Puzzlerama Puzzle Competition at Dungeon’s Gate Geektoberfest!

Dungeon’s Gate is excited to cap off our 6th Annual Geektoberfest with our very own Puzzle Competition…PUZZLERAMA!

When: Saturday, October 25, 2025 from 7-9 PM.

Check-in begins at 6:30 PM and Puzzle Competition will start promptly at 7 PM, following a quick introduction.

Where: Dungeon’s Gate, 2525 N Ankeny Blvd, Ste. 101, Ankeny.

Reservations are required and space is limited. The cost is $50 per team of up to 4 players and includes the puzzle, which is yours to keep! Only one registration is required per team. Grab some friends, start thinking up your perfect puzzly team name, and register for our Dungeon’s Gate Puzzlerama Puzzle Competition! 

Teams of up to 4 people will be competing to see who can complete a 500-piece puzzle the fastest! After our attempt at an inordinately difficult 1000-piece puzzle back in April, we’ve fine-tuned things and have an infinitely more doable 500-piece!

Tikka Talk Indian Food Truck will be here from 5-8 PM, so plan to come early to eat supper and get checked-in and settled. This event is BYOB**

**Please drink responsibly.

First, second, and third place finishers will receive prizes!

NOTE: We’ll have a day-long Costume Contest happening as part of Geektoberfest, so feel free to come in costume!

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Puzzlerama Puzzle Competition Rules

Participating in the Puzzlerama Puzzle Competition at Dungeon’s Gate implies full acceptance of its rules (listed below). If anything happens that is not covered below, the incident will be resolved by Dungeon’s Gate staff.

Before Puzzlerama

-Each team will be given the same puzzle, concealed until start time. 

-No puzzler will touch or turn over the puzzle box until the host starts the competition timer and says go, or the team will be disqualified.

-Team members must be in the store and at the table with their team name on it by 7 PM sharp. -We will have some housekeeping announcements, then begin immediately. If a member is not present at 7 PM, they will be disqualified with no refund. 

-Teams are allowed up to 2 (two) puzzling pans/trays up to 16×24 inches in size to help them organize their pieces.

-No extra lighting or printed/digital puzzle templates will be allowed.

-Any help during the competition from someone other than your team members may be grounds for disqualification.

-Due to space concerns, no spectators will be allowed–only the registered team members.

Scoring

Each team will be given the same, concealed, 500-piece puzzle and 2 (two) hours to complete it, with the potential to add 1 (one) 15-minute increment at the discretion of the Dungeon’s Gate puzzle master. Scoring is based on the amount of time remaining once completed, OR the remaining puzzle pieces at the end of the competition. When counting puzzle pieces, only clusters of 4 combined pieces will Not be counted against the total.

Once complete, the team must yell for a judge to check their time and confirm their finished work. 10 (ten) seconds will be added to the final time for each lost puzzle piece. If you find a puzzle piece after your score has been recorded, it cannot be added after the fact, and the penalty remains. In case of more than 20 lost pieces, the team will be disqualified. The decisions of the judges are final.

After Puzzlerama

After the event, the jigsaw puzzle used in the competition is the property of its team members.

Dungeon’s Gate reserves the right to post pictures and videos from the Puzzlerama event, as well as share your social media posts about it (Post and tag us!!!).