Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brenda Burke. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Brenda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

My sister and I, both dedicated teachers, embarked on a venture together one summer nearly a decade ago—launching Riddle Routes. She was nestled in Bend, while I was soaking up the sun in San Diego. Whenever I visited her, she would transform into a master tour guide, leading me through the town’s lesser-known gems, informing me of its rich history, and pointing out its quirky and spooky features.

Between visits, I stumbled upon a fascinating concept: mobile city hunt games. However, I soon realized Bend was missing out on this delightful experience. I knew instantly that the town was tailor-made for such an adventure and it didn’t take much to convince my sister too. With its walkable downtown, vibrant history, eclectic art, charming local shops, and breathtaking views, Bend was perfect for our vision. Armed with her intimate local knowledge, our mutual passion for making learning fun, and our shared love for the game Clue, we set out to create Riddle Routes.

Our dream was to craft experiences that blend the excitement of a clever, sleuthing game with the joy of exploring local treasures—hidden gems that might otherwise go unnoticed.

This journey has been a profoundly rewarding passion project. Though my sister has stepped away from the business to dedicate her time to parenting my wonderful niece, I am proud to say Riddle Routes is a testament to our shared vision and dedication. There are now 10 Riddle Routes town locations and it is always rewarding to read team feedback regarding how much they enjoyed the experience of one of our games.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Riddle Routes are mobile town hunts, ready to go anytime and playable at any pace! Our games are a wonderful blend of walking tour, scavenger hunt, geocaching, live board game, and trivia time. Teams learn town history and discover local gems while they explore on foot, solving puzzles and riddles of varying challenge levels as they go.

Our company has a passion for supporting small businesses, remembering native peoples, honoring history, exploring mystery, being active outdoors, and finding the magic in the seemingly mundane.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Multi-tasking creating, owning and running a small business while also working in education full time is not without its challenges. It was a lot for both me and my sister though we tried to make the business model as hands off as possible. During the school years, Riddle Routes was often put on the back burner until summer came around and we could do updates, create more games, etc. Then when my sister became occupied with the most demanding job in the world- being a mom- I took on all the business responsibilities. It felt like that time was a choice point: either let the company dissipate, sell it, or commit more than ever to it. I chose the latter.

Last summer I decided to step away from role in education, at least for one school year, and focus on growing and transforming my business.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Last summer I decided to step away from role in education, at least for one school year, and focus on growing and transforming my business. It turned out to be a year focused on inner work and transforming myself instead. While I did create new routes, transferred the games to a mobile app platform with many upgraded features, and developed a different website that was compatible with automated text tickets, the vast majority of my time was spent in self exploration.

As I stand now at the beginning of a new school year, but have decided not to return to education in the traditional sense, I can see what a different person I have grown into during this time. With a greater sense of purpose and renewed creativity, I am working on a new venture of wonder, wisdom and wellness called “From The Fortress”. Like Riddle Routes, this entity in the works will offer guides, inspiration to stay curious, and encouragement to look/think a bit deeper. However, From The Fortress will be centered on holistic wellbeing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://RiddleRoutes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riddleroutes/
• Other: https://FromTheFortress.com

Image Credits

These are photos taken or created by me, Brenda Burke, and/or are images from our games which teams uploaded and gave permissions to share.