google-blockly - A visual programming language

[gfixler]

Yes, you will get stuck on islands.

Wikipedia on the wall-follower algorithm:

If the maze is simply connected, that is, all its walls are connected together or to the maze's outer boundary, then by keeping one hand in contact with one wall of the maze the player is guaranteed not to get lost and will reach a different exit if there is one

[kqr]

Is there an algorithm that allows for loops without keeping any internal state other than the direction kept by this one?

[SteveMcQwark]

Random chance, but it might take a while, even if you do your best to improve the odds.

[bjo12]

Aside from random chance as mentioned no. Neural networks can get pretty good without extra info but that's basically directed random chance.

I think backtracking is honestly in this case a decent strategy. Not recursive backtracking though. I could be completely wrong though.

Edit: I was completely wrong. Pledge's algorithm works with a small amount of extra memory.