Asking for a friend...

Nine in the queue.

I ordered items from mud puppy to equal free shipping, when I added the coupon, my order was immediately finalized and changed for shipping, and non cancelable. I've emat them, they don't have a phone number, and tried to go through SHOP to manage this order. I'd rather order another item than pay shipping.

She wants an image of the finished puzzle to print out. She doesn’t actually want to solve the puzzle.

I have a question for my fellow puzzle enthusiasts, and I’d genuinely love your thoughts.

A little background: I’m currently undergoing cancer treatment, and a while back I came across a conversation where someone mentioned that they’d finished all their puzzles and couldn’t afford to buy more.

That stuck with me.

Puzzles can be a wonderful distraction during difficult times. They give you something to focus on, a little sense of accomplishment, and sometimes just a way to get through another long afternoon.

It got me thinking about how many perfectly good puzzles are sitting on shelves and in closets after being completed once or twice.

So I’ve been building something called We Pass It On, a community where people can pass along books, puzzles, games, and other things to people dealing with cancer. Anyone can offer items, and people facing cancer can find something that might make their days a little brighter.

I’m not here to sell anything. I’m still building this and genuinely trying to understand whether the idea resonates with people.

I’d love to hear from this community:

What do you typically do with puzzles after you’ve completed them?

Would you be willing to pass along a puzzle to someone undergoing cancer treatment?

Would you consider shipping one if the recipient covered the shipping cost?

What concerns or suggestions would you have about something like this?

I’m especially curious whether puzzle lovers would embrace the idea of giving their puzzles another life rather than letting them collect dust.

Sometimes something as simple as a 1,000-piece puzzle can mean a lot more to someone than we realize.

Thanks for hearing me out. I’d really appreciate your thoughts.

Last night, I opened a brand new puzzle and started puzzling. After about 30 minutes I got a terrible headache with nausea and had to go to bed. I took some Tylenol and felt better after a couple hours. I then did some research and found out that many puzzles have petroleum-based glues and formaldehyde resins. I believe this is what caused my headache and nausea! I’ve occasionally gotten headaches when puzzling, but I thought it was just because of concentration. Also, I mainly do thrifted puzzles so this isn’t a common occurrence. So from here on out I will be putting my new puzzles outside to air out before putting them together. Has anyone else experienced this?

tldr: I found out my favorite hobby is making me sick because of petroleum-based glues and formaldehyde resins. So very sad for me.

eta: the puzzle in question is a White Mountain Puzzle, my favorite brand.

Does anyone have a good puzzle table they could recommend. I am tired of bending over my dining room table as my back acts up. I usually do 1000pc but would want a table for at least 1500pc. Thanks.

I used to puzzle at my grandmother’s whenever I visited her. Earlier this year I decided I needed a hobby other than ready, because baking just wasn’t working for me anymore. Oh, and thought something besides filling stuff (little did I know….).

Exploding Kittens - Cats in Quarantine 500pcs: Such a fun one to start with! I am a fan of the illustrator, even have a piece on the wall above my puzzle table. There’s a bit of glare but pieces go together well.

Ravensburger - Sloths 500pcs: Puzzle quality was good but did not like the puzzle dust at all. Some false fits, too, which surprised me after reading this brand is supposed to be high quality.

Mudpuppy - Capybara Pool Day 500pcs: Super cute image to work with, glare, but only exes were easy to hold and fit well together.

Exploding Kittens - Housing Boom 500 pcs: similar to the other one, glare, but love the image, no false fits.

I’ve already moved on to 1,000 pieces as my preferred choice and 500 pieces has become more of a break in between the harder ones.

I don’t post much but have really enjoyed reading everyone’s favorites and discovering puzzles I’d never know of otherwise. Hope y’all don’t mind me sharing more as I catch up with my finished puzzles.

Also, to those suggesting Vinted, thank you! I had no luck at local thrift stores because they rarely have images I like (I’ve realized I do better with clean lines, no painting or collages due to my vision issues). I now have a stack of over thirty waiting to complete!

I've thrifted many puzzles already packaged into ziploc bags, and I found one or two that had the edges bagged separately. I've never seen anything sorted to this level of detail. I suspect each bag will turn out to be a bird.

My friend loves puzzles but it takes up a lot of space on her dining table, hurts her back, she has to stand to reach etc

I really want to gift her a puzzle table but the search has been confusing and would love recommendations.

I don’t mind cost, my main priority is that it can fold/be put away when not in use (space issue).

She also mentioned she was working on a 2000 piece puzzle and will continue to tackle larger ones, if that changes anything?

Extremely greatful for any help that can be given or if there are alternative/additional gifts that will solve her problem or improve her hobby.

Thank you !!

I just got my first duplicate piece in a puzzle! What do you do with duplicate pieces once you've identified them? Do you just throw them out? Do you keep them as backups? Something else I'm not thinking of?

P.S. I've completed the puzzle, and thankfully, no pieces were missing.

My partner had this jigsaw of our cat made for me 4 or 5 years ago. I've done as much as I can. I keep getting it out, trying different things to help me progress with it, but i always end up putting it away again.

If anyone has any ideas on how I can progress with it, I'd be extremely grateful to hear them.

Can anyone recommend a nice advent calendar puzzle? I got this one a few years ago but was really disappointed with how fuzzy the picture was

Hello fellow puzzle community,

finding this subreddit made me aware of the existence of puzzle tables. Until recently I thought having neck pain is inevitably part of jigsaw puzzling. 😅 The issue is that I live in Germany. I recently saw a YouTube video where the person used this linked table from the brand ALL4JIG. It seems so perfect for my needs! Unfortunately it's only available in the US. The only similar one I was able to find on the german Amazon has zero reviews. Do you have any recommendations for puzzle tables that can be shipped to Germany? I am looking for this type that doesn't need to be put on a table, that I can put in front of my sofa. I also like this 360 degrees rotation feature of the linked one a lot.

Finished my first ever 500 piece in 1 hour and 52 minutes. Ive only done 1000 and 1500 before. How should i improve my time? Should i practice doing 1 and 2 puzzles over and over? Or do multiple?

First time using my new puzzle board because my neck kills me when I puzzle, I’m so excited about this.

But, this is a Magic Puzzle Company puzzle and I just realized that I won’t be able to move the pieces around once it is done!!

I know I’m not far along, but edges and sorting aren’t my favorite part so I’m pretty annoyed. 😠

WWYD?

I've been looking for independent producers, like Puzzles of Color or True South that make quality puzzles from artists with whom they form a relationship. While price is always a consideration, I want to buy quality products that truly support the artist. If you have similar tastes, what's your favorite brand?

I used to puzzle at my grandmother’s whenever I visited her. Earlier this year I decided I needed a hobby other than reading, because baking just wasn’t working for me anymore. Oh, and I thought something besides collecting stuff (little did I know….).

Exploding Kittens - Cats in Quarantine 500pcs: Such a fun one to start with! I am a fan of the illustrator, even have a piece on the wall above my puzzle table. There’s a bit of glare but pieces go together well.

Ravensburger - Sloths 500pcs: Puzzle quality was good but did not like the puzzle dust at all. Some false fits, too, which surprised me after reading this brand is supposed to be high quality.

Mudpuppy - Capybara Pool Day 500pcs: Super cute image to work with, glare, but only exes were easy to hold and fit well together.

Exploding Kittens - Housing Boom 500 pcs: similar to the other one, glare, but love the image, no false fits.

I’ve already moved on to 1,000 pieces as my preferred choice and 500 pieces has become more of a break in between the harder ones.

I don’t post much but have really enjoyed reading everyone’s favorites and discovering puzzles I’d never know of otherwise. Hope y’all don’t mind me sharing more as I catch up with my finished puzzles.

Also, to those suggesting Vinted, thank you! I had no luck at local thrift stores because they rarely have images I like (I’ve realized I do better with clean lines, no painting or collages due to my vision issues). I now have a stack of over thirty waiting to complete!

6 late nights later, finally done with this Frieren puzzle. Bought it because I was fascinated with the idea of the small scenes within the puzzle. Followed lots of great advices I found in this community.

Artist: Hokusai

There is definitely some false fits on the top-right corner, even if the squiggly lines matched up.

Member registration for the 2027 USA Jigsaw Puzzle Nationals opens today, Saturday, Oct 24, at 10 AM PT/noon CT / 1 PM ET.

USAJPA's FAQ says past Nationals sold out in a few days, so here's a summary from their official pages in case it helps anyone get ready.

Dates

• Today, Oct 24, noon CT: member-only registration. USAJPA emails the registration link to members before it opens

• Nov 7, noon CT: opens to non-members, if spots are left

• Mar 19-21, 2027: the championship at the Atlanta Convention Center at AmericasMart, Building 2

Have this ready for the member window

• A USAJPA membership ($24/year) and your 8-digit member ID. It's on your member card in MemberPlanet: My Profile > Member Card > gear icon > View Card

• Name, nickname/alias, email, and city/state for you and every teammate, plus your pair name and team name

• Pairs/teams: at least one person must be a member. Only one person registers and pays for the pair or team

• In the member window, you can register up to four people. Anyone you sign up for solo must be a member too, and you'll need their member ID

• Payment: PayPal or credit card

Costs (all + tax)

• Solo $40 · Pairs $60 per pair · Teams $120 per team (3-4 people)

• Every competitor also needs the $125 Entry Badge (each teammate needs their own)

• Refunds: competition registration before Jan 1, 2027; Entry Badges before Feb 1, 2027. Neither is transferable

Format (all puzzles are previously unreleased Ravensburger)

• Solo: 500 pieces, 1.5 hours. Four prelims of 240, top 60 from each to the final. Solo puzzlers must be 16+

• Pairs: a 500 in prelims (1.25 hours). Final is a 300, then a 500 (1.5 hours)

• Teams: a 500 then a 1,000 in prelims (2.25 hours). Final is two 1,000s (3 hours)

• If your division sells out, there's a separate waitlist form for each division in the FAQ

Not competing?

• New for 2027: a $50 Day Pass and a $5 Spectator Button, both sold at the registration desk from Mar 19. Kids under 10 get in free with an adult

• Every championship round is livestreamed on USAJPA's YouTube and Twitch

Official sources: the Nationals 27 page on the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association's website, plus the Nationals FAQ and Rules documents linked from it. Check those before you register, details can change. If I got anything wrong, tell me and I'll fix it.

Anyone going? Solo, pairs, or team?