Jigsaw puzzles have a way of working a bit of magic into your day.
From the moment you open the box and start looking for edge pieces, you can feel the tension of the day start to fade away. Puzzles have a way of connecting people, as both young and old can work on a puzzle at the same time. The conversations during puzzle setting are fun, enjoyable, and relaxing. Puzzles make us s-l-o-w down from our otherwise hectic, busy lives. Put down the smartphones, turn off the TV, put on some background music and talk to each other. And, setting puzzles is actually good for your brain! There’s a lot of joy in finishing a puzzle – especially if you’re the person who gets to place the last piece.
Our family enjoys setting puzzles together. Our favorite types of puzzles are the non-standard puzzles, with Photomosaics being our most favorite. We love a good challenge, so the harder the puzzle, the more enjoyable it is.
Here are some of the puzzles we’ve enjoyed. I hope you find them enjoyable as well! Oh, and make sure to see my puzzle setting tips at the bottom of this article.
I only write about things I have or love – and I’m sharing them with you because maybe you’ll love them, too. The links in this post may contain affiliate links. I’ll receive a small commission (at no expense to you) if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.
Photomosaics Puzzles
The Photomosaics puzzles by Buffalo Games have been our favorite puzzles over the years. These puzzles aren’t like your ordinary puzzles that are a photograph or image that’s simply been die cut – instead, the final image in a photomosaic is actually made up of thousands of miniature photographs. Each puzzle piece contains tiny unique images on them. They are very challenging and that’s what makes them more fun than an ordinary puzzle. The image below shows a blow-up of the pieces so you can see the small photos within them.
Puzzle Details: 1,026 pieces, 20-1/4″ x 28-1/2″ finished size
Here are some of our favorite Photomosaics puzzles that we’ve enjoyed. Click the images for more information about that puzzle, or to purchase.
TIP: Make sure to have a magnifying glass ready when you work on one of these puzzles. 😉
World Landmarks 360
This puzzle has the coolest graphics! It shows world landmarks in a 360-degree view. Everything from the Eiffel tower, the Pyramids of Giza, Mount Rushmore and more are featured in this puzzle. With 2,000 pieces, this is a fun and challenging puzzle!
Puzzle Details: 2,000 pieces, 38-1/2″ x 26-1/2″ finished size
Houseplant Collection
This Houseplant Jungle Puzzle just makes me smile. If you follow my blog, you know I have a passion for plants. When I spotted this puzzle, I knew my family would appreciate it as well. We haven’t worked on this puzzle yet, but I am looking forward to it.
Puzzle Details: 1,000 pieces, 20″ x 27″ finished size
Times Square New Year’s Eve
We first set this Times Square New Year’s Eve puzzle on New Year’s Eve several years ago, while watching a New Year’s Eve program taking place at Times Square. It sort of made us feel like we were part of the action going on there, as millions of people gathered to watch the New Year’s Ball drop. There is so much to look at in this image, with lots of fine detail, it is very challenging to complete. This puzzle has become a tradition for us now on New Year’s Eve. Give it a try!
Puzzle Details: 2,000 pieces, 38-1/2″ x 26-1/2″ finished size
Fireworks Symphony
The Fireworks Symphony puzzle is perfect for Fourth of July celebrations. If you like fireworks – this is definitely a puzzle you’ll want to try. It’s challenging and enjoyable. We like to take this puzzle out every Independence Day and see if we can assemble it faster year after year.
Puzzle Details: 1,500 pieces, 33″ x 23″ finished size
Milky Way, Explore the Stars
This Milky Way puzzle was made using a high-resolution photo of the Milky Way galaxy taken from the NASA Hubble Telescope. This is a very difficult puzzle to complete! The colors blend, the image ebbs and flows, there are no “hard edges” within the image, so it’s hard to focus on a specific spot and put it together. We ended up relying on shapes of the die cut pieces, with lots of trial and error fitting to complete this one. If you look at the close-up photo of this puzzle, you’ll see what I mean about it being difficult. If you’re up for the challenge, let us know how long it took you to complete this puzzle!
Puzzle Details: 1,000 pieces, 27-1/2″ x 19-3/4″ finished size
Puzzle Setting Tips
Everyone has their own style when it comes to setting jigsaw puzzles. Some people start with the hard edges of the puzzle and work their way into the center; others start fitting pieces together by color, pattern, or design. Here are some of the tips we use when setting puzzles.
- Dedicated Space – It’s best to set puzzles in a space you can dedicate to the puzzle for however long you plan on working on it. If you have a portable card table, that can work very well for puzzles. Setting a puzzle on a board that is slightly larger than your puzzle is another alternative. You can place the board on your kitchen center island or dining room table when you’re working on the puzzle, and then lift the board off and store it somewhere when you need the table space back.
- Good lighting – We have a variety of lights in our house… from “warm and comforting” to “Geez, turn off the landing lights!” bright. Our favorite light to build puzzles by is natural daylight. But if your space or timing doesn’t allow that, make sure to have a well lit area to work. Overhead ceiling or dining room lights are okay, but you may cast shadows onto the puzzle. Having one or two floor lamps or task lights can help illuminate your puzzle area without causing glare or dark spots. While you’re at it, have a magnifying lens handy if you’re working on puzzles with small, intricate patterns!
- Trays for Pieces – Years ago when our kids were small, we bought large white injection molded trays for them to use when working on art and science projects. Over the years, we’ve used these trays for many different things – and they have seen a lot of use. Nowadays, we are using these trays to hold puzzle pieces when we set a puzzle. They work great! We separate the pieces into the three large trays and can then move them (or stack them) as needed. The trays hold the pieces during the time we set the puzzle, so the pieces never get lost. While I can’t find the same kinds of trays we have now, I did find something similar – just click Bakery Display Trays to see the trays, and give them a try.
- Edge Pieces – Starting with the edge pieces can really help you get started with a puzzle – especially if you’re new to setting puzzles. Sort through all the puzzle pieces in the box, and pick out and lay the edge pieces on the table. When you’ve found all the edge pieces, it’s time to start assembling them. Putting the edges together first helps you define the shape and size of the puzzle and gives you something to work off of right away. TIP: When you’ve finished a puzzle and it’s time to take it apart, you might want to store all the edge pieces in a separate zip-top bag – that way, the next person who sets the puzzle will have all the edge pieces already sorted for them.
- Sort By Shape – I know this might sound crazy, but I like to sort the puzzle pieces by shape. I put all the pieces with a similar shape together in one of our trays – with the pieces oriented the way the puzzle goes together. I make columns and rows of similar pieces. When you’re setting the puzzle, you can usually figure out what shape goes where, so having all the same shaped pieces together makes it easier to look through just those pieces for the piece you’re looking for. This works great when a puzzle is die cut with pieces that are mostly rectangular and have long cut edges that line up, like the image below.
However, some puzzles are made using very odd shaped cutting dies – the pieces end up being very weird shapes – sometimes every piece is a unique shape, making it a real challenge! My “sort by shape” method doesn’t work very well for those odd-ball puzzles. - Build sub-assemblies – It’s called “Divide and Conquer”. Sometimes, each of us start working on a specific pattern or portion of an image within the bigger picture. Easily identifiable colors and patterns make building up these portions relatively quick. Then, when several sub-assemblies are completed to a point, they can be placed into the puzzle in the right spot and joined together.
Additional Tips for Puzzles
- Share Your Puzzles – If you have friends and family who also enjoy putting puzzles together, make sure to share and swap! This is a economical way to set more puzzles without having to buy them for yourself.
- Look for Used Puzzles – Thrift stores and yard sales are excellent sources for finding used and older puzzles. I know it’s hard to tell if all the pieces are there, but since used puzzles are so inexpensive, it’s worth the risk. And, if the puzzle company is still in business, you can always contact them to see if they can send you the missing piece(s) – they often do.
A Few More Favorites Just for Fun
When I was a kid, I thought I hated jigsaw puzzles. All of those little finicky pieces, the frustration of trying to figure out how they fit together, the sheer tedium of it all. But as an adult, I gave them another try and recently discovered I actually love puzzles.
You did a great job thanks for sharing this nice article.