Micro Puzzles: Brand Introduction

I was so excited to hear that not only was Puzzle Warehouse going to start carrying Micro Puzzles, but I was also asked to write a blog about the brand. I truly love their niche - 150-piece, incredibly vibrant mini puzzles created by talented artists whose artwork I find incredibly appealing.  

I always joke that if I could invent a minimizer that would shrink my puzzles down so I could have more shelf space, I’d be rich, so you can imagine my joy in discovering a brand whose puzzles come in test tubes that are super easy to store! I can store 24 in the space that one typical puzzle would fit in and their size when completed is only 4” x 6”, making it perfect for puzzling in tight spaces.  

This fact makes them ideal if you, like me travel often and want to take your puzzling passion with you. Here’s a picture of me completing one on an airplane. The gentleman in the seat next to me was flabbergasted, stating he’d never seen someone be able to puzzle on a fold down tray before! I typically keep one in my computer bag, ready to go, at all times.

Yes, they can travel with you!

Some of you may be worried that you wouldn’t be able to work a puzzle with pieces this small. Honestly, I was too when I tried my first one, as I wear glasses when puzzling. However, the colors make the pieces pop and they are also easy to handle – no need for tweezers at all – and I find I’m like most people, who typically finish them in 1-2 hours.

The other reason I was thrilled to write this blog is I have met the owners, Michael Sturba and Rachel Duguay, and they are special people. They are friendly and very generous. They’ve not only donated many puzzles to my Puzzle Group of Central Florida group I’m a member of, but they also donate a portion of their profits each month to a different charity. They originally started their company out of their apartment (one of the benefits of making puzzles with a small footprint), but they quickly outgrew that and now they have a warehouse, which is only 15 minutes away from my home. I’ve had the privilege of visiting them there and meeting “Brian in Shipping” who is described as “part unpaid intern, part scapegoat and part family pet.” 

Now, you may be sitting there thinking, “Well of course Lisa is going to give Micro Puzzles a good review. They are practically neighbors!” But, I promise, as an avid puzzler, I would not plug a sub-par brand. Their pieces may be small, but they are not thin. Puzzle dust is non-existent. And while I’ve accidentally placed a piece in the wrong place, I can tell by feel it’s not quite right the minute I do so, therefore no false fits. I also love that if you’re working two at a time on your board, the backings are different colors, meaning you’ll never wonder which piece belongs to which puzzle.

Different color back side of puzzles

To celebrate the fact that Puzzle Warehouse is now carrying their brand, Micro Puzzles created two puzzles - Puzzle Warehouse: Skyline and Puzzle Warehouse: Puzzle Path – for sale exclusively on Puzzle Warehouse. I must admit, at first glance, I was hesitant about doing Puzzle Warehouse: Skyline, thinking it would be hard to do, as it’s not as colorful as most of Micro Puzzles’ images. But it turned out to have a gradient quality to it that made it the quickest of any Micro Puzzles’ builds I’ve ever done – a happy surprise!  

Puzzle Warehouse: Skyline

I was more excited initially about completing Puzzle Warehouse: Puzzle Path, as I loved the colors. And yet, it turned out that this was the more challenging of the two with the blend of colors in the puzzle boxes on the shelves. While it took me much longer to complete, I did enjoy being put to the test and it was a stunner when assembled.

Puzzle Warehouse: Puzzle Path

For all of you who are traveling over the holidays, you may want to put one of the many holiday puzzles Micro Puzzles offers in your suitcase when you go to visit the relatives! I’d be hard-pressed to tell you which is my favorite out of the three I completed for this blog. If you read my Holiday Traditions blog, you know I love snowmen, so I was very attracted to the image in Here Comes Santa. The sky made me apprehensive at first, but it turned out the snowflakes are, like the real thing, all slightly unique, making it easy to spot what goes where.

Here Comes Santa

Reindeer Games was next up on my board and it made me chuckle (or is that ho-ho-ho?). The fact that each background was a diverse color made it easy to assemble, which would make it ideal to go in a younger puzzler’s stocking (and how cool is it that a puzzle CAN fit in a stocking?).

Reindeer Games

The last one Santa brought me on his sleigh was Nordic Holiday. This one was especially appealing to me, with my love of bright colors. The patterns on this puzzle also ensured a quick build for me, making it just right to complete in between the myriad of “to dos” that the holidays bring.

Nordic Holiday

Let’s make the jump from holiday elves to Gnome Homes, one of my favorite non-holiday designs they offer. While Micro Puzzles has several holiday designs - Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Birthday, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day – they also offer puzzles in categories such as animals & pets, travel, food and nature. Speaking of which, wouldn’t you love to get caught outside in a rain storm like the one pictured here in Rainbow Rain? At first blush, this one looks like it would put a dampener on a fast build, but as the colors run in strips, tracking what connects in each line is a breeze.

Gnome Homes

Rainbow Rain

In closing, I think you’ll find these little Micro Puzzles are a big deal and I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I do!   

 – Lisa@lisalovespuzzles