How the maze race works
- Fill the maze. Type or paste up to 12 names, one per line. Each name becomes a coloured mouse with a name tag, waiting at its own door around the edge.
- Pick a level. Press 🗺️ on the maze to go from the hedge maze to the mouse lab, the ice cave, the pyramid and the space station.
- Start the race. Press Start the maze race, tap the maze or press the Space bar. Every race after the first gets a brand-new maze.
- Watch them scurry. The mice run through the corridors, leaving faint coloured trails. Now and then one takes a wrong turn into a dead end and has to back out.
- Cheese! The first mouse to reach the cheese in the middle wins and gets a crown, while the others are still on their way. With several winners, they arrive one after another and line up round the cheese, and the ones after the first show their place numbers.
Why a maze race?
A maze gives everyone a mouse to follow. You can watch each route unfold, groan when a mouse heads into a dead end and cheer when it finds its way again. It is calmer than a straight race and easier to follow than a busy board, so it suits a classroom screen, a party or a stream. It is a free mouse maze game online, with no sign-up and nothing to download. And if you came looking for a rat race name picker, this is the gentle version: the racers are mice, and all they want is the cheese.
Ideas for the maze race
- Small groups in class: race one table at a time to choose who reads, presents or hands out the books. No repeats until everyone is picked is on from the start, so every mouse gets its turn.
- Team meetings: a quick race to decide who speaks first or who takes the notes this week.
- Game night: decide who goes first, which game you play next or who picks the snacks.
- Prizes: set Winners to 3 and hand out 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the order the mice reach the cheese.
- Big screens: press the fullscreen button (or F) for a projector, a smart board or a video call, and choose the level that fits the day.
The maze race uses the same list as every game on the site, so you can switch to the horse, car and snail race or back to the wheel without typing anything again. Need names to start with? Try one of the ready-made lists.
Fair from start to finish
The winner is chosen fairly before the race begins, with your browser's secure random generator, and every mouse has an equal chance unless you gave someone extra entries. The race only acts out that result: the routes, the wrong turns and the finish are planned around it, and nothing that happens in the maze can change it. Your names never leave your device. How the picking works.
Questions people ask
Is the maze race fair?
Yes. When you press Start the maze race, your browser's secure random generator picks the winner first, and every name has the same chance. Only then is the race worked out: each mouse's route and pace are planned so that the chosen mouse reaches the cheese first. The wrong turns and near misses are acting; they never change who wins.
What are the five levels?
Press the 🗺️ button on the maze, or choose Level in Settings, to move between them. Hedge maze: green hedges in a garden, with twisting paths. Mouse lab: a clean white maze with long straight runs. Ice cave: icy blue walls with frost and lots of short dead ends. Pyramid: sandstone corridors lit by flickering torches. Space station: metal corridors with glowing doors, and every mouse wears a tiny helmet. Each level builds its maze in its own way. In the other looks (🎨), the maze takes the look's colours but keeps its level's shape.
How many mice can race?
Up to 12, each with its own colour, name tag and door around the edge of the maze. For bigger lists the picker switches to Quick pick, or try the duck race or the marble race, which take up to 30 names.
Is it the same maze every time?
No. A new maze is grown for every race, with exactly one way from each door to the cheese and plenty of dead ends on the side. Changing the level draws a fresh maze in the new style straight away.
Can I have a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place?
Yes. Set Winners to 3 in Settings and the mice reach the cheese in that order: the first gets the crown and the others their place numbers. Tick Rank everyone and every mouse arrives, one quickly after another, in a full random order.
Can a mouse show a photo or an emoji?
Yes. Start a name with an emoji, such as 🐹 Leo, or add a photo under Photos. It shows on the mouse's name tag, and on its back on bigger screens. Photos stay on your device.