which I think pretty quickly answers my question, even though it's closed. – Cooper Feb 12 '19 at 15:43
  • BTW: for n=4 there is a path... – fabian Feb 12 '19 at 16:14
  • For the example maze you've given, I will point out that if, for instance, you entered at 1 and simply followed the right-hand rule, you'd come out at 8. It's not inherently a given that a particular fractal maze doesn't have a trivial solution (but it would be very confusing to anyone trying to map it and expecting it to be a euclidean space). – Carcer Feb 12 '19 at 16:20
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    @L.S.Cooper I will point out that my intention in that sentence you quote was to point out that given the information the GM would be parceling out to the players there's no way they'd "solve" it. IOW even if the underlying fractal maze is solvable, being narrated-to about one's path through a fractal maze while assuming it's normal-space makes mapping and retracing one's steps all but impossible. – nitsua60 Feb 12 '19 at 17:02
  • Under the "more specific answer" guideline, this question is answerable in a way it isn't on a pure math basis. Characters presumably have minimum dimensions they need to travel along, at which point the fractal part of the fractal maze will no longer be traversable. Voting to reopen. –  Jun 21 '19 at 19:33

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