Tag: puzzle challenges

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World Landmarks Map (Repeat)

World Landmarks Map is a 300-piece puzzle from Ravensburger. I had bought it a couple of years ago for a puzzle challenge and recently did it again for another puzzle challenge!

The prompt for this challenge was something that reminds you of high school. I wasn’t sure if I had any puzzles with school related items but when I saw this one on my shelf, I had to do it. During my senior year of high school, I took a geography class as one of my electives. Even though the class was mostly full of freshmen and sophomores, I loved it. It was so satisfying to fill in the maps with all the different countries and other geographical items.

Part of the challenge includes an item to add to the photograph of the finished puzzle, and I chose to use my senior high school yearbook. I flipped through and couldn’t believe that my picture had been cut out of it; I have absolutely no memory of doing that and can’t imagine the reason why!

This was a nice, easy puzzle and would be good for kids or families. The quality of the brand is excellent, although they are known for having a lot of blue puzzle dust in their bags.

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Two More Repeats for a Puzzle Challenge

I redid two more puzzles for a challenge I am doing in a Facebook group I belong to. These were the last two clues for the event, so this one is done now.

Clue #9 was an umbrella, so I redid Town Park, which is a 300-piece puzzle from Ceaco. It was illustrated by Olivia Gibbs and features patio umbrellas above the tables outside one of the shops.

Clue #10 was bathtub. For that one, I redid The Alchemist’s Home, which is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeBoo. The artist is Vasilisa Romanenko. Ironically, I had done a different puzzle with a house cross section that included a bathtub just before the ten-week challenge and had thought about holding onto it just in case, but then I decided to take it apart.

I really enjoyed this puzzle challenge and am looking forward to the next one!

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Holiday Postcards

Holiday Postcards is a 1000-piece puzzle from Trefl. I purchased this one for a challenge that is taking place in a Facebook group I belong to which has a weekly clue. This week’s clue was postcard, and this puzzle fit that perfectly.

This was my first time doing this brand, and I was very pleased with it. The fit was a bit loose, so it took a minute for me to get used to and make sure I was getting the right piece in the right place, but once I got used to it, things were fine.

The image is a really good one for a puzzle. There were a lot of different colors and textures, and I finished it faster than I thought I would. I would definitely be open to getting more from this brand.

Bonus puzzle: Last week’s clue was ladder, and someone in the group mentioned a puzzle that had a barely noticeable ladder. I had actually done that puzzle before and still had it, so I redid it for the challenge. It is called Northern Lights, and it is a 500-piece Nancy Wernersbach from Ravensburger.

Can you find the ladder?

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Joyful Aviary

Joyful Aviary is a 300-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Olivia Gibbs. This image is a bit different than what I have seen before from her, but I liked all the colorful birds and had been wanting some lower piece counts to mix in with my other puzzles.

I actually ended up doing this for the puzzle challenge I am currently participating in. The challenge has a new clue every week for 10 weeks. For the first four weeks, there was just one clue, but on week 5, the mystery split into two paths with different clues for each path. Once you picked a path, you had to follow that path and its clues through the rest of the challenge.

For week 5, I had a choice of snow/mountains or desert/marketplace. I chose snow and that’s why I did the Charles Wysocki puzzle Hickory Haven Canal. For week 6, the clue for my team was tropical bird, and the other team had bridge. This puzzle fit the tropical bird theme and then some!

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Hickory Haven Canal

Hickory Haven Canal is a 1000-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games, and the artist is Charles Wysocki. This one was a Christmas present from my son. 😊

If you do puzzles for any length of time, you will most certainly come across Charles Wysocki and his Americana/folk art scenes. I am drawn to them partly because of my love of buildings, which are very common in his images, but I also just like the general feel of them.

Sometimes they have large areas of one color, like a green meadow or a field of crops, and for those I tend to prefer a smaller piece count so they won’t be super hard. Even though this image has a lot of snow, there is enough going on all over the puzzle that it was not too hard to do as a 1000-piece.

All that to say this was a very enjoyable puzzle, and I’m very happy that Michael got it for me.

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Two Repeats for a Puzzle Challenge

The clues for weeks 2 and 3 of the puzzle challenge I am doing on Facebook were barnyard animals and musical instruments. I was able to redo puzzles from my shelves for both of them.

Farm Life is a 300-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Olivia Gibbs. This one fit the clue for barnyard animals with its cows and chickens.

Koala House Party is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeBoo, and the artist is Uta Krogmann. This one is a house cross section with a music room containing several different instruments.

I enjoyed redoing both of these and am looking forward to the next prompt tomorrow!

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Japan Map Puzzle

Japan Map Puzzle is a 500-piece puzzle from Hardie Grant Travel. A new puzzle challenge started a few days ago in a Facebook group I belong to, and it has a new prompt each week. The first prompt was castle. On a quick glance through my stash, I couldn’t find a puzzle that had a castle, so I made a trip to Community Aid to see what was available.

I was so happy to find this adorable puzzle with a map of Japan that featured Osaka Castle. I had never heard of this company, but I was impressed with the quality of the puzzle. The pieces were on the thinner size, but they fit together well and there were very few completely solid pink pieces.

I enjoyed putting together the map portion, and I also loved all the little images of Japanese things. The “beckoning cat” is so cute, and the Harajuku crepes look yummy!