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The moment when you sit down on your chair in a speed puzzling competition, nervously waiting to see what the puzzle will be. Most of us speed puzzlers wish for an easy image even though it may not give you better placement in a competition.
Sometimes I hope that the puzzle will be something I have already done before. This had happened but not that often. More competitions are starting to use unpublished puzzle - which is great thing if we want to be taken seriously as a sport.
3.. 2.. 1.. puzzle! It's just one second and the puzzle is revealed. Whether you like it or not, you have to start flipping and thinking about your game plan. What to do first, what is in the image and so on.
I have another blog post about my nightmare competition puzzles. But let's take a look at also those speed puzzling competition puzzles that I have really liked.
Paris Postcard - Swedish Nationals, Pairs Final
I participated (unofficially, as a foreigner) to Pussel SM with a pair that I had never puzzled with before. We qualified from classification round to final, and I was very nervous about what the final puzzle is going to be.
On classification round we were lucky and got a puzzle that my pair had done before, *The Music Room. For the final it was going to be an unpublished puzzle. You have no idea how happy I was when we started and I saw this beautiful Paris Postcard from Ravensburger's postcard series.
Yes, Paris Postcard is definitely one of those that are easy to do but may not give us good placement because it's easy for everyone. But at least I knew it would be easy to split with my pair. With any other puzzle it would have been harder because we didn't know each other well.
We both had done postcard puzzles before. If you have done one, you know the logic of that puzzle. It's same whether it's Paris, *New York or *London postcard. I was also happy because I got the feeling that Paris Postcard may come up again in WJPC 2024.
It's unpublished. It has been available for pre-orders that would arrive later this year. So if this one indeed comes up again in World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship this year, I will have a great advantage.
Hello Vinyl - Swedish Nationals, Individual Final
Same event, Pussel SM aka Swedish Nationals. I made my way to the final in the individual category. I was struggling with my health on this day but at least the final puzzle was exactly my type of puzzle.
I love details and colors. And still life and collages are my favorites. I could have not asked better puzzle for this final. *Hello Vinyl, 500 pieces of pleasure. Okay, I was in pain while I was doing it but it wasn't because of the puzzle. I have done this again at home, and it's so much fun.
This one is also unpublished puzzle from Ravensburger. Most likely coming to market later this year. So many great new puzzles coming up. And I also like the new puzzle box size. It's easier to handle in the speed of a competition. Bigger the box, harder to put on the stand.
Summer Thunderstorm - WJPC 2023, Classification
In 2023 it was my very first time participating the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship. The event kicked off with individual classification rounds. I was on the last group F. Late at night, I was anxious of what's ahead of me.
I was lucky to get a puzzle I had done before. Firstly, our group had the only panorama puzzle seen in the whole individual competition. Secondly, it was from Ravensburger's Nature Edition which is known to be hard. *Summer Thunderstorm, indeed...
I was lucky that it was a puzzle I know, and also that I was familiar with panorama measurement. If you have never done a panorama before, it can really throw you off. Some people don't realised that the corner piece is already attaching and keep lookin wrong edge pieces.
Worth to mention. My time was SLOWER in WJPC with this puzzle. In comparison my first time time at home. But this wasn't a surprise because back then I used to always do puzzles slower for the second time. Still not sure why, but luckily I have gotten over this habit.
Cook Books - Online Competition in Finland
My first competition puzzle ever was *Cook Books. And my first Aimee Stewart puzzle ever. So many warm memories. Thanks to this puzzle and competition I learned that I'm good with details. What a lovely puzzle for my first online speed puzzling competition.
I feel like if I would have gotten some crappy puzzle for my first competition, I would have never continued competing. So I was lucky. This puzzle was very beginner friendly. Imagine if my first competition puzzle would have been like Nature Edition or something?
I have done this multiple times since then and expanded my collection of Aimee Stewart's bookshelf puzzles. I have also her *Vintage Travel Guides (500 piece, Ravensburger) and *Travel Trinkets (1000 piece, Buffalo).
Kitchy Kitchen - Puzzle Competition in Finland
Very similar to Aimee Stewart's bookshelf puzzles, I got this Kitchy Kitchen puzzle in my first live speed puzzling competition. I was so happy because I was still beginner but I knew I would do great with this. And I did win!
At this time I hadn't yet practised my mental side for speed puzzling, so I was lucky to get a puzzle that didn't require any extra boost or mental toughness. I'm a tough cookie in general, but I was still a newbie and this competition setting was new to me.
If you ever wonder what are my favorite puzzles then these two last ones are the literal definition of my favorite. If you are interested in more of my competition participation, there are plenty on competition videos on my Youtube channel.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links in this article are primarily to US Amazon. If puzzle is not available in US Amazon but available in Amazon DE, the link is directing to the latter one. Those puzzles that are available on both sites, the Amazon DE links are listed below for my European readers.
*Hello Vinyl, Ravensburger (currently available fro pre-order)
*Vintage Travel Guides, Ravensburger
*London Postcard, Ravensburger
*New York Postcard, Ravensburger
*The Music Room, Ravensburger
*Cook Books, Ravensburger
*Travel Trinkets, Buffalo
*Paris Postcard is currently not available anywhere. It was earlier this year available for pre-order. I will keep you updated if and when it comes available again.
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