The Victory of Alexander the Great by Albrecht Altdorfer – Pomegranate – 1000 pieces
This puzzle was an unopened thrift store find. Who in the world would give away a Pomegranate unopened? I guess I shouldn’t judge, you never know the circumstances. I’m thrilled we were able to find a brand new puzzle for $1.99 though.
The image is not one I would choose for a puzzle, but cheapskates can’t always be choosy. 😁 I considered starting this puzzle at least 5 times before I actually jumped in and went for it. I would pick it up, open the box, look at all the pieces, and eventually decide I wasn’t in the mood for that much of a challenge. I’m not sure why I decided it was time now, but I don’t always know what in the world is going on in my slightly off-kilter brain.
The top of the puzzle was the easy part, and it didn’t take me too long. The sky wasn’t overly difficult, in fact I was surprised how easy it seemed. The bottom half of the puzzle, oh my. There is so much detail! Numerous horses, soldiers, flags, spears and tents – it boggles the mind! It was so dark and busy that it took much longer than normal. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t the most fun either. I was pretty proud when I finished, and still am. It definitely gave me $1.99 worth of puzzle enjoyment!
This was a bit challenging for a kid’s puzzle, but I liked that. If they’re all too easy it becomes boring to assemble puzzles, and I think puzzles are great for training your brain. We should keep kid’s interested in puzzles!
This puzzle was of excellent quality with very thick pieces that fit together well. The background with all the roadway was a little tough but not too much. I enjoyed assembling this puzzle even though it was only 100 pieces, after all the kid’s puzzles we had put together that day this one was a nice change from the super easy ones.
Pressman Toys seems to have wonderful quality puzzles for kids. They’re definitely recommended. 👍
Winter Aspen by Henry Holdsworth – MasterPieces (World’s Smallest) – 1000 piecesThis is as far as I got 😦
Winter Aspen is a “world’s smallest” puzzle with VERY small pieces that comes in a collectible tin. The finished puzzle is 16.5 x 11.7 inches (42 x 30 cm) which is quite small for 1000 pieces. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this puzzle for the average puzzler, as you can see I didn’t finish it. 😦
I’ve done quite a few MasterPieces puzzles lately, and I haven’t had a problem with the quality. They have an excellent catalog, the quality is quite good and they are very reasonably priced. Many of their puzzles are a random cut which gives a great variety in piece shapes, and they fit together very well. Even though this puzzle didn’t float my boat I don’t have a problem with MasterPieces; I think they’re great quality at a great price.
I guess everyone who reviews a product has to deal with their first bad review. You must be tactful, but truthful and let people know specifically what the problems you found were. With puzzles, so much of the like or dislike of an image or puzzle itself can be subjective; I may not care for photographic puzzles, but many people do. Therefore, I must put aside my own personal preference as much as I can and review it, keeping in mind that the review should take into account what others may like or be looking for in a puzzle.
I find it hard to separate my feelings here, this puzzle was maddeningly frustrating and tedious for me. The image would make for an extremely challenging averaged size puzzle, but when you add in the small pieces it really ramps up the difficulty level in my opinion. For someone in their late 40’s or older as I am, it was a difficult puzzle to work with, irregardless of the image. The pieces are so small it was sometimes difficult to hold them, and it’s even more challenging to see the detail to compare shade and colors.
I can’t speak for everyone my age, but it was difficult for my aging eyes to work with this puzzle, and the sameness of the entire image was mind numbing. There are quite a few of the puzzles in the “world’s smallest” series that perhaps wouldn’t be so difficult, this wasn’t one of them. The image is just too challenging for such small pieces, it needs colors and shapes – at least for me.
The quality of this puzzle was good/fair. The pieces were a good thickness and sturdy; all the pieces were ballerinas which added to the difficulty. (2 prong/2 hole) The fit was ok; because all the pieces were the same shape it was easy to put in a wrong piece and not know until surrounding pieces were inserted. The image itself was most to blame for this in my opinion, everything looks so similar. The image reproduction was good, even with such a small image. There was a poster enclosed that was almost as big as the puzzle itself, which was extremely helpful and a must when working with such small pieces.
I’ve never not finished a puzzle for review, but I just couldn’t continue with this one. I put just over 400 pieces of the 1000 together. It was too difficult to see and handle and made me feel quite inadequate. I’m not really a fan of monochromatic puzzles, or overly challenging images. I found that I was bargaining with myself while I worked on it – to make myself keep going; once I get x number of pieces put in I can do something else. For me puzzles are a way to relax and de-stress, if the image is so challenging that it feels like work it isn’t worth it for me. Puzzles are supposed to be fun!
If you enjoy a challenge, check out the World’s Smallest Puzzle series by MasterPieces. Literally any one of those would have been easier for me to do than these trees! I’d be interested in working one of the less challenging images to see how it compares, but don’t ask me now – I need a little time to cool off. 😉
If you are one of those people who enjoy a super-challenging puzzle, Winter Aspen may be the puzzle for you! If you are like me and use your puzzling time to relax and relieve stress then perhaps you should pass right on by this puzzle.
I received this product at no cost to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions are truthful and 100% my own.
A Purrrfect Escape! Wasgij Mystery #13 by James Alexander – Jumbo – 1000 pieces
A Purrrfect Escape was lots of fun! I really enjoy the Wasgij puzzles, assembling a puzzle you have no picture for is a great challenge. I never show the entire image for these puzzles that you have no picture for, I don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone. I only show the character on the front of the box that has a before and after image; that way I’m not giving anything away and I’m not showing anything new.
The sense of humor of these artists is on par with mine, and I always enjoy the situations they’ve imagined and how their characters end up. In this puzzle Special Agent Wasgij has been captured by the enemy, he has to think fast and look for a getaway. How can he escape his shackles, distract the guards, and make his way to freedom? The answer is what you have to puzzle, and it’s an interesting result!
The colors on this puzzle were bright and fun and I enjoyed figuring out the solution to Special Agent Wasgij’s tiny problem. There were several people to assemble including guards, scientists, the evil villain and his girlfriend, and even the little old lady who serves the “evil tea”.
I still have a stack of Wasgij puzzles in my closet to assemble, it has been reduced some but is still almost 5 feet high with puzzles yet to be done. I’m tackling them when I can, although I just ordered the four new ones (which add up to 6 new puzzles as 2 of the puzzles have a bonus puzzle included!) I’m slightly addicted to puzzles, and a bit off my rocker; but I’m adorable according to my husband, so it’s all good. 🤗
Noah’s Ark by Jenny Tylden-Wright – Pomegranate – 300 pieces
I’ve done a few Noah’s Ark puzzles, but this one is so different and beautiful I just had to get it. It’s striking and unusual, and I had the best time assembling it. Why aren’t there more puzzles with her artwork??
I also wanted to try a 300 piece Pomegranate, I’ve done both their 500 and 1000 piece puzzles and wanted to see how the smaller piece count was quality-wise. Excellent! I wasn’t expecting anything else, they’re just wonderful quality all around, and their catalog is full of gorgeous artwork to choose from. I highly recommend these puzzles!
I loved this puzzle so much I went back through the Pomegranate puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse and added 4 more of their puzzles to my wishlist. This is getting out of hand!
My Jigsaw Journal 