Rant Review: Disney 100 Retro Reimagined Santa Mickey 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Ceaco Silver Select, artists uncredited)

I don't really give a damn about Disney in general or Mickey Mouse in particular, but I like the vintage art used for this puzzle, and I couldn't pass it up when I saw it on sale for $6. (Amusingly, I came across this Target exclusive puzzle on a steep discount at Walmart.com. It was sold by a third party, of course, but having this arrive in Walmart packaging and seeing "ONLY AT TARGET" emblazoned across the top of the box when I opened it up still elicited a chuckle from me.) I expected this one to be quick and easy. Most of it was. But that middle section, with Mickey dressed as Santa Claus? That took as long as the entire rest of the puzzle. His face was easy, but the sea of indistinguishable red and white that made up the bulk of those pieces was a significant speed bump impeding my progress. I've done crazy-ass photomosaics and such, so this is nowhere near one of the toughest puzzles I've done, but that middle section turned a quick and easy 1,000 piecer into a multiple day project. The first couple of days I worked on it, I tackled it after I was done with work and dealing with assorted other responsibilities, so I simply couldn't muster the patience to get through it. On the third day, I resigned myself to shape sorting the remaining pieces so I could just power through it. My mind simply didn't want to wrap around the way those pieces were going together, for whatever reason. Even looking at the completed puzzle now, I really don't get why that section was so relatively tough. Things just happen that way sometimes, though; were I to do this puzzle at a less hectic time of the year, it likely wouldn't have taken me nearly as long. As things are, it represents a weird anomaly in my regular puzzling.

This is the first puzzle I've done from the Silver Select series. I noticed no real difference in the quality of the actual pieces, but the packaging is greatly improved over the standard Ceaco/Buffalo puzzles. The sturdy cardboard box with its sliding drawer is a massive improvement over the glued-shut boxes of their standard line, and the resealable bag is a nice inclusion, as well. A poster is also included, and is actually large enough to be of help, should you need it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another puzzle in this line!

Here Comes Christmas! 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Ravensburger, art by Ingrid Slyder)

This quick and easy 500 piecer was just what I needed after that last one! It also felt appropriate since we had just watched our town's Xmas parade, though it was not quite as grand as the one depicted here! (Ours did feature a whopping FIVE Grinches, though!) The red border made it simple to pick out all edge pieces during sorting, and the art was varied enough that there was very little ambivalence over which area each piece belonged in. The multiple trees, marching band, and crowds presented a mild challenge, but this remained a pleasant evening's puzzling. I had a good many bent tabs, though fortunately, none of them were splitting. This was definitely more lax quality control than I typically see in a Ravensburger puzzle, but none of the bent pieces were so bad as to prevent them fitting together, or mar the look of the completed puzzle. I might be more annoyed about the bent pieces if I hadn't gotten this so cheap. (Thank you Target 50% off sale!) I still have ten more holiday and winter-themed puzzles to go, so on to the next! 

Rant Review: Evening Performance 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Buffalo Games, art by Darrell Bush)

I'm a sucker for snowy scenes, cabins, and aurora, so adding this to my cart during the recent sales was a no-brainer. I decided to tackle it after finishing that Rockefeller Center 1,000 piecer last week, as I often like to do a smaller puzzle as a bit of a palette cleanser between larger ones.  

This took me twice as long to put together. Really. 

Looking at the art, there are obviously some rather dark areas, but nothing that looks particularly problematic. The central area with the cabin, deer, and much of the surrounding snow flew together practically on its own. From there, things got trickier. Still, I've done far more complex puzzles, so nothing to worry about. Just do a bit of simple shape sorting and power through it, right?

This is where I was reminded the hard way that Buffalo is a value brand marketed toward casual shoppers in big box stores. False fits were all too common, and not easy to spot when many of the pieces were a dark smear of some shade of blue. Thus, whenever a piece seemed to fit, I had to second-guess myself, then go through every other piece of the same shape to see if there was one that seemed to fit just a bit more snugly. This was indeed the case with annoying frequency. I finally grabbed my high-powered flashlight and used it as an aid to better see the dark smears of paint on each piece to help me complete the darker areas. From there, the gradient in the sky made it a breeze to assemble, and the puzzle was done at last!

I've done a couple of other puzzles from Buffalo recently, but the art on those made it very easy to avoid false fits. I won't be avoiding Buffalo, as I still find the slightly loose fit and overall level of quality perfectly acceptable for the price point, but this puzzle served as a reminder to be vigilant of the difference between a pretty puzzle and a fun puzzle in the future! A challenging design can be fun, but you have to be able to trust the puzzle itself not to throw in an additional handicap that turns it into tedium.

Rant Review: Rockefeller Center Joy 1,000 Pieces Jigsaw Puzzle (Ravensburger, art by Pierpaolo Rivero)

This Rockefeller Center scene is my first Xmas-themed puzzle of the season, following the winter-themed one I did a few days earlier. The jovial mood is captured very well by the artist, and there are nice little scenes playing out all across the ice. I knew that tree was bound to be the toughest part of the entire puzzle, and it damn sure was! A few false fits certainly didn't help matters any. It's a good thing the tree only takes up a relatively small amount of space! After knocking it out, the buildings, which normally might have posed a bit of a challenge, were a joy to put together! 

The quality is more less typical of other recently-produced Ravenburgers I've done, with a slightly loose fit. The actual piece quality is as good as expected, though there seemed to be more dust than usual. Even after two siftings, there was still a noticeable amount remaining. I'm beginning to think Ravensburger has someone at the factory specifically to toss in an extra handful of dust before the box is sealed! The typical lack of poster is normally not an issue for me, as I rarely use them, but one would have been appreciated with this one. Still, I enjoyed putting it together, even as I cursed that tree a couple of times. I have more than a dozen winter and holiday-themed puzzles to do, so on to the next!