About the Lab

The short version

ZQM Labs is the laboratory. Z’s Quests & Mischief is what comes out of it: self-guided scavenger-hunt games for communities, offices, and groups across Volusia County, Florida — with party rentals (tables, chairs, grills, cornhole, yard games) warming up in the next chamber.

Games, gear & a little mischief. That’s the whole business plan, and it’s working.

Meet your Game Master

Every quest is hosted by Dr. Z — a cheerful mad scientist in the Frankenstein mold: dramatic, brilliant, a little unhinged, entirely kind. He assembles each game in the Lab out of maps, riddles, lanterns, and lightning, then unleashes it on a neighborhood and cackles (warmly) at the results.

Behind the lab coat is a Volusia County local: a GIS professional and father who builds the games, playtests them on his own family (the Lab’s daughters are ruthless critics), and answers every email himself. The doctorate is a costume. The mischief is real.

How a quest is born

Assembled in the Lab. Story, puzzles, and code are built piece by piece — then tested until a five-year-old and a seventy-five-year-old can both finish grinning.
Shipped as a kit. A community gets printable signs, access codes, and a one-page guide. Their organizer — an official Lab Assistant — places six signs in about an hour.
Brought to life by you. A quest isn’t alive until a community plays it. When the first team relights the first lantern: IT’S ALIVE.

The first creation

Wisp, a friendly will-o’-the-wisp, was the Doctor’s first experiment. She got loose. Now she hides lanterns all over Volusia County, and every game since has been the Lab recruiting help to recover from its own experiments. She regrets nothing.

Which Dr. Z will you get?

His face is the difficulty meter — check the hair, it never lies. Black hair is a family picnic. White streaks mean riddles. Fully white and electric… hold on to your lantern.

Dial 1 — Li'l Z: a cute kid mad scientist with black hair, holding a small lantern — **🎃 Dial 1 · Cozy Glow**Li'l Z. Little kids & families. Counting, matching, giggles.

Dial 2 — Classic Z: a winking showman mad scientist, black hair with the first white streaks — **👻 Dial 2 · Spooky**Classic Z. Tweens & mixed groups. Riddles, ciphers, goosebumps.

Dial 3 — Mad Z: the manic mad scientist with fully white electric hair — **🦇 Dial 3 · After Dark**Mad Z. Grown-ups. Volusia ghost lore, cryptic clues.

Dial 4 — Full Madness: the electrified, unhinged mad scientist with grey dirty hair and neck bolts — **⚡ Dial 4 · Overdrive**Full Madness. Office parties & competitive runs. Maximum voltage.

What the Lab believes

Play more. Plan less. If an event needs a planning committee, we’ve failed.
Mischief, never malice. The joke is never on the customer.
Local first. Built in New Smyrna Beach, flavored with Volusia County — real streets, real lore, real weather (the storms are free special effects).
No apps, no accounts, no fuss. One phone per team, in a browser.

What’s next

The games are Phase 1. Phase 2 is the gear: party rentals with the same one-call-and-done promise, so the community that books a hunt can book the tables, chairs, grill, and cornhole to go with it. Join the list at zqmcomputing@gmail.com.