Vintage Games

On October 15, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles6 Comments

I’ve had an odd relationship with this puzzle, it’s been in my home for well over 2 years I think and I’ve started to assemble it several times and ended up putting it away. I’m not sure why this time was a go, but I’m glad I finally got to it – it was very entertaining!

The worst part for me is the very beginning when you see all the pieces you have to sort through. Since my method is to lay the pieces out on trays, I try to decide on several areas to pull pieces for while I’m sorting and traying. I pull the pieces for quite a few different sections for a couple of reasons; 1) to reduce the number of pieces I have to lay out, and 2) to be able to start assembling something right away. Once I have the edge assembled it makes me happy to be able to grab a container of sorted pieces and start to work.

In the case of this puzzle the sections I pulled out were the 4 game boards in the corners, the pieces with words on them, the chinese checkerboard, and the dominoes. The game boards were the MOST fun to put together, the colors are bright and the patterns are interesting. There were many words strewn all around the inside of the puzzle image, and many were hard to complete because they weren’t always easy to find.

Vintage Games 1

I was intrigued by the playing cards with the cats. They all had different phrases on them; The Future, The Past, Love Matters, The Present – what game was this? Does anyone have a clue? Almost all of the vintage games were slightly self explanatory, board games, cards, word games, bingo, etc. The cards with the cats confused me though, were they some kind of kitty cat tarot cards? 🤨

Vintage Games 2

Scrabble tiles, they make me smile. I love playing Scrabble, though no one will play with me around here. I’m pretty good at it and it gets frustrating, apparently, for my family to constantly lose to me. I understand the feeling though, I won’t play strategy games with my husband because he consistently kicks my a** at them. We each have our strengths I suppose. 😉

I’m glad I finally took the plunge and assembled this puzzle. It was fun, the right amount of challenging, and had beautiful colors. I enjoyed it very much, and it is definitely recommended. The quality was excellent, although the fit was a little looser than normal for a Ravensburger; though the image was so compelling and fun that I didn’t mind too much about the fit.

Review: Pets Rock

On October 13, 2019October 13, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews4 Comments

Pets Rock is actually the second puzzle in this series of three that I’ve done, and they all have the same name. They’re highly entertaining (at least they are for me), and go together quite quickly. I very much enjoyed this assembly, and it was the perfect puzzle to help get my puzzle mojo back after more than a week of no puzzling.

Ceaco isn’t a favorite brand; I find that sometimes the quality is quite lacking and sometimes it’s very good – there’s no consistency. The pieces of this puzzle were on the thin side, and had a tendency to bend. They fit together well though, there were a variety of shapes, and the image reproduction was very good. There was a lot of puzzle dust, so much so that I had to vacuum the puzzle board when I was done. A bit annoying, but for the most part didn’t detract from the assembly. Ceaco has a large and interesting catalog of images though, and some are too cute or gorgeous for me to pass up.

I didn’t enjoy the image as much as the first Pets Rock that I assembled; most likely because I’m now a little old lady, and I prefer the personalities that I know and relate to. Elvis, David Bowie, and Michael Jackson are more my style than Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry. Personalities aside, having six sections that are easily sorted and assembled is easy and entertaining. I started with kitty Katy Perry – that blue hair stood out and was fun to put together.

Even though the pieces weren’t the thickest and tended to bend a little, the assembly was quick, fun, and extremely entertaining. If the image is to your liking, it’s definitely recommended. I don’t think a puzzle has to be premium quality in order for you to enjoy it – and I absolutely had a great time putting this one together. 🙂

Details:

Title: Pets Rock
Artist: Takkoda
Brand: Ceaco
Piece count: 550 pieces
Size: Approx. 24 x 18 in. (61 x 46 cm)
Purchased: New

Quality:

Board: Fair, thin and easily bent
Cutting: Good
Image: Very good
Box: Average
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Large amount
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Good, recommended

General Store

On October 11, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

I found this at mom’s house while going through her things. I liked the artwork very much, and at 300 pieces knew it wouldn’t take long to assemble. How bummed was I when I figured out there were missing pieces? Not terribly, but still it was disappointing.

FX Schmid has excellent quality; thick pieces, nice fit, and gorgeous image reproduction. We only find this brand at the thrift stores, so I’m not sure if they’re even still being produced. This particular puzzle seemed quite old, though the box was still in pretty good shape.

I enjoyed this assembly very much, but I was a little upset that the adorable dog on the front porch was missing! 😥

Celebrity Chief Chef!

On October 10, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles1 Comment

I haven’t done a Wasgij for a while, and I forgot how much fun they are. As usual I am not showing the full image, no spoilers allowed! I only show the person (or thing) shown on the box as a hint. I don’t think the hints are overly helpful though, at least they aren’t for me.

Jumbo puzzles are excellent quality, although I do realize that sometimes there can be a problem with pieces fitting where they don’t belong. It usually isn’t a problem with the Wasgij puzzles though, the images are usually full of bright colors and busyness. There are so many Wasgij puzzles here to do, but sometimes I forget about the giant stack of them in my closet.

For the most part the Wasgij images aren’t hard to figure out, you normally know what the people are wearing and can start with that. Also, as you’re sorting you can find blocks of color or something with which to begin. It’s just a matter of figuring out what the perspective is, or what you’re supposed to be deciphering. They’re always entertaining!

Massive Munchies

On October 7, 2019 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles2 Comments

I had a good time with this one, I usually don’t see collages by Ceaco. This was another puzzle that my daughter suggested I buy when we were puzzle shopping together. She seems to know better than I do what I’ll enjoy assembling; perhaps I’ll have to take her with me on my puzzle quests more often. 😉

Fair quality, but pieces were on the thin side. The image was fun enough though that I wasn’t deterred.

Massive Munchies 1

With all the chocolatey and sugary snacks and cereals in this image (and in the stores), this was one of my favorites when I was younger. Mom used to shop at a store we kids called the “used bread store”, they had quite a lot of Hostess products and she used to buy a lot of these pies. I loved them warmed up. I haven’t seen these in any stores in quite some time, but this one made me feel a bit nostalgic.