Finished. This was my first Bluebird Puzzle, and overall my impressions are positive. The brand is based in France, and this puzzle was produced in Turkey. The pieces were much smaller than usual, this 3000 piece puzzle is the same size as a 2000-piece Ravensburger or Heye. There was a good mix of piece shapes, and I don’t think the two-tabs-opposite type was even a majority. The fit was also good (pieces only fit where they belong), but tighter than with Ravensburger or Heye. I enjoyed it, there was this satisfying little sound when I pressed a piece into place, but some probably prefer a looser fit. It did come apart pretty easily.

I wasn’t 100% happy with the image (more on that below), but especially with the low price (less than 20 EUR), it was well worth it. Oh, and the box is no bigger than it needs to be to hold the pieces – I always love that 🙂

I like the book-birds (butterflies?)

Gardening with starlight and a knight.

Love the ice bear, but not happy with the mirror-image titles in the background.

This house was my favourite mini-image.

So, there were a couple of things with the image I wasn’t happy with. The same books appeared multiple times, and some of the time the books in the background were seen as through a mirror. I presume this is due to sloppy photoshopping.

There’s been some discussion in the Jigsaw Puzzle Enthusiasts FB group lately about increased use of  Photoshop (or equivalent software), and not everyone is happy about it. It’s been pointed out that there are suddenly a lot of Parisian street scenes from Ravensburger, with only small differences. Sometimes the exact same elements are repeated. Personally, I thought I didn’t have a problem with this until now, but I think I now have to revise my position a bit. There were some horrible examples in the group, including a flower that ends abruptly (not by Ravensburger).

I still think it’s fine as long as it is done well (it is in the Ravensburger puzzles), and it’s not too noticeable. Based on this experience, I think it becomes noticeable to me when text is repeated, which is why I didn’t like having the same books in the background. Obviously, it’s cheaper to do a small section of background and then just repeat that than making a larger, more varied background, but clearly, this can go too far. I would love to hear what you think!