Whether it’s TikTok or Instagram Shorts or the upcoming Vine reboot, modern social media seems ever-more intent on shredding whatever is left of your attention span. Making the most of your free time and protecting your mental health is absolutely vital, and the key might be the age-old hobby of jigsaw puzzles.
My wife, Amanda, and I have both turned to jigsaw puzzles as a sort of digital detox and meditation-in-motion at the end of long, stressful days. It’s also a perfect activity for the holidays. Imagine cosying up at your table with a mug of something warm, free from work or school obligations, as the colder days turn to dusk outside.
Puzzles exist for every taste and age, as we found in our review of 80 different kinds. We narrowed it down to just six that we feel confident you’ll enjoy – from 1,000-piece Christmas scenes to wonderful wooden sets and a charming dinosaur puzzle for kids – and would also make excellent gifts.
Love of Octopuses & Friends
The Creation of Dogs
Let us answer a few of the more commonly asked questions, so you can get started.
Why puzzle?
On one hand, puzzling is a satisfyingly tactile experience, rooted in the simple act of picking up a piece and popping it into place. There’s more of a feeling of weight and accomplishment than tapping, pinching, and dragging things around in digital puzzles on an iPad.
We’ve also found that puzzling quickly inspires a serene, calm state of mind. It requires you to concentrate, because it is ultimately a complex task. However, unlike the sorts of complex tasks you’re tackling on an average day at work, there’s no real stress involved. You know at the end you’ll have a successful puzzle, and if it takes a little longer than anticipated, that’s just fine.
That combination of concentration and relaxation means that jigsaw is the perfect way for us to push routine worries and concerns aside and really get in the moment. But should you be so inclined, it leaves just enough processing power left in your brain to handle a favorite podcast or audio book in the background.
A study has also shown that puzzling has great potential to help reduce long-term cognitive decline. If that weren’t enough, puzzles are a great way to gain a new appreciation for some stunning artworks.
Where should you puzzle?
After you’ve found a puzzle that interests you (our review will guide you and give you easy buying options), step one is finding a good place to put it together. Ideally, it’s a wide, flat surface with good light that isn’t likely to be disturbed. Dining room or side tables are great – just make sure that you map out the dimensions of your puzzle before you start. It’s no good getting half-way through before you realize your workspace is too small.
Keep in mind that puzzles can take days or weeks to complete depending on their size, complexity, and how much free time you have. So it’s best to pick a space where you can leave the puzzle and come back without having to worry about it getting disturbed. If it’s your dinner table, you might be able to get away with throwing a table cloth over the top for meals. Or read on for some ideas on how to make your puzzles more portable…
How should you prep your puzzles?
Before you dump out that box of pieces and start putting them together, it can be a good idea to sift out the puzzle dust. This is the nasty debris that’s left over from the puzzle-cutting process, which you don’t want making a mess of your workspace.
Just pour your puzzle pieces into a colander, then give it a good shake over a wide bowl or sheet of cardboard. Shaking your puzzle directly over a trash can is asking for lost pieces.
How should you start a new puzzle?
When faced with a pile of puzzle pieces, it’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed. But there are a few things you can do to give yourself a good start.
First, flip all the pieces upright and try to sort them. Depending on the puzzle, this might entail organizing them by colors or singling out any pieces with identifiable patterns that help you know roughly where they go.
Then you can embark on assembling the edge pieces, which are easily identifiable by their straight edges. Doing this first also helps you figure out how big the resulting puzzle is going to be, which means you can organize your workspace.
After that, start to build your way in towards the middle.
What do you do if you get stuck?
At some point you’re almost certain to get frustrated and think you can’t get any further. Hang in there, you’ll get through it.
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Start by working on another section of the puzzle, ideally a part showing something distinctive. Maybe it has a unique color or texture. Find the pieces for that section and build out from there.
Could a piece be missing?
Check on the floor around your workspace and, failing that, look for guilty expressions on the faces of nearby kids or pets. If you really are missing something, contact the manufacturer. It’s rare, but mistakes do happen. Many companies will send you a replacement free of charge.
How do you do puzzles with a partner or friends?
Jigsaw puzzling is a highly underrated opportunity for co-operative problem-solving. When testing samples for our best jigsaw puzzle list, my wife and I spent hours together flipping and sorting pieces and trying to find out how to make sense out of a galaxy’s worth of tiny image fragments. It’s a great time for catching up, talking through your day, or simply sharing an audio book together.
But it’s also helpful to make sure you’re on the same page. Talk about how you’re organizing pieces and what you’re looking for. Often they’ll stumble across just the pieces you need.
Once you have the edges of the puzzle set out, it’s probably best if each of you focuses on one particular side. This will help you avoid reaching across each other too much.
One of the joys of jigsaw puzzling is that you don’t need any pricey accessories to enjoy the hobby. Any flat space that’s unlikely to be disturbed by unruly children, curious pets, or mischievous adults will do. Still, a few quality of life improvements can go a long way.
The most important thing is good lighting. Since time seems to melt away when piecing puzzles together, you may find yourself agonizing over things well past sundown. To save your eyesight, situate your puzzle under a bright source of illumination, ideally a smart light bulb with an adjustable color temperature. Something that’s cool during the day will make the puzzle colors really pop, while a warmer hue at night will be easier on the eyes – and your sleep patterns.
After that, consider a sorting tray system that will let you keep piles of pieces separated. There are plenty of options on the market, like Ravensburger’s Sort and Go, but a couple of cookie sheets or pieces of cardboard will work fine.
Finally, if you want to bring your puzzles with you for a weekend away, or move them around the house, think about investing in a travel case, like the Jumbo Portapuzzle, which has served us well for years. It’ll hold your partially-assembled puzzle flat for easy transport. Just be careful to check for wayward pieces before you pack up and head home.
Tim Stevens is a freelance journalist with more than 25 years of experience reviewing products of all sorts. He is a frequent contributor to major domestic and international online, print and broadcast news outlets, sharing his insights and perspectives on everything from cybersecurity to supercars. An avid cyclist, outdoorsman and automotive enthusiast, if Tim isn’t traveling for work he’s probably on his bike, out in the woods, or in his garage tinkering with something.
