Crafty Cornucopia by Tiffany Pratt – Blanc Puzzles (Buffalo) – 500 pieces

This is such a fun image, and I was very excited to try a new(ish) brand. Blanc Puzzles is part of the Buffalo Games brand, and both the box and pieces are quite different from a regular Buffalo puzzle. It was an entertaining assembly, and in my opinion there are some pros and cons for this new offshoot of Buffalo.

Both the backing on the chipboard and the finish on the top of the puzzle have a different feel to them. On the back is the white “sharp” backing that I’m not a fan of. In addition, it’s printed with both the name of the brand and the signature of the artist…

All of the Blanc puzzles do not have this printing on the back; I have another of this brand here that I have since completed and it has just the plain white backing. This puzzle is part of a series with images by Tiffany Pratt, in addition to the backing the box is very different too – quite large for only 500 pieces with a clamshell lid and magnetic clasp.

The front of the puzzle has an almost slick, silky feel – it’s very nice. I absentmindedly rub my thumb over a piece I’m holding when thinking about it’s placement, and the hand feel of the finish is quite nice.

The fit seems more “sturdy” is the only way I can think to describe it. There’s an audible click when some pieces are connected, but not all. I was certain when I started the assembly and noticed the different fit that when completed the puzzle would definitely stand up for one of my “fit-so-tight-you-can-stand-it-on-it’s-edge” pictures. Surprisingly it wouldn’t. Well, that’s not true; it did, but in such a flimsy way that the whole thing was distorted, it wasn’t worth photographing.

The shapes of Buffalo pieces come to a point in many places, and with the sturdier chipboard the points were very sharp. Unfortunately, the points that some pieces come to are so sharp that it’s easy for them to catch on other pieces, clothing, or even just your skin – which in this puzzle seemed to cause both image lift and splitting/peeling of the chipboard.

On the positive side the the high quality printing of the image is stunning; the colors are beautiful, the lines are crisp, there is no blurriness – in short the image reproduction is gorgeous. In addition, the pieces come in the usual plastic bag you cut or rip open, but they also provide a sturdier zip-top bag to store the pieces in once you’ve completed and disassembled the puzzle.

This puzzle was extremely enjoyable and went together very quickly. The sharpness of the image made it so that even with all the pink and white areas it was never very difficult to find the correct piece. You could tell what went where if you were paying attention – very important in a puzzle, don’t you think?