Ravensburger: The Bizarre Bookshop No. 2 (1000 pieces)

Bright colours, zany creatures and funny book titles. I loved this puzzle. Great to complete and great to look at after completion. Solid pieces that fit together well.


Time: 10 hours,  13 minutes



Likes: 

• Fun picture - great to look at after completion
• Distinctive picture - easy to put together
• Solid pieces that fit well together and unlikely to be damaged from continual use

Dislikes:

• Pieces would not fully interlock which made moving large chunks of completed sections difficult - pieces would not stay connected

Milton Bradley: Cats Elegant Beauty (550 pieces)

Distinctive picture. A variety of traditional and non-traditional piece shapes. The non-traditional shapes make this puzzle more interesting and fun to complete. On the flipside, some of the pieces might be mistaken for edge pieces and others may be more susceptible to damage.

Time: 3 hours, 47 minutes



Weird and wonderful pieces...

Likes: 

• variation in piece shapes - departure from the usual traditional shapes
• distinctive picture - easy to identify and put together

Dislikes:

• some pieces more susceptible to damage and bending

Jan Van Haasteren: Championships Football (1000 pieces)

I enjoyed this puzzle. It consists of four different shapes that fitted together well. The pieces were solid and the picture busy. The colours were vibrant and distinctive which made it easy/enjoyable to complete.

Great for beginners to 1000 pieces

Time: 8 hours, 30 minutes



Likes:

• Great variety of colour in the picture
• Solid puzzle pieces that connect well
• Good mix of piece shapes

Dislikes:

• None

3D Jigsaw Puzzles: Outback Australia (540 pieces)

Sick of traditional puzzles? Check out this 3D one consisting of three puzzles layered over each other. Great picture of Australian animals with traditional shaped pieces. Unique design with see-through pieces that inspire the annoyance usually experienced when completing puzzles with blue sky.

Time: 2 hours, 58 minutes






Layer 1 (the base) was the easiest because of the solid colours.








Layer 2 (middle) had a good mix of clear and solid colours.









Layer 3 (top) had the most clear pieces which presented some issues.

Likes:

• Unique design with 3 layers

Dislikes: 

• See-through pieces as tricky as blue sky
• Pieces don't always click together properly

Deluxe Jigsaw Puzzles: Duomo, Milan, Italy (1000 pieces)

I hate puzzles with sky. Sure, it's an extra challenge but it's also incredibly frustrating. I did not enjoy this puzzle and, I'm not going to lie, I did contemplate packing it up before it was finished. Several times... 

Time: 10 hours, 22 minutes



Likes: 

• Slight variation in standard puzzle shapes
• Well-formed pieces

Dislikes

• The picture (mostly because of the sky)
• Some puzzle pieces fitted too well in incorrect location

Deluxe Jigsaw Puzzles: Trevi Fountain (500 piece)

What is better than a puzzle? TEN puzzles!! And my dear friends, that is exactly what you get in this box. The first puzzle completed was a 500 piece picture of Trevi Fountain. Standardised shape pieces and known landmark meant this puzzle was completed fairly quickly.

Time: 2 hours, 55 minutes

Likes: Fit of the well-made pieces.

Dislikes: Only 500 pieces.

Puzzle 1: Mystery Wasgij 6 (1000 pieces)

I like Mystery Wasgijs. They are quirky, fun and more challenging than the run-of-the-mill jigsaw puzzles. For those who do not know, 'the picture on the box is not the picture in the puzzle. It is just a clue.'

Time: 8 hours, 13 minutes




Likes: 

• Unpredictable and unknown picture (more challenging compared to standard 'famous building/location' puzzles)
• Variation in the puzzle shapes. 

Dislikes:

• Quality of pieces and how they fitted together