Mandala, TurtleTeasers

TurtleTeasers are very nice introductory wooden puzzles--smaller ones are quite reasonably priced, and the intricate cut makes them worthwhile at slightly smaller piece counts than I usually bother with.  But I did a couple of big ones recently, starting with this 601-piece mandala:

The pieces are smaller than a dime, and the repeating patterns in the mandala made for a real challenge. 5/5

Stave, Garden Angel

647 pieces.  This is the hardest Stave traditional I've done in a while, due to the internal lines that made it very hard to figure out what went where, not to mention lots of similar colors.  10/10.  (I judge Stave on a different scale because it's so far beyond a 5/5 experience.)

Beginning the puzzle

Mr Gogo Puzzles, 24 Hours

210 pieces. Very clear color separation makes this puzzle relatively easy, but it's got the solid hand feel of a real hand-cut puzzle, so that moves it up in my estimation. 3/5

Before assembly

Full puzzle

Armcher, Spring Glory

This is a wooden puzzle with classic interlocking pieces, no whimsies; the difficulty comes only from the picture and the fact that many of the pieces are hard to distinguish. In earlier years, I probably would have liked this more because it's hard, but these days I'm looking for more than just hard. That said, if you want something that is a challenge to put together, this is a cheap wooden puzzle. 2/5.

Primavera, Liberty

512 pieces.  Some very nice floral whimsies, and then each figure had a floral wheel in it, which was cute. 4/5.

Floral whimsies



The full spread

Complete

Wolf by Sue Coccia, LIberty

420 pieces.  Sue Coccia's designs are fun because of the complicated colors and embedded animal images.  This one has a nice interacting whimsy with a crow and a skull:

Upside down for some reason; sorry

Crow/cow skull interacting whimsies, plus a nice fish whimsy from the center of a fish image.  4/5

CreateJigsawPuzzles.com, Van Gogh

In wooden jigsaw puzzles more than in many other areas, you get what you pay for.  I ordered this puzzle (you can pick your own image as long as it has sufficient resolution; thanks, Wikipedia!) because of the temptation of 931 pieces for a comparatively low price.  This is thin wood, though the pieces are big enough that there's no particular reason to be concerned about parts breaking off unless you try.  It just doesn't provide the haptic pleasure of a thicker puzzle.  The laser cutting is loose--think Artifact, not Liberty--and a few pieces arrived not fully cut but separated easily.


The biggest challenge, interacting with the image I chose, was that the cut pattern repeats, making for some very difficult judgment calls and redos, though in the end I believe I got it done.  If you're the type of puzzler I am, this is the best reason to order.  That, and the ability to get a really big puzzle with the picture of your choice.  3/5

Full puzzle