The wails of past victims are ground into memory, an unshakable symptom from long habitation within the cavern. Hounded by an unspeakable thirst, patrolling each bloody stalactite, you await patiently for fetid pools to collect of the only substance which will sate your demonic lust.

Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip...

Mincing toward the cartography board clutching an armful of materials, ready for review, the ninja is abruptly startled by dismissive scorn.
"Oh, you shan't be needing any of those today, I'm afraid."
"What?!" confused, they drop a marker, noisily clattering onto uneven tiles below.
"Yeet! We're doing something completely arbitrary instead!" another, parrotlike voice squeaks gleefully.
"You run gauntlet!" roars a third, approximating grey noise farting.
"But... I'm a mapmaker! I ain’t ready for those erratic drones!"
"No problem! We’re the Fun Committee™, not the Safety Squad™!”
Without warning, the speaker headlocks the ninja, hurling them through a waiting door.
— Arona_Daal

Cucumber_boy (aka kkstrong) is one of NUMA's most prolific authors. With over 1,000 maps under his belt, this quirky little episodic map from 2009 is a masterclass in minimalism. The optional trap door will make things easier, but speedrunners can bypass the trap door to save time. Getting all the gold in a fluid ascent is particularly satisfying. — ska

once upon a time, a boy by the name of cucumber decided he needed serious style. but everywhere he looked, he could not find it. "I'll just make it!" he proclaimed. So he set off into the world. But he didn't know where to begin. So he sat and he thought and as he thought his thoughts began to take shape. Soon his thoughts had formed a multi-billion dollar industry and made cucumber their president. "We need a name," his thoughts said. With one final thought, cucumber proclaimed it would be called Serious Style Inc. — origami_alligator

As of September 2020, the last map krusch submitted was this underappreciated gem from early 2015. What really elevates this map—personally, at least—is its high degree of replayability from a highscoring perspective. However, this map also works nicely as a sprawling standalone level or as part of an episode. If this is truly krusch's last hurrah, he went off on a high note indeed. — ska

I have to say, I have a bit of a soft spot for these sprawling kinds of levels with a truckload of gold. LouDog004 is, in my estimation, the master of rocket-and-gold maps. Additionally, the layout of these bounceblocks means you have to have a deep understanding of their physics if you want to get a solid highscore. Challenge: get 500+ on NReality highscores. — ska

Within the genre of race maps, there is often a thin line that separates a useless object from a deadly object. It's the difference between something that kills you too often, no matter how good at the game you are, and one that the ninja laughs at as they fly by. This map is as straightforward as it gets while straddling that line. The rush of making it out of each straight alive, while tightly hugging the curves as you prepare to thread the needle between life and death, will feel like no other track you've raced on before. — origami_alligator

In honour of N 1.4 turning 15 years old on May 15, I've decided to wind back the clock to 2006, when NUMA was a hive of activity and ideas were as fresh as they were experimental. Freik, an underappreciated mapper who inspired PALEMOON [nmaps.net] (of all people) when he was starting out, has created a conventional-looking map with an unconventional mechanic. While the snake mechanic wasn't new—even at the time—the snake was used here in harmony with a perfectly placed chaingun and rocket. A fun episodic romp that deserves your eyeballs. — ska

When I think back to my favorite race authors, _destiny^- always jumps to mind. I've heard from many people that they don't like races - for being too linear, for not being challenging, for being confusing - but I find races are beautiful. When crafted well, they create something like a puzzle, but one in which you know the outcome. Your job is to figure out the easiest way to get there. I recommend taking a number of tries at this before you decide to look at a demo. Half the fun is in the discovery of the route. — origami_alligator

First up: I can't believe I found this using Numa's random function! What a map! The-Riot, which is a collaborative account consisting of various Numa luminaries, assembled this claustrophobic fusion of styles that doesn't shy away from using jagged tiles or atypical gold clusters. Despite the account being dormant since 2011, there's still a juicy back catalogue of maps you can check out (if you're looking for something off the beaten path). — ska