Rant Review: No Pain, No Painting 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Trefl Prime, Art by Anna Rupprecht)

Trefl is a new-to-me brand, so I couldn't resist picking up several of their puzzles during that ridiculously awesome sale a week or so back. I made sure one of my purchases was from Trefl's Prime lineup. Trefl promises "the finest puzzle experience" right on the box, and all the commentary I've heard backs that up, so I was expecting top-tier quality. Did this puzzle live up to my expectations? Read on to find out! (Or just skip to the end now; I'm not your boss!)

I chose this puzzle from the small selection of TP puzzles in the sale because I like the art style and vibrant colors, and it looked like the most enjoyable one to do. It was fun, and quite easy, with clearly defined sections. The few overlapping colors didn't complicate things much. The snake winding around the puzzle links the separate scenes together while providing the puzzle's most challenging bits. (Still quite easy, however; I left most of the snake for last, and by that time, I had so few pieces remaining that it took all of five minutes to finish it.) Quick and easy, and quite fun to do, this puzzle is a total hit from an art standpoint.

The texture of the box impressed me as soon as I unpacked it. It's very sturdy, and has a nice matte texture, appropriate for the higher quality that is part of the TP line's appeal. I was hoping that the actual pieces would feel as nice. Inside the world's noisiest plastic bag (I was a little surprised that a resealable bag wasn't used) were pieces with a texture that completely surpassed my expectations. Thick, matte, and with the soft velvety feel promised on the box, these are quite possibly the best feeling puzzle pieces I've ever held. The only brand I've done with piece feel on par with this is Magic Puzzle Company, though those are slightly marred by a loose fit. These pieces fit together snugly enough that I could lift sections and move them into place with no worries that they would crumble. This was particularly nice after the crumbly Cardinal I did a few days ago! A decent-sized poster is included.

Unfortunately, it wasn't all sunshine and roses. There were several chunks of pieces that had not been fully cut, and I had more than a dozen damaged pieces. Some were pretty damn bad. This is easily the worst, and most prolific, damage I've ever had in a new puzzle. (Worse than nearly all of the second-hand puzzles I've had, too!) It's definitely an odd feeling experiencing both the best and worst quality in the same puzzle! I can only assume that Trefl had some Covid-era production issues, as many manufacturers did. In the end, I paid $8 for this puzzle, and for that price, its good points vastly outweighed the QC issues. This won't stop me from getting more TP puzzles in the future, and I'll definitely get to one of my standard Trefls soon!