All of the brain-teasing excitement and camaraderie of Puzzle Quest is taking hold in the West Country.

The puzzle-making meetings were started by two local residents, Angie Schroderus and Traci Urbinsky, who share a love of puzzling and saw it as a great way to make the most of winter.

Puzzle races involve teams working to complete a puzzle as quickly as possible, Schroderus explained. Several categories are available, including 300, 500, 750 and 1,000-piece puzzles.

Schroderus said there are some very fast puzzlers in the area, with the quickest time to complete a 1,000-piece puzzle clocking in at a mind-boggling 94 minutes.

Most competitions allow teams up to three hours to finish a puzzle, with completion times varying widely.

What started with a few races in Rocky Mountain House and at the Leslieville Elks Hall has grown into competitions across Alberta, including stops in Calgary, Sherwood Park, Lacombe, Ponoka, Leduc, Red Deer, Sylvan Lake and Drayton Valley.

The original plan was to host a few events locally as a way to gather with friends, but the idea quickly took off, with event spaces now filling up fast.

Angie Schroderus speaking about the experience of hosting puzzle races

(Puzzle Quest)

The group still considers the Leslieville Elks Hall “home base” even though the popularity of the event has grown.

“We’re just blown away by the amount of positive feedback we get from teams,” says Urbinski.

February events include a double header in Calgary starting at Prairie Dog Brewing and then off to Hudson’s Eatery, then back north to Leduc Brewing.

Puzzle Quest events in February 2025. (Puzzle Quest)

To find out more about Puzzle Quest, out the group’s Facebook page.