The Perfect Jigsaw-Logical Puzzle Mashup

December 29, 2019 9:37 PM

This year, we pulled this "talking" jigsaw from the back of the closet and it was a hit because once the little four-piece "windows" are assembled, figuring out where to place them in the larger puzzle was a matter of visual clues and logic. The "Talking Puzzles" are no longer made so I am looking for some other style of jigsaw that requires more use of color/image/word clues and logic and less dependent on matching shapes. Any ideas?

I did find the some of the other "Talking Puzzles" on ebay but I'm looking for other styles that will scratch the same itch and get those of us who are really bad at jigsaws a chance to contribute to the traditional family jigsaw next year.

posted by metahawk to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

I enjoy Hidden Image puzzles - like these.
posted by Miko at 5:03 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Collage-themed puzzles that feature lettering, such as some on this page - collage puzzles, offer a similar sense of doing lots of little puzzles and then connecting them. Look at nostalgia themes, too, with themes like cereal boxes and vintage posters, etc., that have distinctive lettering and visual styles.
posted by hiker U. at 6:13 AM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

I’m not a big puzzler but we did just do an (at times) obnoxiously hard 1000 (tiny) piece puzzle over the holiday. It was of an older New Yorker cover with a lot of white space and many dogs with similar colored/textured fur and hats/scarves. My observation is that most “hard” puzzles require you to do the types of things your asking because you simply cannot scan pieces sufficiently to rely on matching shapes. In our case the challenge came from ambiguity - lots of looping lined leashes and pale but not totally white pieces. I’m not sure this is that helpful but I think what you want is a puzzle designed to be challenging which is loosely correlated with how many and how small the pieces are.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 7:52 AM on December 30, 2019

Best answer: You might like the Ravensberger Escape puzzles, where there are hidden clues to work out a larger mystery within the puzzle. The image on the box varies a bit from the finished project to keep some elements a secret until the end. Many pieces, especially around the edge, will fit multiple ways, so you have to use some deductive skills to get it right. (Your link to the talking puzzle gave me hope I might find this allusive puzzle from my childhood that was like those puzzles but you actually built it up like an apartment building, so a 3D structure).
posted by LKWorking at 8:23 AM on December 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: HA! It was suggested by the ebay listing you linked to. Thanks!
posted by LKWorking at 8:24 AM on December 30, 2019

Response by poster: LKWorking: the Ravensberger Escape puzzles look good but your 3D building was the real winner. Thanks for the link to a used copy for sale - I went ahead and bought it. (I did pause to wonder if you wanted it yourself but hope that you wouldn't have publicly linked to it if you really wanted it.) Thanks!
posted by metahawk at 9:09 PM on December 30, 2019

Have you see the Wasgij series? I'm currently working my way through another one. They vary from depicting a similar scene from another decade or a scene just after the scene on the box so you have to use a bit of deduction to work out where things actually are now!
posted by Wysawyg at 11:31 AM on December 31, 2019