So now we’ve come to the end of my wooden puzzle “experiment”. This puzzle was the last of 5 companies that I’ve tried. I enjoyed this puzzle very much, even though I chose a puzzle from the extra difficult jigsaw page. I didn’t find it all that difficult to be honest, but it sure was fun! I’ll have a post soon regarding all the wooden puzzles, and what I’ve learned.
Wentworth Wooden Puzzles is a British company that has an excellent reputation for quality puzzles. They’re the last of the reasonably priced companies I could find, and their catalog is quite large. They have puzzles starting at what they call a micro-puzzle (30-40 pieces), all the way up to 1500 pieces. The price is on par with the other companies I’ve tried, and I’ve heard good things about their puzzles so I gave it a go (even though with shipping from the UK it was a bit more).
Most of their puzzles include whimsy pieces, but the majority of the cuts seem a bit “regular” to me; I had already gotten a puzzle with regular pieces so I definitely wanted something different. This led me to their extra difficult page where I found this interesting wrapping paper puzzle. I loved it! And, it has repetitive reindeer shaped pieces in addition to the repetitive image for more of a challenge – Merry Christmas to me! 🎄 Here’s the back of the puzzle so you can see the pieces…
The pieces are about half as thick as the pieces from the other companies I’ve tried, but somehow almost feel more dense. There seems to be a coating or backing applied to the back of the wood as well. Although the pieces are thinner, they are still quite sturdy and they still have that wonderful, satisfying plunk when they fall into place. It’s bliss. 🙂
I poured the pieces out of the bag and thought “What have I gotten myself into?” It was overwhelming to see so many similarly shaped pieces. But once I settled down and really looked at them, I could see small differences in the shapes which allowed me to sort the pieces with purpose. Once the sorting was done, I picked 2 pieces that went together and started building – it really wasn’t very difficult for me at all. I loved it!
I enjoyed this puzzle very much and thought their quality was excellent! I’m still looking forward to trying one of their regular puzzles to see if I like the cut. Perhaps soon I can review one of those regularly cut puzzles, maybe a micro-puzzle?
*I may or may not have gone completely off the rails and ordered more than 30 of their micro-puzzles. I cannot recall at this time your honor.* 😁
Details:
- Title: The Puzzle that Wrapped up Christmas
- Artist: iStock Photo
- Brand: Wentworth Wooden Puzzles
- Piece count: 300 pieces
- Size: Approx. 14 x 11 in. (36 x 25 cm)
- Purchased: New
Quality:
- Board: 1/8″ wood
- Cutting: Excellent
- Image: Excellent
- Box: Excellent – very sturdy box, pieces come in a fabric bag
- Fit: Excellent
- Puzzle Dust: None
- Piece cut: Repetitive – extra challenging
- Piece shapes: Repetitive – reindeer
- Finish: Matte finish, lays flat
Overall Rating: Excellent, highly recommended
My Jigsaw Journal 
I have a Wentworth Jigsaw Puzzle too and while the quality was great, I was a bit underwhelmed with the regular cut — it was a random cut puzzle and the pieces were quite large (I think I had a 250 piece puzzle) and the assembly experience just wasn’t that challenging, although the lack of challenge may also be from the image too. For me, the Artifact wooden jigsaw puzzle was the most impressive of the two wooden jigsaw puzzle brands I have tried.
Those wooden puzzles you got from Peaceful Wooden Puzzles and Liberty looked pretty awesome.
I look forward to reading your “wrap up” post about your wooden jigsaw puzzle experience.
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The regular Wentworth puzzles did look too “average” for me which is why I opted for this one. I really enjoyed the image and the repetitive cut. I would definitely recommend trying Peaceful and Liberty if you’re looking to treat yourself. Liberty especially has the most interesting cut and the most number of whimsies.
I’m still working on my wrap up, and hope to post it in the next few days. 🙂
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I have made it my plan to have a micro puzzle advent calendar of Wentworth puzzles, and while I find them fun, there seems to be more give to them than the larger puzzles, which originally kind of turned me off. I have come to the opinion that a micro puzzle doesn’t really give as good of an impression as a larger one. They are good for sampling picture quality, but don’t give the full quality impression I don’t think. I’ve since added other brands micro puzzles to my advent calendar project, but I want to wait for more holiday crackers from Wentworth because they are much more fun, being shaped and differently cut, than the little rectangular ones.
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I completely agree. The “cracker” micro puzzles are much more interesting with their fun shapes and different cuts.
But for me, I adore wooden puzzles of all kinds and even qualities. The tactile feel of the pieces, the smell of the wood, and the way they make me slow down and appreciate the puzzling experience make up for the looseness of the finished image. At least they do for me. (They also remind me of puzzling with my mom, and how much we both adored the first wooden puzzles we worked, and the time we spent the last year of her life working on the 100 year old wooden puzzle I got her for Christmas the year before.)
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