Mind Quest

When you hear the word extreme, if you’re like us, you probably picture whitewater rapids, steep mountain trails or skydiving.

But what about… puzzles?

Palmer Lake’s Karen Wells is a competitive speed puzzler and co-founder of Mind Quest Puzzles & Games, where she’s helping turn a traditionally quiet pastime into something competitive, social and a serious workout for the mind.

Karen’s story in Colorado began in 2015, when her husband’s job brought their family from Michigan. With family already in Colorado Springs, they quickly settled into Colorado life and spent much of their free time hiking and exploring.

A few years later, Karen discovered a very different kind of adventure when she entered her first speed puzzling competition.

“It was energizing!” Karen says. “I discovered this unique talent that I didn’t even know I had.”

Once she realized she was good at it, she was hooked. She wanted to get faster, learn new techniques and see how far she could take it. Along the way, she discovered a growing community of competitive puzzlers across the country.

Speed puzzling takes something most of us think of as a slow, relaxing activity and turns it into a race against the clock. Competitors can puzzle individually, in pairs or as teams, using strategy, communication and plenty of quick thinking to finish before the competition.

That combination of competition and community eventually helped inspire Mind Quest.

Through the speed puzzling community, Karen connected with Jessica Bradley, who had dreamed of opening a puzzle store for years. Their shared love of puzzles and bringing people together eventually grew into Mind Quest Puzzles & Games in Palmer Lake.

Karen recognized that puzzles have always had a way of bringing people together. Many of us have memories of working on puzzles with parents, grandparents or family around the holidays.

“They give people a reason to sit down together, talk, laugh, compete and connect,” she says.

That’s exactly what she hoped to create at Mind Quest. More than a puzzle and game store, it’s a place where people can actually gather and play. Mind Quest hosts speed puzzling competitions, puzzle clubs, game nights and other events that give people a chance to challenge themselves, meet other puzzlers and have fun together.

There’s also something refreshing about an activity that gets people away from their screens and around a table together. Whether someone comes in looking for competition, a new hobby or simply a fun way to connect with family and friends, Mind Quest is building a community around play.

And Karen’s plans don’t stop in Palmer Lake.

“One of my big dreams is to eventually franchise the concept and have a Mind Quest on the East Coast,” Karen says.

For now, she’s building that dream one puzzle piece at a time.

At Xtreme Bookings, we usually talk about adventures involving mountains, rivers and adrenaline. But Karen is a good reminder that adventure can challenge your mind, too.

Sometimes, it just happens to come in 1,000 pieces.

Think you could beat the clock? Check out Mind Quest Puzzles & Games to explore upcoming events, competitions and more.