Abstract VI, Alex Beard

Liberty, 534 pieces. This one is unusual in that the human whimsies are almost all in two pieces, top and bottom.  The repeating colors/patterns also made this a difficult puzzle.  4/5

closeup on the figure halves

Going After 'Em

Unknown cutter, 486 pieces.  Really unusual and pretty cutting style, with nice colors and a good level of difficulty. One of the reminders of how good hand-cutting can be.  5/5

Princess Hyacinth, Alfonse Mucha

Liberty, 475 pieces. It's interesting to see a puzzlemaker evolve, but early work from a known quantity can also be illuminating. This is an earlier Liberty, and it shows in a lot of ways: the eagle hasn't achieved its now-standard form.  The whimsies have lots of small-toothed edges in a way that might have seemed like a way of demonstrating the potentials of laser cutting, but that I don't enjoy as much as the present style.  There are a few abstract shapes that I haven't seen again.  In general, this seems to have been designed so that the pieces would look as much like hand-cut as possible, while I would say that current Liberty puzzles have instead embraced the special affordances of laser cutting, to their benefit.  3/5

Some representative whimsies--the geometric shapes look more like they're imitating hand-cut

back view

Stem Cell, Bruce Riley

Artifact, 191 pieces.  Lots of dropouts make this puzzle harder than it looks, despite the apparently distinctive cellular whimsies.  3/5

Hills of San Francisco, Linnea Pergola

577 pieces, Liberty.  A nice Liberty--a lot going on visually and some good interacting whimsies.  After these photos were taken, I rolled over a piece in my chair and messed it up some; trying to secure a replacement.  4/5

This Grateful Dead bear is the best whimsy I have seen in a while

Hot air balloon

Autumn Forest

350 pieces, Snowflake. Now this is more like it!  Beautiful colors with enough gradual change to make it a fun challenge, as well as distinctions between the image and the reflection that reveal themselves on close inspection.  4/5

Empty Beer Bottles

350, Snowflake Puzzles. Another nice hand-cut puzzle; I misjudged the balance between difficulty and visual interest on the picture, though--this was plenty hard but didn't have enough color to be really fun for me.  3/5

Then I forgot to take a picture of the results...

Czar Saltan's Tale

128 pieces, Puzzlemonk.  A tricky one, with some uncertainty about where the edges are and a repeating pattern like Ms. Pac-Man dots.  4/5

Autumn Golden Fleece

Galles Jig-Saw Picture Puzzle, 350 pieces.  Vintage puzzle, cutter new to me. Very tight in the way of vintage puzzles; one piece had a missing arm.  Good colors and some tricky places, including corners that weren't obviously corners.  3/5

Welcome in Venice

431 pieces, Mr. Gogo Puzzles.  It's a pleasure to see a puzzle cutter evolve over time--this maker has been increasingly willing to add flourishes, such as the highly involved borders here, which even include similar shapes in the body of the puzzle--not quite whimsies, but not conventionally shaped either.  5/5 or maybe graduating to the Stave scale.

Why upside down, Google?

A Secret Place

501 pieces, Liberty.  Good standard Liberty with large chunks of similar color, especially at the bottom.  3/5

Egon Schiele, View of Krumau

Liberty, 508 pieces.  A nicely tricky Liberty, with some apparently muddy but then ultimately distinguishable colors as the puzzle progressed.  Um, I started to take it apart then realized I hadn't taken a finished picture, so that last picture is a bit odd.  Also, I assembled it upside down. 4/5

Chesapeake Bay

308 pieces, Optimago.  A smaller puzzle made harder by the limited color range. It's nice to see a US-specific Optimago.  3/5

Karla Gerard, Lively Landscape

221 pieces, Artifact.  A new Artifact, and a bunch harder than it seemed at the start.  Vines/fences separating the animal/people whimsies from each other worked really well--see the picture at the bottom.  4/5

Easier to see the pattern upside down