I spent some time yesterday looking at lots of puzzles at Puzzle Warehouse. I came across a couple of new images that made me say a word I can’t really spell – it’s a cross between “uhh”, “ew”, “yikes”, and “ouch”.
Cat Faces and Owl Faces are two new puzzles from D-Toys, a Romanian manufacturer. I haven’t tried this brand before; I was actually looking for one of their puzzles to try out. There are plenty of interesting images from this brand that look like they’d be great to assemble; but these two jumped right out at me, and not in a good way.
These images (to me) don’t look like fun to assemble, or even to look at. I suppose there are plenty of people who will like these images, but to be honest they kinda scare me a bit – just in time for Halloween, right? All those eyes staring out from those images are just creepy!
What do you think of these cat and owl faces? Scary? Cute? Would either of them be puzzles you’d be interesting in assembling?
I thought this puzzle would be pretty easy. Once again, I thought wrong. This puzzle, which I have named “What, No Chocolate!?” is another from the 8-in-1 multipack called Sweet & Salty. I was going to name it something mysterious and weird, but when it came time to think of something my mind went blank! It isn’t an enigmatic name, but it makes me smile, and it’s a little more creative than just “Fruit”. 😉
This particular puzzle looks so inviting and fun to assemble on the box, and it was! Although it was more of a challenge than I anticipated it was still great fun. The bright colors of the fruits helped in the sorting, but it wasn’t as quick and easy as I thought it would be. I was going to start with the blackberries, but once the puzzle was sorted I changed my mind and started with the cut orange. I had to just go with my gut and assemble it as it played out, not with a set strategy. It’s a great image, and looks amazing once complete!
Ceaco puzzles have a great selection of images to choose from, although sometimes I find the quality to be lacking. The quality of these puzzles has been better than I expected, especially from a multipack. The fit is excellent, the images are beautifully reproduced, and the pieces are a good thickness. Sometimes the chipboard is fanning on the backs of the pieces, and there are some that aren’t cut all the way through; overall though, the quality is good. Click the link above to see their puzzles currently in stock at Puzzle Warehouse.
Puzzle Warehouse has so many puzzles to choose from, in so many different categories! If you’re a fan of food & drink puzzles, click the link to see the pages and pages of awesome choices. They have so many interesting collages of different foods that I’ve added several to my wishlist (which is getting way out of hand). There’s a gorgeous 2000 piece Springbok called Tin of Treats that looks like so much fun – with some of the same chocolates from a puzzle I completed last year called Chocolate Artistry. Gorgeous!
I’m having a great time with these food puzzles and have started assembling another from this box. It’s more difficult than all the others so far, and it may take me a while to get it done – but it’s going to look so cool when it’s finished! What, No Chocolate!? was a fun challenge and it’s definitely recommended. This Sweet & Salty box has been very entertaining so far!
Details:
Title:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â What, No Chocolate!?
Artist:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â iStock
Brand:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Ceaco
Piece count:Â Â Â 500 pieces
Size:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Approx. 14 x 18 in. (36 x 46 cm)
Purchased:Â Â Â N/A, sent for review
Quality:
Board:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Good
Cutting:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Good
Image:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Very good
Box:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Average, 8 puzzles in 1 box
Fit:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Excellent
Puzzle Dust:Â Â Â Moderate amount
Piece cut:Â Â Â Â Â Grid cut
Piece shapes:Â Â Good variety
Finish:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Slightly shiny finish, lays flat
Overall Rating:Â Â Â Good, recommended
I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
Kittens aren’t my cup of tea, but this is quite a cute puzzle and it was fun to put together. The baskets were easy to sort and assemble, but the rest of the puzzle was trickier than I thought it would be.
The balloons themselves weren’t too difficult, but all the hanging ribbons weren’t easy. I knew the kittens would be a bit more work, though every puzzle is easier when your puzzle posse comes to help out. 😎
300 pieces are my favorite size for Buffalo puzzles. There’s something about the larger piece counts (1000 and over) that seem so cookie cutter – the pieces are all essentially the same size and I don’t always want that when I’m working on a puzzle. Maybe it doesn’t seem as noticeable or annoying when the pieces are larger. Who can tell how my weird brain works and why a person likes some things and not others? All I know is that I prefer the larger pieces when working with Buffalo.
After building the very large pirate ship, this little 16 piece puzzle was a breeze! What a nice gift (it came in the box with the Queen Anne’s Revenge); it only took me about 10 minutes or so to put it together.
This 3D puzzle was fun, but even as small as it was you had to pay attention. I had to take apart a few pieces because I didn’t look as closely at the instructions as I should have. Perhaps overconfidence had set in because I had finished the very large pirate ship and was feeling pretty darn proud of myself.
I enjoyed putting it together, and although I still prefer a standard jigsaw puzzle, it’s pretty entertaining to take a break from the norm and mix it up with something new. Have you tried a 3D puzzle?
Although the quality wasn’t great on this kids puzzle, it was a bit of a challenge and took my mind off of things for a little while. Isn’t that one of the great things about puzzles? It is for me. 😎
This isn’t your typical image for a kids puzzle, which is part of the reason that I really like it. It’s different, like me. It’s more difficult than normal too, like me! LOL
The pieces were thinner than I like, especially for a children’s puzzle. The fit was good though, and the entire puzzle could be picked up in one piece once it was finished. There wasn’t any variety in the piece shapes, which added to the difficulty; but it was still an entertaining assembly, and I think the finished image is pretty darn cool.
My Jigsaw Journal 