Puzzles from the
I Quarter of 2020
April 19, 2020
Author: Jose Luis Ruiz
As you know, every quarter we tell you what puzzles we have obtained ... last quarter it was supremely productive with 53 puzzles (more than usual, hehe) and in this we have obtained 32. There are quite a few special puzzles and that Jimena wanted to incorporate to the collection. Without further delay I will show them to you.
I will start with the puzzles we bought, that in this quarter there were only 3. The first has been at Puzzlemania in January where we went for a puzzle event. As always, we saw all the shelves looking for novelties or special puzzles and Jimena finally found her Piatnik puzzle of the musical notes… a long time ago we came and saw it, but in the end she didn't take it home and then she regret it. We had come more times but she didn't found ... until today !!! So as soon as I saw it, I got it! And it was the last one !!!
In January we bought a 2000 piece map puzzle by Bluebird at Puzzle Locura , which now has a section of 2nd hand puzzles that they have made, and so we can test the brand and get an idea of its queality to share it with you.
I don't know why puzzlers have the need to accumulate more puzzles on their to-do pile, when they already have several waiting. At Amazon she saw a gradient puzzle that has a rounded shape and of course ... she had to buy it. We don't know what brand it is. I hope it has good quality!
This quarter we have only been able to participate in one contest since the majority were in March and were canceled by the coronavirus. We hope that once this crisis is over, they can be rescheduled.
On January 26, the Puzzlemania Puzzle Contest was held, with a couples test and an individual one. We participated in the morning couples test, where we did the 500-piece puzzle of the horse and when we came in 3rd place we were given two 1000 Ravensburger puzzles as a prize. Then, Jimena participated in the individual test, finishing second. Here you can see the contest puzzle, an Educa from Tutti Confetti and the puzzle she won.
In this quarter we have made an exchange with Susana of a Springbok puzzles, I have given her a Christmas one that I made during these holidays and she gave me one of popcorn, both of 1000 pieces, that I wanted to do long ago. On the Springbok website you can see their puzzles by difficulty and this popcorn appears in the challenge part! And we have exchanged one or 500 of Ravensburger Christmas puppies for Ramón.
At the beginning of March, several puzzlers (and friends) went to Pily's house for a walk in the mountains and a barbecue - puzzle afternoon. In addition to having a great day and puzzling a bit, we did a puzzle swap and I brought home four ... A crazy shapes Trefl, an umbrella Piatnik, the Pokemon Ravensburger Challenge and a circular Londji.
This quarter we have received many samples of several puzzle brands and we will gradually show which ones we got.
First I share these two puzzles from Gibson's, from the United Kingdom. We were very excited because it is a brand that we had not tried before and of which we had excellent references. Jimena had seen the Avocado puzzle, which looks difficult and for a couple of months she was looking for it. As we were told, the image quality is very good, the finish is matte (so your eyes don't get tired) and it has one of the thickest pieces on the market. Excellent!
Yes, although we received them in January ... Jimena has already done both puzzles!
Another of this quarte's surprises was being able to meet Karen and Steve, the two beautiful people behind Cloudberries. We were talking for a long time and it caught our attention that the puzzle that seemed most difficult to them from the models they had launched was Shells, I can tell you that it took Jimena a long time to do it and that she told me that yes .. that is quite difficult. And another of the samples that we have is ... Symmetry! It has been sold out since it was released and now we have been able get a copy. Colorful, geometric figures and one side that is a mirror of the other .... Come on, Jimena more than happy!
Another novelty we have received is the French puzzles by Michèle Wilson. They are hand-cut wooden puzzles, with pieces that highlight the images of the puzzle. The smallest is from the Cuzzle collection, which are tiny puzzles of 30 pieces. The second is an 80-piece puzzle with a tropical landscape by Alain Thomas that reminded Jimena of Amazonas. Here you can see the timelapse of this puzzle. Finally, we have a novelty this year and it is the iconic Chop Shuey by Edward Hopper.
Before continuing ... I think it's easy to see that Jimena is fascinated by puzzles with:
- Vivid colors
- Animal puzzles (more if they have dogs)
- Very difficult puzzles
Well the following have all of them!
The first is a puzzle from Eurographics, by artist Lucia Heffernan, whose collection is all about animals doing things that humans would do. The second is a Cobble Hill puzzle from the Rainbow collection, which is a collage by colors. It is from the artist Shelley Davies who has many puzzles of this brand.
To finish with the samples we have received... We have two 40-piece Wentworth puzzles. Tiny wooden puzzles with "whimsical pieces" related to the image. One of beautiful tigers and beach scenery. Ideal to carry in your backpack and to do in the spare time with a coffee, and disconnect from the day.
The following is a Dino puzzle, from the Secret collection, in which you must find 14 puppies hidden among the leaves of the tree, flower petals, etc. Then we have a map of London from the Helvetiq map that looks very complicated ... I'll tell you how it is.
To finish we have a puzzle of 1500 pieces from Anatolian with its sunken ship that reminds us of the one we saw in Malta when we were diving. In this one, maybe I will be encouraged and help Jimena.
And the last section, the gifts! I was waiting to show you the puzzles that the Three Kings brought to Jimena. A puzzle from the Ravensburger Challenge collection of Troopers and a 2000-piece Schmidt puzzle with various images from Disney movies that she had seen a while ago but were incredibly ... didn't buy it at the time.
Jimena was on leave for a few days and what was her surprise when she returned to work? One of her friends had a gift for her !!! A 2000 piece beer from Educa, which was one of the first we did during the days of quarantine. It helped her a lot to disconnect from the coronavirus that first week!
