About my ratings

Perhaps because of my day job, I'm a tough rater. Everything 3/5 and above I consider worth the time and money. If I purchase on Etsy or a similar platform and the puzzle is as expected, I will give a top rating on the platform because of how seller ratings work, but here "as expected" is probably a 3/5 in most cases.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

The Magic of Fluids, Thom Spencer

188 pieces, Jigsaw Art.  This one had some really cool tricks with color changes across piece lines--hard to call it color line cutting, but still a real challenge.  5/5



bonus: jigsaw ice cubes, quickly melting

Colorful Fractal, Thom Spencer

192 pieces. Another fun one!  4/5



Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Marc Chagall, Moi et le village

LeColimaçon, 379 pieces.  I did learn something about Chagall's art doing this, the way it's put together in blocks of color turning into different figures.  But it's still push-fit (with partially interlocking borders).



Bubbles, Thom Spencer

Jigsaw Art, 162 pieces.  Another good one.  4/5



Friday, September 22, 2017

LeColimaçon, Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh, Bateaux de pecheurs, 488 pieces.  Every once in a while I think "that puzzle looks so cool, I will try it though it's push-fit."  I am wrong and need to be reminded of this.



Blue Asteroids, Jigsaw Art/Thom Spencer

232 pieces.  Fun and challenging; nice piece shapes.  4/5




Thursday, September 21, 2017

Purple Flower

Woodmorningshop (on Etsy), about 150 pieces.  Interesting shape; matte finish makes for a different puzzling experience.  4/5



Untitled, Jigsaw Art

Thom Spencer, 68 pieces. Nicely difficult!  5/5



Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Lilac wood puzzle

Unknown cutter, 26 pieces.  Nice piece of wood; slight diversion. 2.5/5


Jules Grun, The Dinner Party

600 pieces, Optimago.  The usual Optimago strengths--subtle colors that only reveal the picture once it's assembled.  3/5



Monday, September 18, 2017

Unpainted puzzles

214, 225, 288 pieces, LeColimaçon.  French puzzles (via Etsy)--the lack of painting means that it's all about the shape of the pieces, which I enjoy.  The puzzles are thin plywood, more like Wentworth than the thicker hand-cut pieces I'm more used to, but I enjoyed the challenge.  My daughter may paint one or two of them ultimately.  5/5
starting out




people shapes in the large one










Histoire Naturelle (Papillons)

608 pieces, Liberty.  An unusual partly color-line cut Liberty, so lots of butterfly shapes!  5/5


Thursday, September 14, 2017

Tree puzzle, WoodTwoArt

58 pieces--trying something a bit different.  The pieces were a little rough-edged for my taste, but it was still an interesting difference.  2.5/5