It looks like it's actually quite reasonable to generate mazes meeting your criteria using a two-step process:
Generate a random maze without regards to whether it's possible to get to the bottom-right corner from the top-left corner.
Repeat step (1) until there's a path to the bottom-right corner.
I've coded this up using two strategies, one based on a randomized depth-first search and one based on a randomized breadth-first search. The randomized depth-first search, on grids of size 100 × 100, generates mazes where the bottom-right corner is reachable from the top-left corner 82% of time. With a randomized breadth-first search, the success rate on 100 × 100 grids is around 70%. So this strategy does indeed appear to be viable; you'll need to generate, on average, about 1.2 mazes with DFS and around 1.4 mazes with BFS before you'll find one that works.
The mechanism I used to generate mazes without loops is based on a generalization of the idea from regular BFS and DFS. In both of those algorithms, we pick some location that (1) we haven't yet visited but (2) is adjacent to somewhere we have, then add the new location in with the previous location as its parent. That is, the newly-added location ends up being adjacent to exactly one of the previously-visited cells. I adapted this idea by using this rule:
Do not convert a full cell to an empty cell if it's adjacent to more than one empty cell.
This rule ensures that we never get any cycles (if something is adjacent to two or more empty locations and we empty it out, we create a cycle by getting to the first location, then moving to the newly-emptied square, then moving to the second location).
Here's a sample 30 × 30 maze generated using the DFS approach:
.#.........#...#.#....#.#..##.
.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.....##....#....
..#...#..#.#.##.#.#.####.#.#.#
#..#.##.##.#...#..#......#.#..
.#..#...#..####..#.#.####..##.
...#..##..#.....#..#....##..#.
.##.#.#.#...####..#.###...#.#.
..#.#.#.###.#....#..#.#.#..##.
#.#...#....#..#.###....###....
...#.###.#.#.#...#..##..#..#.#
.#....#..#.#.#.#.#.#..#..#.#..
..####..#..###.#.#...###..#.#.
.#.....#.#.....#.########...#.
#..#.##..#######.....#####.##.
..##...#........####..###..#..
.#..##..####.#.#...##..#..#..#
..#.#.#.#....#.###...#...#..#.
.#....#.#.####....#.##.#.#.#..
.#.#.#..#.#...#.#...#..#.#...#
.#..##.#..#.#..#.##..##..###..
.#.#...##....#....#.#...#...#.
...#.##...##.####..#..##..##..
#.#..#.#.#.......#..#...#..#.#
..#.#.....#.####..#...##..##..
##..###.#..#....#.#.#....#..#.
...#...#..##.#.#...#####...#..
.###.#.#.#...#.#.#..#...#.#..#
.#...#.##..##..###.##.#.#.#.##
.#.###..#.##.#....#...#.##...#
......#.......#.#...#.#....#..
Here's a sample 30 × 30 maze generated using BFS:
.#..#..#...#......#..##.#.....
..#.#.#.#.#..#.##...#....#.#.#
#...#.......###.####..##...#.#
.#.#..#.#.##.#.......#.#.#..#.
.....#..#......#.#.#.#..#..##.
#.#.#.###.#.##..#.#....#.#....
..##.....##..#.##...##.#...#.#
#....#.#...#..##.##...#.#.##..
.#.#..##.##..##...#.#...##...#
....#...#..#....#.#.#.##..##..
#.##..#.##.##.##...#..#..##..#
....#.##.#..#...#.####.#...#..
.#.##......#..##.#.#.....#..#.
#....#.#.#..#........#.#.#.##.
.#.###..#..#.#.##.#.#...####..
.#.#...#.#...#..#..###.#.#...#
....##.#.##.#..#.####.....#.#.
.#.#.......###.#.#.#.##.##....
#..#.#.#.##.#.#........###.#.#
.#..#..#........##.#.####..#..
...#.#.#.#.#.##.#.###..#.##..#
#.#..#.##..#.#.#...#.#.....#..
....#...##.#.....#.....##.#..#
#.#.#.##...#.#.#.#.#.##..#.##.
...#..#..##..#..#...#..#.#....
#.#.#.##...#.##..##...#....#.#
..#..#...##....##...#...#.##..
#...#..#...#.#..#.#.#.#..#...#
..#..##..##..#.#..#..#.##.##..
#.#.#...#...#...#..#........#.
And, for fun, here's the code I used to generate these numbers and these mazes. First, the DFS code:
#include <iostream>
#include <algorithm>
#include <set>
#include <vector>
#include <string>
#include <random>
using namespace std;
/* World Dimensions */
const size_t kNumRows = 30;
const size_t kNumCols = 30;
/* Location. */
using Location = pair<size_t, size_t>; // (row, col)
/* Adds the given point to the frontier, assuming it's legal to do so. */
void updateFrontier(const Location& loc, vector<string>& maze, vector<Location>& frontier,
set<Location>& usedFrontier) {
/* Make sure we're in bounds. */
if (loc.first >= maze.size() || loc.second >= maze[0].size()) return;
/* Make sure this is still a wall. */
if (maze[loc.first][loc.second] != '#') return;
/* Make sure we haven't added this before. */
if (usedFrontier.count(loc)) return;
/* All good! Add it in. */
frontier.push_back(loc);
usedFrontier.insert(loc);
}
/* Given a location, adds that location to the maze and expands the frontier. */
void expandAt(const Location& loc, vector<string>& maze, vector<Location>& frontier,
set<Location>& usedFrontier) {
/* Mark the location as in use. */
maze[loc.first][loc.second] = '.';
/* Handle each neighbor. */
updateFrontier(Location(loc.first, loc.second + 1), maze, frontier, usedFrontier);
updateFrontier(Location(loc.first, loc.second - 1), maze, frontier, usedFrontier);
updateFrontier(Location(loc.first + 1, loc.second), maze, frontier, usedFrontier);
updateFrontier(Location(loc.first - 1, loc.second), maze, frontier, usedFrontier);
}
/* Chooses and removes a random element of the frontier. */
Location sampleFrom(vector<Location>& frontier, mt19937& generator) {
uniform_int_distribution<size_t> dist(0, frontier.size() - 1);
/* Pick our spot. */
size_t index = dist(generator);
/* Move it to the end and remove it. */
swap(frontier[index], frontier.back());
auto result = frontier.back();
frontier.pop_back();
return result;
}
/* Returns whether a location is empty. */
bool isEmpty(const Location& loc, const vector<string>& maze) {
return loc.first < maze.size() && loc.second < maze[0].size() && maze[loc.first][loc.second] == '.';
}
/* Counts the number of empty neighbors of a given location. */
size_t neighborsOf(const Location& loc, const vector<string>& maze) {
return !!isEmpty(Location(loc.first - 1, loc.second), maze) +
!!isEmpty(Location(loc.first + 1, loc.second), maze) +
!!isEmpty(Location(loc.first, loc.second - 1), maze) +
!!isEmpty(Location(loc.first, loc.second + 1), maze);
}
/* Returns whether a location is in bounds. */
bool inBounds(const Location& loc, const vector<string>& world) {
return loc.first < world.size() && loc.second < world[0].size();
}
/* Runs a recursive DFS to fill in the maze. */
void dfsFrom(const Location& loc, vector<string>& world, mt19937& generator) {
/* Base cases: out of bounds? Been here before? Adjacent to too many existing cells? */
if (!inBounds(loc, world) || world[loc.first][loc.second] == '.' ||
neighborsOf(loc, world) > 1) return;
/* All next places. */
vector<Location> next = {
{ loc.first - 1, loc.second },
{ loc.first + 1, loc.second },
{ loc.first, loc.second - 1 },
{ loc.first, loc.second + 1 }
};
shuffle(next.begin(), next.end(), generator);
/* Mark us as filled. */
world[loc.first][loc.second] = '.';
/* Explore! */
for (const Location& nextStep: next) {
dfsFrom(nextStep, world, generator);
}
}
/* Generates a random maze. */
vector<string> generateMaze(size_t numRows, size_t numCols, mt19937& generator) {
/* Create the maze. */
vector<string> result(numRows, string(numCols, '#'));
/* Build the maze! */
dfsFrom(Location(0, 0), result, generator);
return result;
}
int main() {
random_device rd;
mt19937 generator(rd());
/* Run some trials. */
size_t numTrials = 0;
size_t numSuccesses = 0;
for (size_t i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
numTrials++;
auto world = generateMaze(kNumRows, kNumCols, generator);
/* Can we get to the bottom? */
if (world[kNumRows - 1][kNumCols - 1] == '.') {
numSuccesses++;
/* Print the first maze that works. */
if (numSuccesses == 1) {
for (const auto& row: world) {
cout << row << endl;
}
cout << endl;
}
}
}
cout << "Trials: " << numTrials << endl;
cout << "Successes: " << numSuccesses << endl;
cout << "Percent: " << (100.0 * numSuccesses) / numTrials << "%" << endl;
cout << endl;
return 0;
}
Next, the BFS code:
#include <iostream>
#include <algorithm>
#include <set>
#include <vector>
#include <string>
#include <random>
using namespace std;
/* World Dimensions */
const size_t kNumRows = 30;
const size_t kNumCols = 30;
/* Location. */
using Location = pair<size_t, size_t>; // (row, col)
/* Adds the given point to the frontier, assuming it's legal to do so. */
void updateFrontier(const Location& loc, vector<string>& maze, vector<Location>& frontier,
set<Location>& usedFrontier) {
/* Make sure we're in bounds. */
if (loc.first >= maze.size() || loc.second >= maze[0].size()) return;
/* Make sure this is still a wall. */
if (maze[loc.first][loc.second] != '#') return;
/* Make sure we haven't added this before. */
if (usedFrontier.count(loc)) return;
/* All good! Add it in. */
frontier.push_back(loc);
usedFrontier.insert(loc);
}
/* Given a location, adds that location to the maze and expands the frontier. */
void expandAt(const Location& loc, vector<string>& maze, vector<Location>& frontier,
set<Location>& usedFrontier) {
/* Mark the location as in use. */
maze[loc.first][loc.second] = '.';
/* Handle each neighbor. */
updateFrontier(Location(loc.first, loc.second + 1), maze, frontier, usedFrontier);
updateFrontier(Location(loc.first, loc.second - 1), maze, frontier, usedFrontier);
updateFrontier(Location(loc.first + 1, loc.second), maze, frontier, usedFrontier);
updateFrontier(Location(loc.first - 1, loc.second), maze, frontier, usedFrontier);
}
/* Chooses and removes a random element of the frontier. */
Location sampleFrom(vector<Location>& frontier, mt19937& generator) {
uniform_int_distribution<size_t> dist(0, frontier.size() - 1);
/* Pick our spot. */
size_t index = dist(generator);
/* Move it to the end and remove it. */
swap(frontier[index], frontier.back());
auto result = frontier.back();
frontier.pop_back();
return result;
}
/* Returns whether a location is empty. */
bool isEmpty(const Location& loc, const vector<string>& maze) {
return loc.first < maze.size() && loc.second < maze[0].size() && maze[loc.first][loc.second] == '.';
}
/* Counts the number of empty neighbors of a given location. */
size_t neighborsOf(const Location& loc, const vector<string>& maze) {
return !!isEmpty(Location(loc.first - 1, loc.second), maze) +
!!isEmpty(Location(loc.first + 1, loc.second), maze) +
!!isEmpty(Location(loc.first, loc.second - 1), maze) +
!!isEmpty(Location(loc.first, loc.second + 1), maze);
}
/* Generates a random maze. */
vector<string> generateMaze(size_t numRows, size_t numCols, mt19937& generator) {
/* Create the maze. */
vector<string> result(numRows, string(numCols, '#'));
/* Worklist of free locations. */
vector<Location> frontier;
/* Set of used frontier sites. */
set<Location> usedFrontier;
/* Seed the starting location. */
expandAt(Location(0, 0), result, frontier, usedFrontier);
/* Loop until there's nothing left to expand. */
while (!frontier.empty()) {
/* Select a random frontier location to expand at. */
Location next = sampleFrom(frontier, generator);
/* If this spot has exactly one used neighbor, add it. */
if (neighborsOf(next, result) == 1) {
expandAt(next, result, frontier, usedFrontier);
}
}
return result;
}
int main() {
random_device rd;
mt19937 generator(rd());
/* Run some trials. */
size_t numTrials = 0;
size_t numSuccesses = 0;
for (size_t i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
numTrials++;
auto world = generateMaze(kNumRows, kNumCols, generator);
/* Can we get to the bottom? */
if (world[kNumRows - 1][kNumCols - 1] == '.') {
numSuccesses++;
/* Print the first maze that works. */
if (numSuccesses == 1) {
for (const auto& row: world) {
cout << row << endl;
}
cout << endl;
}
}
}
cout << "Trials: " << numTrials << endl;
cout << "Successes: " << numSuccesses << endl;
cout << "Percent: " << (100.0 * numSuccesses) / numTrials << "%" << endl;
cout << endl;
return 0;
}
Hope this helps!
