Here are some puzzles I had finished over the years and what I think of them in no particular order. I didn't include the level of difficulty for each puzzle as I think that depends on the person but these definitely aren't for younger children as the pieces are rather too small.
Artist: Thomas Kinkade
Brand: Schmidt
Pieces: 1000
Packaging: Cardboard box shrink-wrapped with puzzle pieces in sealed plastic bag
Puzzle Dust: minimum
Thoughts: I think Schmidt's brand have one of the best quality puzzle pieces I've ever encountered though they are pretty expensive. This particular Tangled puzzle is a bit difficult to do as there are so many similar pieces but the artwork is great. I especially like the puzzle pieces are kind of matted so it didn't have shine to them. This is definitely one of my favorite artwork but I love all things Tangled. (If you like this artwork but want to spend less, Ceaco have a version of this same puzzle.)
Artist: Thomas Kinkade
Brand: Ceaco
Pieces: 750
Packaging: Cardboard box shrink-wrapped and puzzle pieces in sealed plastic bag with a poster
Puzzle Dust: minimum
Thoughts: The puzzle pieces are perhaps a little too thin and kind of lightweight but still sturdy enough to handle. The pieces are loose fitting so lifting a section of them will fall apart which isn't a big deal. Image quality is quite good, even the poster is good. Ceaco is a cheaper brand compared to most and the quality is not as good but they have more varieties in terms of art, lots of Disney artworks that aren't available in other brands.
Artist: Alex Krugli
Brand: BetterCo.
Pieces: 1000
Packaging: Cardboard box shrink-wrapped with puzzle pieces in sealed plastic bag and a poster
Puzzle Dust: minimum
Thoughts: BetterCo. have the nicest boxes I've seen so far - sturdy, white, nicely designed. The puzzle pieces are good quality with shapes all similar with no odd shapes which I thought was kind of boring. The surface of the puzzle pieces has a nice finish, not too shiny. Image quality is great.
Artist: Boya Sun
Brand: Magic Puzzle Company Store
Pieces: 1000 pieces
Packaging: Cardboard box shrink-wrapped, puzzles pieces are inside 2 paper envelopes with 2 posters of the same art
Puzzle Dust: On the box it said 'No puzzle dust!' but that's not quite true, there is some puzzle dust but not enough to fuss over
Thoughts: I did sort of didn't like that there are edge pieces that aren't edge pieces but that's because the puzzle is designed for a purpose which I won't spoil for you. There are easter eggs with a list a of things to find but I honestly didn't care for that. The puzzle pieces are well-made and the picture quality is super and of course the pieces are odd-shaped because of easter eggs but I really like odd-shape pieces.
Artist: Rita Berman
Brand: Heye
Pieces: 2000
Packaging: Long, triangular cardboard box shrink-wrapped with puzzle pieces in sealed plastic bag and a poster
Puzzle Dust: minimum
Thoughts: I don't know why they chose to have the box so long and big with lots of empty spaces because it was damaged/bent and I'm sure it wasn't because of shipping because when you have a box almost half of it is air, of course it would get bend and I can't use the box to store the puzzle because it's large and cumbersome so I ended up cutting it apart and turning it into a smaller box.
The puzzles pieces were colorful and thick with no odd shapes and the pieces are a bit of a loose fit. If you try to move even three pieces together, they'll just fall apart which is nothing to fuss over. The picture quality is great and the art is quite fun and cute although it really looked like chaos as a whole but closeup, you see a lot of fun things going on. They included a poster which is necessary as the art on the box is bended and cropped and in no way useable as a reference. Overall, a good puzzle but I wouldn't buy another with larger-than-necessary box.
Artist: Demelsa Haughton
Brand: Ravensburger
Pieces: 1000
Packaging: Cardboard box shrink-wrapped with puzzle pieces in sealed plastic bag
Puzzle Dust: minimum but somehow it kept coming off if you redo the puzzle several times
Thoughts: The puzzle pieces are good and sturdy with no odd-shaped pieces. Picture quality is great. Demelsa Haughton's artwork is wonderfully detailed and quirky which I like a lot. Ravensburger is considered one of the best puzzle brands but I can't stand their puzzle dust being blue because the back of the puzzle pieces are blue. When I redo a Ravensburger puzzle, the blue dust comes off each and every time. Sometimes they seemed a bit too clingy to whatever surface it is on. I usually do my puzzles on tables or cardboard or paper surfaces so that shouldn't affect the puzzle but I don't know. I just don't like the blue dust so I don't usually buy this brand unless I really like the artwork.
Artist: Olga/MGL
Brand: Buffalo Games
Pieces: 2000
Packaging: Cardboard box with the puzzle pieces loose inside box, included a poster. The box is glued shut at the sides so opening it is a bit a of a challenge and it does cause the boxes to rip on the sides but that's the only down side for having a plastic-free packaging. And the box sizes are very economical which I like.
Puzzle Dust: minimum
Thoughts: The puzzle pieces are sturdy and the picture quality is great. The pieces fit nicely - not too tight and not too loose. I like this art a lot but I still don't know what the two dogs are doing in the middle.
I would say Buffalo Games is quite a good brand with reasonable prices. If I would to compare this brand to Ravensburger or Schmidt, I would say they are almost equal in terms of quality with Buffalo only slightly inferior.
Artist: Marie Grand-Pré
Brand: New York Puzzle Company
Pieces: 1000
Packaging: Cardboard box shrink-wrapped with puzzle pieces in sealed plastic bag
Puzzle Dust: minimum
Thoughts: Picture quality is great and the puzzle pieces are thick and sturdy. I like that they have odd-shaped pieces. This Harry Potter Flying Keys puzzle is such a good challenge and a wonderful artwork. I must note that New York Puzzle Company puzzles are a bit inconsistant in quality as there are puzzles that have pieces fitting a bit too tight or too loose and some are still struck together but I think those are the older puzzles, the newer ones are better quality.
Artist: Various
Brand: Cobble HIll
Pieces: 1000
Packaging: Cardboard box shrink-wrapped with puzzle pieces in sealed plastic bag with a poster which looked like something someone printed it out on their home printer but at least it's useful
Puzzle Dust: minimum
Thoughts: The picture quality and puzzle pieces are pretty good. There are odd-shaped pieces which I liked. But the box is too large. I tried to get the economical size version but I couldn't find it and it seemed there is a third version with a slightly different packaging design.
Artist: Malin Gyllensvaan
Brand: eeBoo
Pieces: 1000
Packaging: Cardboard box sealed by four clear stickers on each side with puzzle pieces in sealed plastic bag which is made from recyclable material plus a print of the artwork
Puzzle Dust: minimum
Thoughts: The puzzle pieces fit loose so if you have done a section of them, you can't move them without falling apart which is a small issue. The pieces surfaces are a bit too shiny for me but the smoothness is good. The picture quality is great. The box is rather too large to fit a 1000 pieces puzzle and probably would have been better to reduce the size of the box as they are all about recycling. If this was a 2000 piece puzzle, the larger box would make more sense.
Artist: Ilya Milstein
Brand: Laurence King
Pieces: 1000
Packaging: Cardboard box shrink-wrapped with puzzle pieces in sealed paper bag plus a print of the image with the list of objects you could search for after you have finished the puzzle.
Puzzle Dust: minimum
Thoughts: This is a good quality puzzle. There are no odd-shaped pieces but they are nice and had a smooth surface that I really liked. Even though the pieces fit a bit loose, they seemed to be cut in a way that they fit perfectly together so I don't mind this. Overall, a good quality puzzle. But I do wish the artwork was less symmetrical as this resulted in pieces that looking too similar.
Are you into jigsaw puzzles?
Good work!
ReplyDeleteChristine: I did enjoy all these puzzles.
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These all look like fun and challenging puzzles to do! I know so many people who just adore doing jigsaw puzzles. I'm not into them myself simply because I don't have the patience to piece them together, but I admire people who do! My parents (especially my father) loved doing jigsaw puzzles in retirement -- they really helped pass the time in an interesting way. So I bought as many good ones for them as I could find -- man, they're not cheap, are they? But well worth it as an entertainment investment.
ReplyDeleteDebra She Who Seeks: Jigsaw puzzles are not cheap and if they are, they are not that high quality. I do find doing jigsaw puzzles a soothing exercise although I now do them less and less.
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I admire your patience. They are not for me. One of my brothers is a serious addict. He bought me one that I didn't even attempt. It had the same picture on both front and back - rotated by ninety degrees.
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child: That puzzle with the picture front and back sounds like a difficult puzzle. I wouldn't do that one.
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Interesting that Kinkade did those two. I don't do a lot of puzzles but I do love fantasy art and it would be fun to put those together. The brothers Hildebrandt would be good also. I really like the Agatha Christie as well.
ReplyDeleteGreg: Actually Kinkade did a lot of Disney paintings and there are a lot of puzzles with his artworks. That Christie puzzle is fun, it has all the items from her books.
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I love puzzles! The shop I work at has a bunch of really unique ones; including one of portraits of Andy Warhol that I think is pretty cool.
ReplyDeletepaperbackprincess: I did notice a Warhol Marylin Monroe puzzle a while back. So many artists' work are on puzzles.
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