Heye’s “Cartoon Classics” line reissues some of their best loved cartoon puzzles from the 70’s-90’s. This delightful image from famous French cartoonist Jean-Jacques Loup is a breeze to put together. The large balloons and the buildings in the image go together quickly. There are a myriad of cute and funny characters in the scene, each with unique clothing and expressions that help you figure out what piece goes where. Heye is a German brand with overall excellent quality. Highly recommended... CONTINUE READING
My last post for our travel-themed week is a look at the top ten travel-themed puzzles currently available on Puzzle Warehouse. First a question. What constitutes a 'travel-themed' puzzle? It's a large category that has vague edges. For example, is a train puzzle a travel puzzle? Hmm. You could argue the point, but a train puzzle... CONTINUE READING
Publisher: MasterPieces (US), published 2016 Title: “Safe Travels” by Aimee Stewart, 1000 pieces Finished size: 26.75" x 19.25" OUR RATING: 8.25/10 TRAVEL WEEK: Since I just got back from vacation, it seemed like a good time to tackle travel themed puzzles (say that three times!). I'll be reviewing two puzzles this week and sharing some of my favorite... CONTINUE READING
Publisher: MasterPieces (US), published 2016 Title: “Safe Travels” by Aimee Stewart, 1000 pieces Finished size: 26.75" x 19.25" OUR RATING: 8.25/10 TRAVEL WEEK: Since I just got back from vacation, it seemed like a good time to tackle travel themed puzzles (say that three times!). I'll be reviewing two puzzles this week and sharing some of my favorite... CONTINUE READING
This week, for the dog days of summer, Jigsaw Junkies is featuring shaped puzzles. This week we had a review of "Autumn Squirrel" by Mary Thompson and "Abundant Garden" by Aimee Stewart. Today I'm going to share a top ten list with my favorite picks of Puzzle Warehouse's selection of shaped puzzles. (As usual, I couldn't... CONTINUE READING
This is a gorgeous and fun-to-assemble shaped puzzle from Sunsout. The garden is filled with vibrant flowers, colorful birds, cute animals, and other surprises to discover as you assemble it. I really loved the soft art style, which feels airbrushed. The image is full without feeling crowded and there's no real 'background color', dead space, or dark areas. Assembly is of moderate difficulty but everything has a unique color or texture, so if you reference the box lid, you can always tell where a piece goes. The Sunsout quality is excellent with thick, sturdy pieces and a wonderful random cut. I particularly liked the unusual, fan-shaped border, which was a nice change from rectangular puzzles. Highly recommend... CONTINUE READING
I loved shaped puzzles and fall-themed puzzles, so this puzzle was extra fun to assemble. The image has lots of fall leaves, both large and small. It really puts me in the mood for crisp autumn days! The Sunsout quality is excellent with thick, sturdy pieces and a wonderful random cut and hangs together really well. The overall difficulty is moderate. Most of the puzzle is easy, despite the shaped border, but all the squirrel fur gives the puzzle a little more challenge at the end. Highly recommended... CONTINUE READING
Above: Colin Wroblewski (left) and Sean Minton (right) of White Mountain Puzzles WHITE MOUNTAIN WEEK: This week on the blog we’re featuring White Mountain puzzles. There’s a terrific sale on White Mountain at Puzzle Warehouse all month (30% off!). We featured two White Mountain reviews this week ("Tapestry Cat" and "Perennials"). I was also fortunate to get... CONTINUE READING
White Mountain's "Perennials" is a gorgeous puzzle that's super fun to assemble. The image has some educational value in that it shows the names of the various perennial flowers. I particularly enjoyed the vibrant colors and how different textures made flowers easy to identify even when they had the same colors as other flowers. The main body of the scene is so packed full of unique flowers that there's very little left-over green background to do in the end, making the puzzle very enjoyable all the way through. The White Mountain quality is good with larger pieces and a random cut. The final puzzle has a flat, smooth finish that allows you to see the art rather than the jigsaw cut. The finish is glossy, so there is some glare under bright lights. Highly recommended.. CONTINUE READING
