Places to buy jigsaw puzzles NOT designed by AI?

July 23, 2024 10:57 AM

What it says on the, erm, "box." We are a dedicated jigsaw puzzle family, and it's become incredibly difficult to find puzzles that don't have an AI-generated feel. We do not like the hyper-bright colors, or compositions that feels generated, not intentionally designed. I miss the days of photos of real, beautiful places that haven't been made cartoonish through hyper-color saturation. Another family member enjoys the Americana style paintings (Jane Wooster Scott); in general, things that look natural or painted by a human. Where can we still find these??
posted by Silvery Fish to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (23 answers total)

The Magic Puzzle Company has some neat puzzles that are very well made and intentionally designed, though in a style that is somewhat different from what you describe. The “magical surprise” at the end is fun, though it doesn’t vary puzzle-by-puzzle.
posted by griseus at 11:01 AM on July 23 [2 favorites]

The Liberty Puzzle company has been around for 20+ years, making "heirloom quality" wooden jigsaw puzzles. They have a wide variety of designs. They're not inexpensive, but we have bought three over the years, and can confirm that they're extremely well made, and there's no reason ours won't last for decades to come. Also quite difficult, given the wide variety of puzzle shapes they use.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:08 AM on July 23 [8 favorites]

You may like Pomegranate's collection of fine art puzzles.
posted by burntflowers at 11:16 AM on July 23 [13 favorites]

Have you exhausted the Ravensburger offerings? They have super varied offerings and make a quality puzzle - I rarely stray.

I would also plug Villager puzzles, which are more "art" than "realism".
posted by hepta at 11:18 AM on July 23 [7 favorites]

If you like Jane Wooster Scott, you might like Charles Wysocki. I bet White Mountain Puzzles has some puzzles you'd like, although they also have a lot of hyper-busy overstaurated ones. Maybe Fred Swan's puzzles appeal.

Besides Pomegranate, Eurographics puts out a lot of fine-art puzzles that are often sold in museum gift shops (I don't know if there's a direct-to-consumer source). And museum gift shops (online or in person) are great for puzzles.
posted by mskyle at 11:20 AM on July 23 [6 favorites]

There are lots of sealed vintage puzzles on ebay -- that's where I get my old-school puzzles.
posted by JanetLand at 11:27 AM on July 23 [6 favorites]

Too late to edit but I've done a couple of these New Yorker cover puzzles and they were much more difficult than they looked; the company has a lot of other charming puzzles that are maybe more intentionally designed as puzzles.
posted by mskyle at 11:27 AM on July 23 [3 favorites]

Call up your friendly local board game store, and see if they carry puzzles. Many do, and you can get a closer look at them (art style, size, piece count) before buying. My local board game shop also has a puzzle exchange; once you've finished a puzzle, bring it back to the shop and for $2 you can exchange it for a different one. There's also at least one "Little Free Library" in town that is a dedicated puzzle exchange. Maybe there are similar resources near you?
posted by xedrik at 11:45 AM on July 23 [2 favorites]

Cloudberries make excellent non-AI puzzles.
posted by patricio at 12:50 PM on July 23 [3 favorites]

I absolutely love Piece and Love (Eeboo) puzzles. I love how the pieces feel and the content of the illustrations may appeal to you. I've bought probably a dozen, between gifts and just getting them for myself.
posted by gingerbeer at 12:53 PM on July 23 [4 favorites]

Have you checked out Puzzle Warehouse? I'm a semi-regular customer, and my mom is now one as well (and she goes through puzzles a lot faster than I do). They carry most of the major manufacturers, including Ravensburger, Pomegranate, and Eurographics. Besides those brands, Piatnik also makes some beautiful art puzzles.
posted by May Kasahara at 1:10 PM on July 23 [3 favorites]

Cobble Hill Puzzles
posted by Juniper Toast at 1:12 PM on July 23 [2 favorites]

My friend, the puzzle fiend, hits up local thrift shops (DAV, Goodwill, etc) and finds a wide variety of older puzzles, all super cheap. Target and Barnes & Noble also have good puzzle collections.

Seconding the Magic Puzzle Company above, as well as Ravensburger, New York Puzzle Company and Pomegranate. White Mountain puzzles are also not too bad for the price.
posted by mrphancy at 1:51 PM on July 23 [3 favorites]

I've really liked Gallison Puzzles.

Also, I'm kind of a book nerd, so I've enjoyed a bunch of the Laurence King puzzles as well.
posted by thivaia at 2:35 PM on July 23 [2 favorites]

I attend a regular event at a senior center. There are tons of puzzles available for free. You may have a senior center, go visit, ask if you can swap puzzles. People donate them in far great numbers than they take.
posted by theora55 at 3:43 PM on July 23

If you're seriously dedicated, jigsaw-puzzle collector and restorer Bob Armstrong auctions off beautiful old restored puzzles from his collection once a year – you can see last year's auction listing here. Send your e-mail address to [e-mail] and ask to be notified of this year's auction.
posted by nicwolff at 4:10 PM on July 23 [3 favorites]

My household adores Artifact Puzzles. Like the above-mentioned Liberty Puzzles, they are wooden puzzles where not just the art but the cuts are individually designed by a human. (I happen to enjoy the Artifact folks' taste a little better than Liberty, but all are lovely and your tastes might well run the other way.)
posted by redfoxtail at 5:41 PM on July 23 [1 favorite]

Liberty, Stave, Stumpcraft (though some of theirs do tend towards the highly saturated), Nautilus. Unfortunately, none of these are inexpensive (though they're wood rather than cardboard, and some of them handcut). Which you prefer will depend on your aesthetics.
posted by praemunire at 6:18 PM on July 23

Have you considered having them custom-made with your choice of picture?

Ravensburger provides that service (with a hefty surcharge of course), but there are other cheaper sites out there.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:41 PM on July 23

Agree that thrift stores are great places to get puzzles (and if you don't live near one, I've also bought puzzles off of ShopGoodwill.) Local thrift stores are where I've discovered a lot of the smaller puzzle brands mentioned above (and that I also recommend): Cobble Hill, Eeboo, Pomegranate, New York Puzzle Company. One company not yet mentioned is Art & Fable.
posted by spamandkimchi at 10:51 PM on July 23

Oh! And for more cartoony but utterly delightful drawings - Antelope Puzzle and Fred.
posted by spamandkimchi at 10:58 PM on July 23

Here's a weird idea if you want to step up your puzzle game. Larger puzzle manufacturers will make one die that they use for cutting puzzles and reuse that die across many different designs. If you have two matching die cut puzzles you can try doing them both simultaneously and then make a mash up.
posted by plinth at 7:04 AM on July 24 [1 favorite]

2nding the magic puzzle company. their work is fantastic and they pay their artists well.

a good friend says pomegranate puzzles are amazing.
posted by bruceo at 8:47 PM on July 24