About Us
Fueled by a lifelong passion for puzzles, trivia, and a curiosity for the world, we at First Light Puzzles create hand-crafted puzzle experiences that challenge and delight.
Our co-founder blends a background in psychology, rare books and manuscripts, and history, to craft fulfilling Puzzle Experiences that unite your group and ignite the imagination.
How First Light Puzzles Work
First Light Puzzles creates custom puzzle experiences using clues, quizzes, games, and physical puzzles to delight and entertain a target recipient.
Originally designed for a birthday party, our Puzzle Experiences are much more than a 2D jigsaw puzzle. These personalized activities entertain and involve your whole group, based your recipient’s own knowledge and interests. We do this for the adrenaline rush, the thrill of coming together to solve a series of fun, (solvable) riddles that feel amazingly personalized.
Think of them like a custom escape room in a box, but more hands-on, creative, and fluid. The Puzzle Experiences are excellent group activities that serve to unite and bond guests while highlighting your guest of honor.
If you’re looking for a way to make an occasion, gift, or even proposal feel special, fill out our questionnaire to get started!
What People Are Saying
“Our group of 4, particularly the main recipient loved it. I was able to hide the couple of clues we were given around the house beforehand and it created a really fun atmosphere. Custom trivia for the birthday boy was his favorite part!”
— Lucas G.
“I was pretty thorough on the intake form and that meant everything felt super custom for my girlfriend. I made the final gift be written instructions to the spot of the proposal, and she loved the whole process!”
— Stella W.
“Wasn’t sure what to expect. It was fun and challenging, with some really cool parts and challenges. Liked the mix of hands on physical challenges with the more mental stuff.”
— Dave K.
“It was the perfect way to make the gift feel special. We had an actual activity that was super fun and led to a great surprise.”
-Anna L.
“It was my favorite part of the weekend, and we did a lot of fun things! The puzzle got everyone involved and we really enjoyed the custom aspect. Felt kind of magical!”
-Mike C.
How the Puzzle Experience works
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Your answers are what make the Puzzle Experience a stand-out activity they’ll remember for years.
Answer all questions in the questionnaire (the more the merrier!) and we’ll use those to craft your personalized series of puzzles, clues, trivia, quizzes, games, and more.
Your answers are private and never shared or sold.
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Once complete, we’ll ship your Puzzle Experience to you before your planned date.
If you are providing the final gift that is revealed in the puzzle, we will include instructions on how and where to hide it and reseal its container.
If we are providing the final gift, it will be secured and ready to go!
If you answered “Yes” in the questionnaire to having the time to hide clues in your event location, you may have a few clues to set up in advance. They will be clearly labeled and your box will indicate if this applies to your Experience.
This should only take a minute or two once you have access to the location.
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Your Puzzle will be clearly marked with the first step. Each puzzle or game will lead you to the next clue, ending in the final step with the end prize inside (depending on your arrangement).
Puzzle Experiences are usually fast-paced, with group interaction, laughter, guessing, and adrenaline-fueled entertainment. They are usually the only activity taking place at one time.
FAQs
What is the final gift/prize?
Our Puzzle Experiences are designed to end with revealing or unlocking a gift. This might be a ring or jewelry, a set of cigars, a car key, a favorite item, or a written message—as long as it is no larger than 7”x3”x3” we can easily accommodate it. See below for more ideas.
Contact us if you have specific requests or arrangements to make.
Do you provide the final gift? What are some gift ideas?
We have a few options available to add to your order that will please diverse palettes. If you would like us to place a specific item in your puzzle we will happily do so for the cost of the item and a processing fee.
Here are some additional ideas:
If you & your guests are over 21, a bottle of fine whiskey or similar to share once solved (mind the bottle size)
Jewelry like an engagement ring, watch, etc.
Luxury makeup or skin care items
Gift cards to a favorite restaurant, store, massage, cooking or art classes, golf course, wine tasting
Tickets to a show or destination
A house or car key
The itinerary for your weekend or event with the guys or gals
A written message: declaring your love, asking them to marry you, a love poem, or directions to a big reveal
What is in the Puzzle Experience?
Each Experience will be different, tailored to your target recipient based on the questionnaire.
You can expect a selection of the following: a small physical brain teaser, clues to solve, quizzes or trivia, finding clues in your venue, and items to unlock—all relying on your recipient’s interests and any details you shared.
What if the puzzle(s) are too hard to solve, and we get stuck?
Every step of the puzzle will come with a hint that you can choose to open, or not! We believe each puzzle should be solvable with on the hints provided, opened as needed.
However, if you get fully stuck after seeing a hint, solutions are individually included so you can see answers to either the select puzzle you’re having issues with, or the entire thing.
However, read the solutions with caution! We don’t want you to inadvertently ruin your Puzzle Experience or let slip an answer during play.
I want to further customize the Puzzle Experience. How can I do that?
Contact us with any specific requests for puzzles, content, party favors, or the final gift. Although we can’t accommodate every request, we’ll do our best to come up with a solution.
How does First Light Puzzles Work?
Fill out the questionnaire with a minimum of 30 days till your target date, pay for your Puzzles and any add on's, and we’ll craft custom puzzles for your guest of honor and other attendees to solve.
We mail the Puzzle Experience to you, where you hide clues and the final gift (if you selected those options needed). Each package contains both hints for every puzzle and the final solutions.
Solve the custom Puzzle Experience solo or with a group of people (the latter is more fun!). The final clue unlocks access to the “Final Gift”, an item or note, typically of higher value.
You enjoy the experience, the final gift, and get to keep all materials shipped to you.