Pathfinding algorithms are taught as pseudocode and Big-O tables, but their personalities only show up in motion: BFS spreads like a ripple, DFS commits to a corridor until it hits a wall, A* makes a beeline it can justify. I built Maze Runner to make those behaviors visible - six classic maze-solving algorithms animated step by step on mazes you draw yourself.
The metrics are the point, not the decoration: every run reports visited cells, path length, and execution time, so "A* is more efficient than BFS" stops being a claim from a textbook and becomes something you watched happen - and can quantify - on your own maze.
Try It Live
Experience the interactive visualizer in action!
Launch Maze Runner →Click to set start/end points, draw walls, select an algorithm, and watch it solve the maze!
Key Features
- Interactive Maze Creation: Click to set start (green) and end (red) points, drag to draw walls
- Real-time Visualization: Watch algorithms explore the maze step-by-step with color-coded cells
- Customizable Speed: Adjust animation speed from 1ms to 200ms for detailed observation or quick results
- Performance Metrics: Track visited cells, path length, and execution time for each algorithm
- Responsive Design: Works seamlessly on desktop and mobile devices
Visual Legend
- 🟢 Green: Start point
- 🔴 Red: End point (goal)
- ⬛ Black: Walls (obstacles)
- 🔵 Blue: Visited cells during search
- 🟡 Gold: Final shortest path
The same algorithm family eventually left the browser: the Maze Solving Robot runs Flood Fill on real wheels, where a wrong turn costs more than a repaint.