Ten years ago, Katie Dufort quit her job, bought a golf cart and hoped for the best. In 2016, she founded Puzzle Rides, a free golf cart shuttle service for Prescott residents in the summer and Scottsdale residents in the winter. However, in 2020, Dufort wanted more.
“I wanted this golf cart business to be more than just a taxi service,” Dufort said. “I wanted to start something more exciting and experimental.”
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She had an epiphany in January 2020 while in an escape room with her daughter. Dufort thought she could host escape room-type entertainment on her golf cart. She didn’t want to mimic other tour companies, and she didn’t want to rely on trivia or digital scavenger hunts. She wanted something tactile that made people forget they were holding a phone.
By March 2020, Puzzle Rides was ready to launch in Scottsdale — but the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“We were supposed to open on March 13, 2020, and Scottsdale shut down on March 12,” she said. “We had to cancel everything.”
Dufort pivoted, opening the company in Prescott that July, offering families a safe, outdoor way to explore during a year when people needed a distraction.
Since then, she started offering Puzzle Rides in Old Town Scottsdale. In both locations, she offers escape‑room‑style scavenger hunts on wheels. Riders solve clues, open physical locks, follow maps and chase puzzles, guided by a “puzzle master” who drives the cart and keeps the experience frustration‑free.
“It’s not about trivia,” Dufort said. “It’s about the number of puzzles. And we work with you to make sure you get across the finish line. Losing is not fun.”
The games do not require QR codes, apps or screens. Everything is intentionally analog.
“People are seeking non‑digital entertainment,” she said. “They want to connect. They want to put their phones down.”
In 2025, Dufort opened her first brick‑and‑mortar puzzle shop in Prescott, filled with experiences: escape booths, rentable puzzles, subscription puzzles and hourly puzzles. Business was slow.
“People don’t want stuff; they want experiences,” she said. “Lies. All lies.” After two weeks, her daughter suggested moving the tiny gift section to the front. The jigsaw puzzles sold out immediately.
“I realized the customer wasn’t wrong. I was,” Dufort said. “When things don’t work, you’re the one who has to change. Not the market.”
These days, the puzzle shop carries more than 1,000 kinds of jigsaw puzzles from over 100 vendors, with a focus on Western themes, Arizona imagery, American history and animals. It has become a hub for analog entertainment — fidgets, mystery games, playing cards, tactile toys — all designed to spark curiosity and conversation.
“We’re really focused on analog wellness,” she said. “Everything we sell is meant to help people spend time together without digital entertainment involved.”
She celebrated Puzzle Rides’ 10th anniversary in July, however, there are plans for a second puzzle shop in Scottsdale. “We’re almost there,” she said. “We just haven’t inked the final contract.”
Puzzle Rides’ 10th anniversary is bringing new experiences. This October, Scottsdale will debut “Time Warp Escape,” the company’s first new puzzle ride since 2022. For corporate groups, Puzzle Rides is launching Relay MAX, a large‑scale team‑building experience that can accommodate up to 300 participants at resorts and ballrooms across the Valley. The company tracks performance and provides team‑dynamics reports — a nod to Dufort’s corporate sales background.
“This was an opportunity to use my professional background to grow our services while providing companies with data that can help them assess their strengths and weaknesses,” she said.
The growth hasn’t gone unnoticed. Last fall, Puzzle Rides was honored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as one of the top 100 small businesses in America. “They flew us out to Washington,” Dufort said.
“We got to meet Damon John from ‘Shark Tank.’ It was very exciting.”
However, for Dufort, the recognition is secondary to her partners.
“We would not be where we are today without Old Town Scottsdale and Prescott lifting us up,” she said. “Everyone from the small business owners who collaborate with us, the chambers and governments that support us, and the customers who keep enjoying our experiences is the reason we are here 10 years later.”
