Slumber Party! (Wasgij Imagine #3) by Neil Easton – Jumbo – 1000 pieces
Why can’t grandpa get some rest? What in the world is going on while everyone else is asleep? You’ll be surprised when you puzzle the answer. 🙂
Another awesome Wasgij by Jumbo, with excellent artwork by Neil Easton. The box shows a crazy evening at home with everyone getting ready for bed, crying children, barking dog, etc. You must imagine what the scene looks like a couple of hours from then – what is going on and what has woken grandpa? I thought I had it figured out pretty quickly, but it turns out I was only half right. 😦 I usually get it early, but this one stumped me a little bit!
Jumbo quality is some of the best there is. It’s right up there with Ravensburger in my opinion; and in some areas I think Jumbo beats Ravensburger. They’re both at the top of my list, we’ll call it a tie.
This puzzle was quite fun, and I really enjoyed the assembly which is no surprise. Cartoon puzzle?- check, Jumbo quality? – check, Mystery picture? – check, Awesome puzzle play time? – double check!
The Wasgij Express! by Graham Thompson – Jumbo (Retro Edition) – 1000 pieces
So I finished my first Wasgij Mystery – huge surprise coming up ………………. loved it!!! As is normal for me I refuse to spoil the fun for anyone so I’m only showing a small bit of the puzzle so you’ll have to figure it out for yourself.
Recently I received an email from the site where I purchase most of my European made puzzles telling me that for the 20th anniversary of Wasgij Jumbo was re-releasing the first Wasgij Original, Mystery and Destiny titles. This is what actually spurred me on to make my first puzzle purchase since the World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle. (Yup, I did that. 😎 40,320 pieces!) Since I’m relatively new to Jumbo puzzles, I’m almost 20 years behind and definitely didn’t have the first of anything. That meant time to get an order together! This is the first of the Retro puzzles I’ve assembled. I know, you’re all super surprised that I like it, right?
The answer to the question “What will happen to our secret agents next?” isn’t an easy answer – and the solution to their problem is complicated! I’m proud to say I figured it out pretty quickly, and was eager to puzzle and actually see the result. So much fun. I keep saying that over and over with every puzzle, don’t I? It was fun! Perhaps I need a thesaurus?
Graham Thompson’s artwork – amazing as usual. Lots of detail, lots of humor, wonderfully colorful and bright. Jumbo’s quality – amazing as usual. Excellent fit, thickness, image reproduction, piece shape, etc. So to sum up – this puzzle was awesome!
It’s a good thing I have a LOT of Wasgij puzzles to assemble because I absolutely adore them. Not just the quality (but that is a huge plus in my book), but the concept and artwork as well. I love not having the picture to work from and having to figure out how the picture on the box is relevant to the finished puzzle. I wish I had more of them to be honest, but I’ll have to make due with the stack in my closet that is taller than me. I think it’s about 6 feet high. 😮 I’m a little addicted.
Wasgij Back to …. Basics! by Neil Easton – Jumbo – 1000 pieces
You’re probably tired of hearing me say this, but this puzzle was so fun! Pretty much most of the puzzles I do are enjoyable – because jigsaw puzzles are fun!! And as usual with a Wasgij puzzle I am not showing the entire image – no spoilers here!
It took longer than usual to finish this puzzle, most of the week was spent lying in bed and resting – but I buckled down and finally got it done. This Wasgij concept is Back to…. In these puzzles the box shows you a scene as it is today, and you have to puzzle what it would have been like back then – a time period of their choosing. For this particular image the box shows a family’s living room as it is today – people on cell phones, playing video games, on the computer, listening to an MP3 player, reading a tablet, etc. So what would this living room have looked like back in the 60’s? What kept everyone entertained before computers, cell phones and electronic games?
I love this concept, and I was excited to get going on this puzzle – of course it didn’t disappoint! (Tiny spoiler alert) My favorite thing about this puzzle was a small thing but it made me happy – they were playing a board game that looks like Parcheesi! My family and I love that game and I played it with the kids a LOT when they were younger. My daughter learned it so well that she became quite the shark and was ruthless when playing – her daddy taught her that! Anyway, it made me smile. 🙂
I enjoyed this assembly very much, in this particular image it was quite easy to pull out a section of color or pattern and put it together. One pattern leads to another and before you know it everything is connecting and coming together to form the entire image. The artwork by Neil Easton is well done with clean lines and lots of humor. And as usual the pieces are thick, fit together extremely well and have a matte finish with an almost waxy feel. Jumbo puzzles are some of the best out there – they’re right up there with Ravensburger in my opinion. I love them both!
I haven’t tried a Wasgij Mystery puzzle yet, so I think that may be the next one I try. I can’t wait to solve the mystery and puzzle what happens!
Dancing Fairies by Gary Walton – Jumbo – 500 pieces
This puzzle I’d been looking at for a while now and it has been on my wish list for months! When I finally decided to go ahead and order myself some puzzles this was the first one to go in the shopping cart. I love this image!
I am also happy to report that it was as much fun to assemble as it is to look at. In just a few minutes the edge was put together and the moon was starting to come together. Surprisingly the fairies were easier to assemble than I thought they would be; there are slight differences in their dresses or the background behind them. I enjoyed this puzzle even more than I’d hoped!
This was a “premium quality” puzzle according to the box, but I don’t see the difference. It seems to me that all Jumbo puzzles are premium quality. Same excellent fit, image reproduction, thickness, etc. I didn’t notice that anything was particularly different than the other Jumbo puzzles I’ve worked. In my mind whether they say it or not every one of their puzzles is premium quality. 😎
It’s so nice for me to be able to sit down and lose myself in assembling a puzzle. There’s a dialogue I have in my head sometimes when I’m searching for a piece; or if someone is helping me there is banter back and forth about the puzzle or piece shape, etc.
It’s important, for me at least, to do something non-electronic. Everyone seems absorbed in their phones or tablets, or they sit and watch tv doing nothing. Not that any of those things are terrible, but I think it’s important to do other things as well. Have a conversation, read an actual book, learn to cook something, or sit down and use your hands and your brain and work on a jigsaw puzzle.
The Mouth of the River! by Graham Thompson (Wasgij Original #12) – Jumbo – 1000 pieces
This Wasgij was fun, but more challenging that I thought! When I finished this one I was definitely proud of myself. As usual, I’m not showing the entire puzzle so as not to spoil the fun for anyone else who may do the puzzle. It’s so much more fun if you figure it out for yourself, and it feels like much more of an accomplishment!
Graham Thompson is one of my favorite artists and his Wasgij puzzles are amazing. The artwork was fun and funny, the quality of the puzzle itself is excellent and you have the added fun of not having a picture to work from. I think it adds fun, of course some people may not enjoy that.
With a Wasgij, depending on which type of puzzle you have, you have clues to what the end of the puzzle might look like. With the Wasgij original series you have to imagine the scene from the point of view of one of the characters on the box image. For this puzzle you have to puzzle the scene from the view of the man sitting on the back of the elephant.
You know you’ll have the boat, river, fish and bird his eye line at least. So you know generally what part of the puzzle should look like and you have to figure out the rest. And let me tell you, it is AMAZING what everyone is looking at! Of course it must be if even the birds and fish are shocked!
I highly recommend any of the Wasgij puzzles, I love the added challenge of figuring out what the picture is, and I love the high quality of the Jumbo puzzles. Give yourself a challenge and try a Wasgij puzzle if you have the chance, it’s so much fun!
My Jigsaw Journal 