My first instinct was standard BFS and I started coding before fully thinking through the chute mechanic.
Model the maze as a graph where each cell is a node, and edges represent valid moves (up, down, left, right, and forced right via chutes). Use BFS to find the shortest path from start to end, ensuring that chute moves are handled correctly (only enter from left, then forced right). If BFS exhausts without reaching the end, return -1.
Pro tip: Clarify the chute behavior upfront: confirm that entering a chute from the left immediately moves you one step right, and that you cannot enter from other directions. This shows attention to detail and avoids incorrect assumptions.
Restate the problem to ensure you understand the grid, movement rules, and chute behavior. Ask clarifying questions if needed, especially about chute entry and exit conditions.
Represent each cell as a state. Define valid moves: up, down, left, right (if not blocked), and special chute moves (if the current cell is a chute and you enter from the left, you move right).
Use a queue to perform BFS from the start cell, tracking visited cells to avoid cycles. For each cell, enqueue all valid neighboring cells (including chute-forced moves) and increment the step count.
If the end cell is reached, return the number of steps. If the queue empties without reaching the end, return -1.
Discuss time and space complexity (O(R*C) for both). Mention edge cases: start equals end, no path, chutes at boundaries, and multiple chutes.
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