Category: Dortmund

New Exit Puzzles

puzzler19093 Comments

I did a couple of Ravensburger Exit/Escape puzzles. On the right, there is Midnight in the Garden, where the backstory is, that you are a vampire looking for a symbol that will guarantee everlasting love and only appears once in a hundred years. I was hoping there would be a bit more colour in the finished image, but it was as dark as the box image. You can have a peek here, if you want to.

On the left is Apocalyptic City, where you are the first person to leave the bunker where you have grown up, to discover if it’s safe. A supercomputer apparently told humanity to go under ground, but now it’s supposed to be safe again. You can see the finished image here.

La Provence, 2024-05-23

puzzler1909Leave a comment

Calypto was a new brand for me, a French one, and the puzzles are manufactured in France. It started out well, a grid cut with a good mix of piece shapes, and the cut is nice. The pieces have a waxy finish. There is also a poster that is as big as the finished puzzle. On the box image, the clouds in the sky are different from the puzzle, but poster and puzzle are the same.

I’m sure you can see where this went wrong – there are seven pieces missing.

La Provence, Calypto, 500 pieces. Completed on May 25, 2024.

There were also two pieces with doubles:

This is not a good look for a new brand, I’m afraid.

Seaside Beauty, 2024-05-04

puzzler1909Leave a comment

Sometimes I enjoy a traditional landscape, and since this was more sea and stones and less vegetation, I really liked this. I got it from a charity shop in Dortmund, where almost all puzzles seem to have missing pieces. This was no exception, but there was also one piece with a double, so maybe this time, it was more Ravensburger’s than the previous owner’s fault.

Seaside Beauty, Ravensburger, 1000 pieces. Completed on May 4, 2024.

Blockbuster Movies of the 60’s, 2024-05-02

puzzler1909Leave a comment

Movie poster collages always make for enjoyable puzzles, and this was no exception! I have actually seen most of the movies in the image, there are only about five that I haven’t seen or am unsure about. I could have done without the popcorn and other movie paraphernalia in the image, but it was still a really nice puzzle.

Blockbuster Movies of the 60’s, Master Pieces, 1000 pieces. Completed on May 2, 2024.

Scarves, 2024-05-22

puzzler19091 Comment

I seem to have taken some weeks off blogging, but I have been puzzling, at least a bit. Before I get into those puzzles, I thought I’d show you this untitled puzzle from the Borussia Dortmund fanshop that I finished today. Unfortunately, all of the pieces had the same basic shape, and the cut was not good, so that I had a lot of false fits. I’m usually not a fan of posters, but this time I really needed it, and every piece had to be carefully checked against the image to make sure it really belonged. There was no indication on the box who actually made this puzzle.

Untitled, Borussia Dortmund, 1000 pieces. Completed om May 22, 2024.

Borussia Dortmund wrapped up the domestic season (that was almost as infuriating as this puzzle) in fifth place last Saturday, but amazingly, in the Champions League, Dortmund has managed to reach the final, to be played at Wembley (London) on June 1, against Real Madrid. It’s only the third time in the club’s history that they’ve reached the final. I won’t be in London, but I did manage to be at the home legs of both semi- and quarterfinal, and those were some amazing games.

Oh, I almost forgot: this is post number 1000 on the blog!

Frog Business, 2024-04-24

puzzler1909Leave a comment

Colourful frog collage of frogs. The frogs I know from Finland are all the same dark green colour, but these certainly made for a more entertaining puzzle.

Frog Business by Lori Anzalone, Cobble Hill, 1000 pieces. Completed on April 24, 2024.

Jurassic Habitat, 2024-04-22

puzzler1909Leave a comment

Another puzzle from my favourite series, Funky Zoo by Marino Degano. I only have three more of these, and there will ne no new one this year, so I’m making them last.

Jurassic Habitat by Marino Degano, Heye, 1000 pieces. Completed on April 22, 2024.

Some rabbits want to usher in a new era (Dinos out – Mammals in):

The dinos also seems aware that they’re in danger:

Some of the recurring characters are here again, like the cleaning lady, and the mother who drops her child:

Mysterious Atlantis, 2024-04-19

puzzler1909Leave a comment

A fantasy map, with a few actual places (Rapa Nui, Thebes), some place names that are almost real (like Africus, Europas) as well as complete fantasy places (like Atlantis, Valhalla). This was actually more challenging than I was expecting, and I’m not sure it was a good idea to start with edges, given the border, but for some reason, I did. I spent quite a lot of time looking at the box with this one.

Mysterious Atlantis, Ravensburger, 1000 pieces. Completed on April 19, 2024.