MonthlyPrew
The Puzzles I Completed in January and My Thoughts on Them
Welcome to the first edition of MonthlyPrew, a monthly puzzle review, where I share the puzzles I put together and reveal my personal puzzling highlights and “oh-gosh” -moments. From satisfying completions to unexpected challenges, I’ll take you through what I loved, what tested my patience, and what stood out the most.
Overall, January was a good and eventful month in terms of puzzling: the Jigsaw Puzzle Culture Awards kept me busy, we had the first meeting of the year with Helsinki Puzzle Club, finally got together with our new speed puzzling team, enjoyed some pair practices, and met a lovely fellow puzzler abroad 🧡
Resisting the Urge to Save the Nicest Puzzles for “Later”
The game changer last month was, that my puzzles were (and still are) stored away temporarily. I only had a few carefully chosen puzzles on hand – the special ones I simply couldn’t bring myself to store away and a few newcomers that I had just received. So, instead of choosing from a vast collection and leaving the favorites on the shelf for eternity, I ended up puzzling some cherished treasures I’d been saving for a long time. At first, I was a bit hesitant – it almost felt rebellious to finally do them – but I ended up having extremely enjoyable slow-puzzling experiences, and I loved every minute of each puzzle!
My absolute favorite last month turned out to be the 1000-piece Mon Amour -puzzle from Magnolia Puzzle (in the middle). It’s from their new collection and it's just incredible! Ana Jaren’s artwork had a perfect blend of standout details and continuity. Quality-wise this puzzle ticks all the boxes: it has an intuitive cut (no risk of false fits, as you immediately can see if the piece belongs or not), non-reflective matte surface, and no puzzle dust.
Olleo Puzzles was a brand I’d wanted to try for a long time, and this 500 piece Chocolate Factory -puzzle from their Christmas triptych (on the right) exceeded my expectations. I anticipated Mathilde Garcia’s artwork to be pretty challenging to assemble (due to the cocoa beans), but it turned out to be a nicely flowing experience. From what I’ve understood, Olleo puzzles are manufactured in the same factory as Magnolia’s, so the quality is similarly high. I bought this puzzle second-hand, so I don’t know if it had puzzle dust when it was new, but I assume it didn’t.
I also did couple Jour Férié puzzles, including the 1000-piece L'orée du matin (the one on the left). I just adore this puzzle brand and their unique artworks, and appreciate the excellent quality and plastic-free execution. In addition to L'orée du matin, their Les Haricots Verts -puzzle (1000-pieces) stood out to me, because it had such amazing color palette with subtle but notable variations.
Breaking Records & Pushing Limits in Speed Puzzling
January was the month I began speed puzzling again regularly after a long break. I revisited some old 500-piece favorites, began practicing with 1000-piece puzzles, and pushed myself with some 500-piece novelties. The Ravensburger puzzles from this year’s collection, in particular, turned out to be extremely challenging. These were the puzzles I struggled with the most last month, and leading to some frustrating moments – and I’ve only done the “easier” ones of them so far. Yikes!
January also marked an important milestone in personal achievements: I set a new personal best record with both 500-piece and 1000-piece puzzles. I still can’t believe I managed to complete the Vintage London -puzzle under the magical 90-minute mark (my time was 1h 28min 33sec). And I’m finally getting some sub-40-minute times and reaching towards the 30-minute mark – my PB time was 33min 24sec with the Postcard from Paris. Both of the PB puzzles are ones I’ve completed before, so that’s something to take into consideration, but just knowing I can reach this speed means a lot and motivates me to continue my speed puzzling journey.
In my practice I’m focusing on physical and psychological endurance and speed. This means I’m solving 1000-piece puzzles solo, or tackling extremely challenging 500-piece ones in less-than-ideal conditions, e.g. poor lighting in the evenings when I’m tired. I just love to torture myself, don’t I? I’m also working with small piece count puzzles (under 300-pieces) and easy 500-piece ones multiple times to familiarize myself with the feeling of lightning-fast speed.
Speed puzzling also led to my biggest “aha” moment in January – an observation I made about myself. I’ve always considered myself to be the most impatient person, but the difficult puzzles and the endurance training forced me to reconsider this assumption. I realized that I actually seem to have quite a bit of patience in addition to persistence. No matter how frustrating the puzzles got, I pushed through and never gave up. So now, I’m paying closer attention to my inner voice and reflecting on how I perceive myself.
Key Takeaways from January
Resisting the "Too Nice to Solve" Syndrome – I fought the urge to save my best puzzles for later and instead enjoyed assembling them in the moment.
Breaking Personal Records – I set new PBs for both 500-piece and 1000-piece puzzles, proving to myself that I can reach new speed levels with practice.
Endurance Builds Patience – Challenging puzzles and tough conditions made me realize I have more patience than I thought – I just needed the right test!
That was the first MonthlyPrew. What was your favorite puzzle last month? Any “oh-gosh” -moments or puzzle highlights? Let me know in the comments 🧡 And! Let me know how did you find the first MonthlyPrew, is this more personal series worth to continue?
Yes. I love hearing about your experiences with different puzzle manufacturers in addition to your relationship with the puzzles themselves.
Thanks! I’ll keep it going. Glad you’re enjoying both the industry insights and my personal take. Let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like to hear more about!