Rachlis: It's no puzzle why people like this Christmas gift

Once my children had outgrown the wooden barnyard puzzles, I was never motivated to buy a puzzle again. But lately I just can’t stay away from them.

Published Dec 24, 2024  •  Last updated 1 day ago  •  2 minute read

Participants compete in the fourth edition of the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in Valladolid, Spain on Sept. 22, 2024. Photo by CESAR MANSO /AFP via Getty Images

Everything I’ve learned in life, I’ve learned from jigsaw puzzles. Not strictly true, but still …

Once my children had outgrown the wooden barnyard puzzles with little handles on each piece, for decades I was never motivated to buy a puzzle again. But lately I just can’t stay away from them. I looked up their origin and found that British cartographer John Spilsbury (1739-1769) invented the jigsaw puzzle in 1766 to teach geography, carving each country out of a world map stuck to wood.

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When you do a jigsaw puzzle, you have something photogenic and tangible when you’re done. It’s like painting a picture, as you pay attention to the different colours.

According to Cognitive Market Research, puzzle consumption is up because of “a growing desire for screen-free activities, and an increasing awareness of the benefits to cognition.” Also more people are responding to new themes and designs.

Statistics from the U.S. state that 1.8 billion jigsaw puzzles are sold annually, and over half of American adults participate in solving jigsaw puzzles at least once a year.

I like art puzzles; my favourites are Ravensburger (founded in 1883!) because the pieces fit together so well and the subjects are so varied. They even put out a Canadian Artists Collection which includes work by Ottawa artist Bhat Boy. A friend staying at an airBnB in Edmonton last year was surprised to find a Bhat Boy puzzle on the table.

I also like the fact that many puzzles can be cheap — at the school puzzle and book sales — or free, on the “take a puzzle, leave a puzzle” tables at the various branches of the public library.

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With used puzzles, there’s always the challenge of missing pieces. Some kind souls write “missing a few pieces” on top of the box. I go a step further and print out a black and white photo of the completed puzzle with the few missing pieces circled. I know from experience that this saves hours of users searching for a piece that doesn’t exist.

It’s fascinating how many different kinds of scenes are depicted on puzzles, from countryside farm houses, to abstract, or jelly beans. As with other kinds of art, people seem to prefer scenes of locales they’ve visited or animals they love. And the choice of 1,000 pieces, or 500 or 750 has much to do with the size of your table. I know the shock of realizing the horizontal sides of the puzzle will flop over the edges of the folding table.

What I’ve learned from jigsaw puzzles is this:

— Plan ahead (Do the four borders first);

— Be patient (walk away and come back; it’s amazing what you suddenly see that fits):

— Be open to what you don’t expect (turn those pieces around; sometimes upside down is correct);

— If you’re having trouble, blame the lighting.

Oh, and surely these are lessons for everyday life, too.

Louise Rachlis is an Ottawa writer and painter. 

One of the world’s first jigsaw puzzles, dating from 1766, is displayed in the Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y. Photo by Lauren Petracca /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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