HELLO, SUMMER PUZZLE COMPETITION AT DUNGEON’S GATE | SATURDAY, JULY 18 AT 2PM

Join us at Dungeon’s Gate for our Hello, Summer Puzzle Competition!

Teams of up to 4 people will be competing to see who can complete a 500-piece puzzle the fastest! First, second, and third place finishers will receive prizes!

When: Saturday, July 18, 2026 at 2:00 pm.

Check-in begins at 1:30 PM and Puzzle Competition will start promptly at 2pm, 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 $40 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 Hello, Summer Puzzle Competition! Oh, and it’s BYOB*

*Please drink responsibly.

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Puzzle Competition Rules

Participating in the Hello, Summer 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 Puzzle Competition

-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 2 PM sharp. -We will have some housekeeping announcements, then begin immediately. If a member is not present at 2 PM, they will be disqualified with no refund. 

-Teams are allowed up to 2 (two) puzzling containers/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 Puzzle Competition

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 Puzzle Competition event.