I do wooden jigsaw puzzles and take pictures of them.
Wentworth, 280 pieces. Extra-difficult cut, which made this challenging despite strong color differences across the image--it was often very hard to figure out where exactly along a piece of tape a piece of the puzzle should go. If I were doing it again, I'd probably start by building the donut tape first, since there's more variation there than almost anywhere else, and placing pieces to each side in relation to it. 3/5
Waterford, 1023 pieces. This is probably slightly too large for my maximum enjoyment--it's just hard to keep track of all the pieces!--but it's a very nice puzzle with bright colors that can eventually be grouped, although repeated patches of the same color are often scattered throughout the image. Many sunflower whimsies along the edge and a couple of two-piece garden-type whimsies. Lots of false internal edges, which amazingly didn't come apart when I picked it up to flip it. Back a little rougher than I expect from Waterford--did it miss a sanding?--but exactly the kind of thing that a rental club is for. 7/10
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| one of many false edges and a table whimsy |
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| kitties! |
Dreamton, 400 pieces. Lots of cat whimsies here, fun for the cat lover. The back is dark purple but my spouse used some filter magic to get an ok image of the back so you can see the prevalence. Came with a delightful bonus 50 piece puzzle and matching mug! 3/5
bonus puzzle:
Main puzzle:
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| many cat whimsies on the left |
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| very purple back |
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| somewhat more visible version of back so you can see the whimsies a bit better |
Dreamton, 500 pieces. This is a huge puzzle (XL size), with piece sizes much larger than other Dreamton puzzles; the website says it turns into a 20x30 inch puzzle; I didn't measure but that seems right. I like the geometric cut; this would be a good way to try the cut style if you prefer large-cut pieces. 3/5
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| initial distribution took up most of my big puzzle table |
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| hand for comparison |
Dreamton, 400 pieces. The angular cut works well to increase the difficulty of this puzzle, with its varied colors and perspective. 3/5
Nautilus, 281 pieces. Nice landscape with lots of rosiness in the sky and earth tones in the foreground that eventually reveal enough variation to guide assembly. 3/5
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| little mini-Southwest scene: cactus, sun, clouds |
Penelope, 600 pieces. Had this one in the to-do stack for a while! There's a lot of white around the edges that makes for a lot of trial and error. It's the classic Penelope style that I enjoy, super rounded with a lot of dips that create a rhythm in the puzzle (no whimsies). 4/5
