Puzzle Palooza 2026 Recap: The Best Palooza Yet!!!

If you have been to Puzzle Palooza before, you probably noticed something different this year. Yes, there were exciting competitions. Yes, there was a lot of shopping and puzzle deals. But more than anything, Puzzle Palooza 2026 felt like a true celebration of the puzzle community. Throughout the weekend, countless amount of puzzlers came up to me and shared how much they enjoyed the weekend.  Over two days, over 1700 puzzlers traveled from across the country to compete, shop, meet friends they had previously only known online, discover new brands, and spend an entire weekend surrounded by people who love puzzles just as much as they do.

It was bigger, louder, busier, and honestly… the best Puzzle Palooza yet.

More Than Just Competitions

The competitions may have brought everyone together, but they were only part of the weekend. Throughout the warehouse, shoppers filled carts with puzzles, compared wish lists, worked on a 3000 piece MasterPieces puzzle and searched for hidden gems. Some attendees left with just a few puzzles, while others needed giant stacks, multiple carts, and extra boxes to get everything home.

One of our favorite parts of the weekend was watching people walk through the Puzzle Warehouse distribution center for the very first time. Seeing thousands upon thousands of puzzles in one place never gets old - even for us! Whether visitors came with carefully planned shopping lists or simply wandered the aisles to see what caught their attention, there were plenty of incredible puzzle hauls leaving the warehouse throughout the weekend.

A Weekend Full of Competition

The heart of Puzzle Palooza has always been the competitions, and this year they delivered some of the most exciting moments we've seen yet. From first-time competitors nervously placing their first pieces to seasoned speed puzzlers battling for podium finishes, every event brought its own energy and excitement. If you are wanting to see all the competition puzzles, you can do so all on one page. 

Saturday Competition

One of the biggest changes this year was introducing two qualifying heats for the Individual Championship. Each heat featured a different 500-piece puzzle, allowing even more puzzlers to compete while creating an exciting race to earn a spot in Sunday's Individual Finals. It was incredible to watch competitors of all experience levels challenge themselves, cheer each other on, and celebrate personal bests along the way. Saturday kicked off with the Individual Championship before teams of four gathered for the always exciting 1,000-piece Team Competition. Throughout the day, the competition area was filled with spectators watching puzzles come together piece by piece while volunteers kept everything running smoothly behind the scenes.

The evening wrapped up with one of the most entertaining events of the weekend, our Sabotage Charity Competition. Teams weren't just racing to finish their puzzles; they also had to survive surprise sabotages purchased by both competitors and spectators. Whether it was solving a mini challenge, wearing gloves, swapping tables, or losing the box image, the room was filled with laughter from start to finish. The sabotage puzzle was Picnic Raiders by Buffalo Games

Sunday Competition

The excitement continued Sunday with the Pairs Championship, followed by the lightning-fast 550-piece Team Competition. The weekend concluded with the Individual Finals, where the top competitors from each qualifying heat returned to compete for the Puzzle Palooza Individual Champion title.

What makes Puzzle Palooza special isn't just the race to the finish—it's the atmosphere. Competitors celebrated each other's successes, applauded every completed puzzle, and encouraged newcomers throughout the weekend. Whether someone finished first or simply completed their first competition puzzle, every accomplishment was celebrated.

Congratulations to Our 2026 Champions!

Congratulations to all of our competitors and a special congratulations to this year's champions!

While only one team or individual could take home the top prize in each event, every competitor contributed to the incredible atmosphere that makes Puzzle Palooza so special. Whether someone was racing for a championship or simply hoping to finish their first competition puzzle, every accomplishment was celebrated. View complete results for every competition here.

Vendor Row Was a Huge Hit

One of the biggest additions to Puzzle Palooza this year was our sponsor and vendor area. Instead of simply seeing the logos of their favorite puzzle companies, attendees had the opportunity to meet many of the people behind the brands, ask questions, browse products, and learn more about what makes each company unique.

The conversations happening throughout Vendor Row were some of the highlights of the weekend. Puzzlers were able to talk directly with brands, share their favorite puzzles and artists, offer feedback, and discover new companies to add to their wish lists. It was also wonderful for our vendors and sponsors to see the puzzle community in action. They were able to watch competitors use their puzzles, meet dedicated collectors, and witness the excitement that surrounds Puzzle Palooza firsthand. Vendor Row was a huge hit, and we are already thinking about how we can make the brand experience even better in the future.

Puzzling for a Good Cause

One of the most memorable events of the weekend was our Sabotage Charity Competition. Teams worked to complete their puzzles while other competitors and audience members purchased sabotages to slow them down. Depending on the sabotage, teams may have had to wear gloves, freeze one of their players, complete an additional challenge, swap tables, or temporarily puzzle without the box image.

Between competition entries, sabotage purchases, and a donation from Puzzle Warehouse, we raised $1,500 for Home Sweet Home St. Louis. Home Sweet Home St. Louis is a local nonprofit organization that helps families transition out of homelessness by providing furniture and essential household items. The money raised during Puzzle Palooza will help furnish a home for a family of four. Watching everyone laugh, strategize, and willingly sabotage their friends while supporting an incredible organization was easily one of the most entertaining and meaningful moments of the weekend.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Puzzle Palooza would not be possible without the incredible support of our sponsors and puzzle brand partners.

Thank you to everyone who provided competition puzzles, donated prizes and raffle items, joined us in Vendor Row, offered special shopping deals, and helped make the weekend possible. We are grateful to work with so many companies that believe in the puzzle community and want to help create opportunities for puzzlers to gather, compete, and connect.

What's Next?

As much as we'd love to relive Puzzle Palooza 2026 all over again, and let's be real, take a vacation from all the planning and excitement from this year, we're already looking ahead to what's next! Before you know it, we'll be gathering again for Winter Wonderland, our annual winter puzzle event held the Saturday before Thanksgiving. If you've never experienced it before, it's the perfect way to kick off the holiday season with puzzles, shopping, and plenty of fun.

And yes... we're already planning Puzzle Palooza 2027! Mark your calendars for July 16–18, 2027. That's right. We're planning our first-ever three-day Puzzle Palooza?!?  While we're still working through the details, we're excited about the possibilities that an extra day brings. More competitions,  more opportunities to connect with puzzle brands, and even more time to spend with the amazing puzzle community.

We're already brainstorming new ideas and reading through all of the wonderful feedback you've shared. Every Puzzle Palooza teaches us something new, and we're excited to continue growing this event alongside the incredible community that makes it so special.

Thank You for Making This the Best Palooza Yet

To everyone who traveled from across the country, volunteered their time, sponsored an event, competed, shopped, cheered from the sidelines, or simply stopped by to experience Puzzle Palooza, thank you. You are the reason Puzzle Palooza has grown into such a special weekend.

We loved seeing longtime friends reunite, online friendships become real-life friendships, first-time competitors discover speed puzzling, and visitors experience the Puzzle Warehouse distribution center for the first time. Thank you for making Puzzle Palooza 2026 our biggest and best event yet. We cannot wait to do it all again.

Save the date for Puzzle Palooza 2027: July 17–19, 2027!