This is my first wooden puzzle, aside from the simple ones I did when I was a toddler, that is. I'd been wanting to do a wooden puzzle for awhile now, and had been eyeing several at various online stores. This one was randomly 53% off a few days ago, and I couldn't resist ordering it. Packaged in a wooden box, its presentation is a few notches above a typical cardboard puzzle. Obviously it's thin, cheap wood, but I'm not expecting top-tier handcrafted finery for $15. The drawer has a puzzle piece-shaped handle, and there is a drawstring bag included to hold the pieces. I typically enjoy funky puzzle piece shapes, so this was right up my alley! Some are random shapes, and some are shaped like animals. It's undoubtedly an easy puzzle, but an enjoyable build all the same. It's small and fun enough that I can see pulling it out here and there when I'm just in the mood for a puzzle but don't feel like tackling a massive one.
On the QC front, I came across a surprisingly large splinter while removing pieces from the drawer. I didn't get a pic of it, unfortunately; I said something brilliant like "What the hell?!?" and set it aside, at which point it promptly vanished. I'm sure I'll rediscover it while walking to the kitchen or something any day now. Anyway, the pieces are obviously sturdy, and cut well. Some of the fits are rather tight, and can take some finessing to get in place, especially if you're locking more than two together at once. With my big meaty man hands, finesse is not one of my chief attributes, so pieces were accidentally knocked apart on several occasions before tidily fitting together while I was building this thing. Thankfully, I was well-prepared with a varied arsenal of colorful language, and that kept things flowing smoothly. The print is nice and clear, with sharp lines and vibrant colors. It's a cute image with a couple of surprisingly creepy touches lurking within its brush strokes. I like it enough that I'm tempted to hang it on the wall, but then I wouldn't be able to build it again, so that's out for now.
Overall, I really enjoyed this puzzle! I can easily see myself doing more wooden puzzles in the future if the price is right. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention one of the big positive aspects of a wooden puzzle: There is no puzzle dust! (Though you might get splinters.)
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