Month: July 2024

Magic Moment, 2024-07-22

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I had almost given up hope of finding this puzzle. I occasionally do stock takes of all my puzzles based on my database, and a few years ago I noticed that this puzzle was missing. I searched for it both in Helsinki and in Dortmund, and now I finally found it – it had slipped behind some other puzzles on a shelf.

The puzzle was produced in 2014, and interestingly, it’s not the same type of fit or finish that Schmidt puzzles have now. The fit was looser, and the finish shinier than current Schmidt puzzles, in fact, it reminded me of Heye. I did know that Schmidt has changed, but I thought it was more than 10 years ago. Anyway, the puzzle was fun, if a little more difficult than I was expecting.

Magic Moment by Ciro Marchetti, Schmidt, 500 pieces. Completed on July 22, 2024.

Our Special Place in Venice, In Progress

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In Dortmund, I’m working on a 3000 piece Castorland puzzle. There were two bags, and i didn’t mix them, so it’s really more like two 1500-piece puzzles. I finished the left half on my last trip. The pieces are really small, the finished puzzle will be the same size as a Castorland 2K puzzle. I don’t mind small pieces in smaller puzzles, but with a large piece count, it gets a bit tedious.

The Typewriter, 2024-07-13

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Despite the dark and muted colours, this was a really nice puzzle. In a larger piece count, the image would have been too difficult. At the end, I had about 50 all black pieces, and also about 30 black edge pieces, but with great quality pieces and a good mix of piece shapes that wasn’t much of a problem. I did the black edge pieces last.

The Typewriter, Clementoni, 500 pieces. Completed on July 13, 2024.

Encanto, 2024-07-13

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This image is apparently from a Disney movie called Encanto. I haven’t seen it, but it still made for a very entertaining puzzle. I could have done with a bit less green vegetation, but overall still a great puzzle.

Encanto, Ravensburger, 1000 pieces. Completed on July 13, 2024.

Breakfast with a View, 2024-07-10

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I loved this! From the box, I was afraid that the image would be too dark, but it was just right, and the kind of puzzle that had the same level of difficulty from start to finish. I’ve said it before, but Schmidt puzzles really are fantastic quality now (about 20 years ago, they were hit and miss, but now they are reliably excellent).

Breakfast with a View, Schmidt, 1000 pieces. Completed on July 10, 2024

London, Piccadilly Circus, 2024-07-07

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This is another puzzle from the Cities of the of the World series. I enjoyed this a lot more than the last one I did, because there were some easy bits to get you started, like the billboard and the buses. When I did the previous puzzle (Amsterdam) I noticed that there was a small difference between the box image and the finished puzzle, but I didn’t think much of it. The first puzzle in this series that I did was Rio de Janeiro, and I don’t remember noticing any differences. Anyway, this time, I actually looked at the info sheet in the box, and turns out, these are mystery puzzles of a sort. There’s a backstory about a couple that like to travel (and puzzle), and they’re present in every puzzle and have some mishap. The difference between box and finished puzzle is minimal. It took me three puzzles to even notice that this is a type of mystery puzzle 🤣🤣

London, Piccadilly Circus by Frans Le Roux, Ravensburger, 1000 pieces. Completed on July 7, 2024.

Beach Summer Fun, 2024-07-05

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This was fun, although a bit more difficult than I was expecting, at least partly because of the random cut. It was still great fun!

Beach Summer Fun, Eurographics, 1000 pieces. Completed on July 5, 2024.

I did this for the August bonus challenge in my Puzzle Challenge FB group. The challenge was:

Cocktail Lover’s Jigsaw Puzzle, 2024-06-30

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This looks like a puzzle that I would love, but it didn’t quite make it. The brand – Ridley’s – is new to me. The pieces are thick and sturdy, and they have a paper backing. Unfortunately, most of the pieces have the basic shape, except for 14 pieces in the same column. Not quite what I mean when I say a like a good mix of piece shapes. Also, the fit wasn’t great. It wasn’t terrible, either, but I would think long and hard before buying another one of these.

Cocktail Lover’s Jigsaw Puzzle, Ridley’s Jigsaw Puzzles, 500 pieces. Completed on June 30, 2024.

The box was tube shaped (which I don’t like), but I did love the request to “please puzzle responsibly” 🙂