This puzzle has a thin layer of cork on top of the cardboard. I certainly preferred this to the “wood-effect”, but it doesn’t age well. You can see some white dots on the puzzle where the cork layer has been worn away. I bought it used, so I don’t know how many times this has been completed, but the cork layer seems really fragile. Clementoni probably also decided that cork wasn’t a good idea, because I can’t remember seeing any other puzzles like this.