This is another Christmas present from one of my kids – they know me so well! Not only did my Grama teach me to assemble jigsaws, she taught me crosswords too; and I enjoy them both very much. This puzzle is the best of both worlds!

It’s from another new company that I’d never heard of, my research tells me that they only make these crossword jigsaw puzzles, one edition per year from the looks of it. It’s pretty darn good quality from a company whose primary focus isn’t jigsaws.

If you’re a regular reader you know how much I enjoy having text to assemble, this puzzle had me in heaven – words, words everywhere! According to the box you should begin by solving the crossword…

It’s easier then to solve the jigsaw if you solve the crossword first, but you don’t have to be good at them, or even try if you don’t want to. You could just work the jigsaw and fill in the blanks once you’re finished. Or you could do your best on the crossword and use the jigsaw to help. I’ll admit to not getting the whole crossword done first, I needed help with a few of the answers.

The crossword puzzle is about medium difficulty, although it really all depends on your ability and familiarity with crossword puzzles. My Grama would have found this extremely easy to solve, she was a crossword expert. If you’re new to them or not very proficient, be careful! There are a few clues meant to trip you up, you think the answer is obvious, but it isn’t at all. I love the ones that keep you on your toes. 😏

My only problem is that the puzzle you solve on paper doesn’t match the jigsaw. The clues and answers are the same, but the proportions don’t match.

In the actual jigsaw directly beneath the grid is the clue for 70-down. On the paper that you use to solve the crossword the clue is 55-down. Apparently you’re only supposed to use the paper to fill in the crossword puzzle and not as a reference for anything other than the grid itself. A teeny bit annoying.

Overall though, I had great fun with this one. I was going to save it to post on National Puzzle Day later this month, but things being what they are I needed it today – besides, every day is puzzle day around here. 😎