National Video Game Day
I really enjoy playing video games, but as someone who generally likes to multitask, gaming isn’t usually my go-to hobby these days. So in preparation for National Video Game Day (September 12), I did what any good puzzler would do: I put together video game–themed puzzles!
I started with the classics, thanks to the Video Games Collection in 1000 pieces from New York Puzzle Company. This puzzle features several older consoles from the 70s and 80s, including the Magnavox Odyssey 2, Atari 2600, and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
In atypical fashion for me, I didn’t really sort much up front, but instead dumped the pieces onto sorting trays to spread them out and see better. I pulled out pieces that belonged to the consoles and the games I recognized, like Mario and other NES games (the NES was my first console–thank you Fisher Price Firehouse Rescue, Tetris, and the 7-Up Spot game!). Then I pulled all the text that said Atari and started putting everything into place. The Atari games had a sort of ribbed side, and the NES games were a lighter gray, so it wasn’t too difficult to finish those up. Then it was a matter of filling in, and thankfully there was a slight gradient in the background yellow to help!
From there I moved into the 1990s, with the 1000-piece puzzle Staying Up All Night from Mchezo. It’s been a while since I’ve done a puzzle from this brand, and I really love their thick matte pieces and that it comes with a resealable bag and poster. The puzzle also easily passes the pickup test.
This artwork by Rachid Loft is such an amazing treasure hunt of 90s goodness! From the N64 games like Super Mario and Goldeneye, to anime like Dragon Ball Z and Sailor moon, to movies like Star Wars and Terminator 2, there were so many fun references to find! I admit I have been putting off doing this puzzle because it looked quite dark, but it turns out that different areas of the puzzles have a sort of color wash to them, so the area with the window was a bit more blue, the hands were more pink, and other areas were green and red. There was also a different texture to the hands, so after I did all the smaller things that called to me, I could focus on one color at a time. It ended up being a lot of fun!
The Happiest Kid in the World Puzzle
After finishing up that wonderful 90s puzzle, I thought, why not move later into the decade with The Happiest Kid in the World Puzzle? This puzzle is also 1000 pieces from Mchezo with art by Rachid Loft, and there were so many more amazing references! It’s no surprise that I started off by building the Banjo Tooie image and the Zelda posters and game on the TV, as Banjo Kazooie and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time were the first games I played to
After finishing up those iconic (to me) images and taking on the blinds, I ended up sifting through the box to see what stood out. Fortunately the posters on the wall looked different than the games on the shelf which looked different than the boxes piled at the bottom. This puzzle was much brighter than the last and went quite quickly. Again, it was so much fun to spot all the little details.
Mchezo also has a 60s-inspired puzzle called Dawn of Video Games, which features the classic game Pong, as well as Pinball Invasion, which I covered in my arcade-themed blog post.
Next I took on Gamer's Trove in 1000 pieces from Springbok. This puzzle also features a wide variety of consoles, from the NES, SNES, and N64 to the Sega Genesis and Atari. I liked that many of the details in this puzzle were just slightly larger than in the previous puzzles, so it was a little easier to pull the pieces of Yoshi, for example, or of a particular game cartridge. Even though I’m generally a sorter when I puzzle, it’s interesting that I ended up doing so many different puzzles for this post by just sifting through pieces in the box or trays! It seems to work well for these busy puzzles that are harder to sort up front.
Star Wars Video Game Cover Collage
Another puzzle I’ve had in my to-do pile for a while is Star Wars Video Game Cover Collage, which is 1000 pieces from Buffalo Games. This puzzle features the box art of a variety of Star Wars video games through the years. I remember playing Super Star Wars on SNES and watching my brother play the Tie Fighter games (I was never very good at those!). I still enjoy watching my husband play video games that aren’t quite my style. He put a few pieces in this puzzle as well, as he recognized some of the characters from the games I didn’t know! I ended up sifting through the box for this puzzle too.
Lastly, I decided to take a break from all those busy 1000-piece puzzles with Pokemon Beach Day in 100 pieces from Buffalo Games. What a delightful little puzzle! Although I never really played the original Pokemon games, I did watch some of the show in the late 90s and have played some spin off Pokemon puzzle game. Puzzle Warehouse has quite a few Pokemon puzzles to choose from in a variety of styles and pieces counts.
In addition to Pokemon, there are plenty of puzzles that feature specific games and fandoms, including Tetris Levels in 750 from Ceaco. There’s also plenty of Mario, Zelda, Minecraft, and PacMan puzzles and many others in Puzzle Warehouse’s video games category. Remember you can change the view to out of stock and add some to your wishlist for later!
Have you done any video-game themed puzzles? What games do you wish they would feature in puzzles? (Banjo Kazooie for me!)
- Gail, @jiggies_and_gems
Love how excited your pooch was about these puzzles - ha! Very fun blog.
This. blog site never ceases to amaze me as to the number and variety of puzzles that have been or are curentlly available, keep them coming.
