Victory Wooden Puzzle Review
Probably one of my favorite songs is Your Song by Elton John, although the Ewan McGregor and the Aaron Tveit version take the number 1 and number 2 spot for me (don’t came at me- I know it’s hard to best the sir Elton John!). Do we have any Moulin Rouge fans? I know that movie can be a bit polarizing: but there’s just something about Ewan McGregor singing about my green or blue eyes (actually, they’re brown Ewan, they’re brown!!), that gets me all weak in the knees. And if you have the chance to go see the musical, I highly suggest you don’t pass it up!
Today, we are going to dive into everything Victory Wooden puzzles. This is one of the newest brands to grace Puzzle Warehouse, and I am so happy it’s here! An incredibly high-quality wooden puzzle brand, I think this is one you will not want to miss. My fellow ambassador Emilee wrote Victory Puzzles: Reviving a 100 Year Old Puzzle Brand- and you should definitely give this blog a read if you haven’t had the chance yet. It goes into great detail about the company itself, from it’s start back in the early 1920s, to its revival about 100 years later.
My Victory Pile
If Emilee’s blog is all about the history of Victory Puzzles, today is going to be all about the intricacies of the puzzles themselves. In total, I had the privilege of piecing together seven puzzles from this brand, and I just have so much to say (any surprises there? I tend to be windy and loquacious even at the best of times)! But I really didn’t want this to be an overwhelming blog. So, as I was singing along with Ewan yet again, it hit me. Victory puzzles are just like diamonds. From the heirloom like quality, to the precision laser cut, Victory Puzzles are the best friend every puzzler should have!
CUT
I knew immediately that the main focus I wanted this blog to revolve around was the cut of the puzzles. You can see out of the seven I did, not one of them is similar when it comes to the cut of the pieces, and I think this variety really showcases how extraordinary this brand is. With cardboard puzzles, most of the time the die cut is the same across a specific brand, we just don’t really realize it because the image is so different. The same thing often applies to wooden puzzles across the same brand too. I forgive this because wooden puzzles are a treat in and of themselves. However, to find a wooden puzzle company where each puzzle feels like a completely different experience is really an exceptionally rare quality to have.
I started with La Chablisienne, and I absolutely loved the diagonal line work of this puzzle. It made me feel like I was piecing together a modern day herringbone pattern. Described as an ‘art deco pattern befitting the 20s era from when the art was created’ - it is such a thoughtful design from start to finish. I particularly loved the two-piece corners in this puzzle
The next two puzzles I did have the most similar images, being from the same artist, Lucy Grossman (whose artwork I just fall more deeply in love with the more I see it), but were still completely different experiences! Midsummer Night’s Dream had a beautiful and flowy, slightly chaotic cut pattern, that reminded me of how snow might swirl around in wind. Beach Huts had one of my favorite cut patterns - a very square pattern with unique knobby squiggly interlocks. The simplicity of this piece cut should not be underestimated- it was surprisingly difficult, and really made this puzzle shine!
Home on the Range was a new experience for me! It was my first wooden puzzle that was cut using a line cut pattern, and was a complete delight! A line cut puzzle means that the cut pattern will generally follow the shapes, objects or colors in the actual image. For this puzzle- it was cut into four fairly distinct regions. A super cool detail - that buffalo could actually be its own stand alone puzzle! Also, because the cut follows generalized regions- the piece shapes were even more unusual, and there were times when I was really thrown at how the pieces fit together!
From their vintage poster line, Torquay has this wavy, bubbly, but slightly angular cut pieces. There was just something about this cut that was so pleasing to piece together!
Starry Night Whimsies
Ok. The first wooden puzzle to best me. I was unable to pull the whimsies out of this puzzle and piece it together without them! Believe me - I tried! I spent one night just shuffling pieces around the board before I gave up and decided I needed to put it together normally. So all the whimsies went back into the piece pile, and I still struggled! Any Starry Night puzzle is challenging, but add in this crazy curly-q loopy cut, and it made this puzzle an incredible challenge- one I was deeply impressed with!
Ribbit Pieces
Last but certainly not least, my first tessellated wooden puzzle. This frog puzzle has only two puzzle piece shapes. And each of those two piece shapes are exactly the same, meaning these pieces can fit together with any other piece, regardless of whether it is correctly placed. This play on the ultimate false fit made this puzzle one of the most unique experiences I’ve had with a wooden puzzle. I didn’t find it too challenging, but boy, was it a blast to put together!
CLARITY/COLOR
The artwork featured on Victory puzzles is chosen so well. From contemporary artwork from artists like Lucy Grossmith and Lisa Graa Jensen, to classic artwork from Vincent Van Gogh, to vintage posters and even tessellated modern art, there’s going to be something for just about anyone. I think the puzzles that I did really run the gamut of what Victory has to offer, and between the wide range of images, I enjoyed each one of them.
Contemporary Artwork:
Classic Artwork:
Modern Tessellation artwork:
The image is printed directly on the Linden wood (not MDF particle board- a huge upgrade), and this always makes for the best experience with wooden puzzles, in my opinion. The colors are so bright and clear, the image is crisp, and you will have no problems with peeling of any of your pieces.
And let’s get into the whimsies. Whimsies are probably my favorite part of wooden puzzles. Whimsies are recognizably shaped pieces, that usually go with the theme of the puzzle. The whimsies in these puzzles are really quite amazing. First - the whimsies have accent cuts on the back that really help them stand out, and I love little details like that. Second, there are many multi-piece whimsies that are made up of two or sometimes even three pieces. The only puzzle to not have whimsy pieces is the tessellated cut puzzle- and that’s to be expected! Although, you could really call each frog piece its own whimsy!
CARAT
Part of my job each and every day is to assess a body condition score on each patient I see. A 5/9 is ideal, and anything above that is starting to become too overweight. A few years ago, a circulated picture made the rounds through various vet groups - the chonk chart for overweight cats! I think we need to make a chonk chart for wooden puzzle pieces- but in this case, the chonkier the better! And Victory puzzle piece thickness comes in at a hefty 5mm thick! This gives a nice weight to the pieces, and makes them feel incredibly sturdy and durable.
Like diamonds, Victory puzzles are also laser cut- which allows for precisely shaped pieces that fit together nicely. It also allows for some really small and delicate points to pieces, connectors for pieces, and details on pieces- like the accent cuts on the whimsy pieces. Victory puzzles also have two main features in many of their puzzles. One of them is their V-Knob Connectors featured in many of their puzzles. The second is the Victory hand whimsy piece, also featured in all but their tessellated puzzles.
Last, but certainly not least on the chonky chart, Victory Puzzles have really nice, thick, durable puzzle boxes. Referred to as the ‘Gold Box’ packaging, these boxes are going to house your pieces well for years to come. The box is big enough to comfortably fit your pieces, and they close via a magnetic closure. Wooden puzzles really shouldn’t be stored in ordinary plastic bags- and I really like that Victory puzzle boxes come with branded thick vellum like paper to help store your pieces safely.
If you’re still with me, thank you for taking the time to peruse this long, but hopefully informative blog! I’d like to end by saying that I have always thought of wooden puzzles as an investment. They are definitely not at the same price point as your general cardboard puzzles, but much like diamonds, these wooden puzzles can last forever, and be passed down from generation to generation if you so choose. Exceptional quality aside, I also think that the artwork chosen and the stylized cut will also stand the test of time!
And just for fun: some of my favorite things in these gorgeous puzzles!
I was just tickled that the background globe in La Chablisienne features a whimsy in the shape of France with Chablis marked in its corresponding region. It’s small, thoughtful details such as this that really make a puzzle stand out in the best way possible!
Some of my favorite whimsies were found in Starry Night - I loved the two part skull, and I also loved the three part whimsy of the picture frame, background, and Van Gogh.
Probably one of my favorite wooden puzzles to date, I thought I would choose some of my favorite frogs for you - that pink and black frog - she’s gorgeous, but I bet in real life it would be a femme fatale (I think her theme song would be Doja Cat Paint the Town Red)!
I mentioned that Lucy Grossmith is fast becoming one of my favorite artists, and the detail in her artwork is a huge reason why! I just love the blue, purple, yellow and pink confetti like dots that are thrown in throughout this puzzle - it makes for a whimsical and beautiful detail!
Until next time my jigsaw junkies, happy puzzling!
Amanda @600hoursofpuzzle
Oh my goodness! The words gave a great adventure and of course, knowledge of which to buy first, just by your writing. Then to look at each puzzle and to agree with you in regard to the cut of each. So happy to see the independent cut return. Also agree with Ribbit to be my first. Have always loved wood designs. Thank you so much for the info on Victory puzzles.
What a great addition to Puzzle Warehouse's lineup! I love the variety in their cuts too. Thanks for all the details!
