MikesAPuzzler, Author at Puzzling For Fun

Cincinnati Puzzle from Dowdle

We were in Cincinnati at an antique mall. I was perusing the booths when I ran into this Cincinnati puzzle from Dowdle. I had to have it. I was in Cincy, after all. And we both love puzzles of Eric Dowdle’s works. They’re often challenging, and always great to look at. Even as Indiana Hoosiers we were able to identify many of the landmarks in this puzzle. Red’s stadium (Go Reds!). PNC Bank. And of course, there’s even a Skyline Chili sign! This was a fun puzzle for sure!

I wasn’t able to find this puzzle online new, but you can always find it (and many others) used on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, thrift stores or flea markets, and our favorite place to find used puzzles, antique malls!

Bestseller No. 1

Buffalo Games – Eric Dowdle Get Your Kicks on…

HIGH QUALITY JIGSAW PUZZLE: Our jigsaw puzzles are…
FUN AND RELAXING ACTIVITY: Puzzling is an…

Bestseller No. 2

Buffalo Games – Eric Dowdle Outer Banks…

PUZZLING EXPERIENCE: Dive into Dowdle’s Outer…
PREMIUM RECYCLED BOARD: Made from recycled…

Bestseller No. 3

Buffalo Games – Eric Dowdle Statue of Liberty…

HIGH QUALITY JIGSAW PUZZLE: Our 300-piece jigsaw…
FUN AND RELAXING ACTIVITY: Puzzling is an…

No Stroll Along The River

I can’t say we’ve ever ‘blown through’ a Dowdle puzzle. The colors and pieces can make them challenging. That’s what we want, right? And we want things we can identify. As visitors to Cincinnati on a regular basis, we found this to be a really fun puzzle and one we definitely didn’t finish in just minutes!

The Last Piece

This 500 piece puzzle did not include a poster. The image on the box is a bit small, and somewhat obscured (at least on front of the box). The assembled puzzle is about 20″ wide and 16″ high. The pieces (some are cut in wild shapes) fit great but we did have a few false fits (you know, pieces that looked like they went somewhere but really didn’t belong there). The color and image quality are fantastic. The puzzle came in a nice box. This is a quality puzzle that is a real joy to assemble.

Got questions about puzzling? Are you new to this great hobby? Check out our FAQ and guide to puzzling!

Ceaco – Puzzle Scoop with LED Light & Magnifier…

LIFT & MOVE PUZZLE SECTIONS: Slides under…
BUILT-IN LED LIGHT & 3X MAGNIFIER: Integrated LED…

Floral Fiesta Puzzle from Springbok

The Floral Fiesta puzzle from Springbok was one of the brightest, most colorful puzzles we’ve done. That’s what drew us to it in the first place. Everything in it pops right off the puzzle. We sort our puzzles (usually, unless they’re just too hard to sort!) and this one had its obvious sorting areas. That’s not to say this was an easy puzzle. Oh no, my fellow puzzlers, it was not.

Springbok Floral Fiesta 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle…

Bursting with color and detail, this bright…
Unique Cut Pieces for Extra Fun – Each puzzle…

Sometimes, Not Just The Picture Is The Challenge

The most challenging part of this Floral Fiesta puzzle from Springbok was the pieces themselves. First, the material. These pieces are thick. Big time thick. They are almost like thick cardboard boxes. Because of that, some were a little curved or bent. Not bad, just sometimes noticeably so. To make matters more challenging, the pieces are cut in crazy ways. Or I should say, they are cut very ‘Springbok-like’. Crazy shapes and sizes. The kind that make finding edges a tough thing to do in some cases.

In the end, this was one of our favorite puzzles. The challenges and the colors gave us a lot of fun and enjoyment.

The Last Piece

This puzzle did not include a poster. The box is large and you can see the image quite well on it, so you really don’t need a poster. There are 1000 very colorful pieces in this puzzle. The assembled puzzle is about 24″ high and 30″ wide. The pieces fit tightly and it’s fairly hard (but not impossible) to put a piece into the wrong place without it being obvious. Some pieces that look like edges are in fact, not. The pieces are cut in different shapes, are very thick and fit very tightly. This was a great puzzle.

Got questions about puzzling? Are you new to this great hobby? Check out our FAQ and guide to puzzling!

Ceaco – Puzzle Scoop with LED Light & Magnifier…

LIFT & MOVE PUZZLE SECTIONS: Slides under…
BUILT-IN LED LIGHT & 3X MAGNIFIER: Integrated LED…

Amish Country Puzzle from Buffalo Games

We absolutely love puzzles of the artwork from Charles Wysocki. Well, the 1000-piece puzzles. And the 500-piece puzzles. This was our first time tackling a 2000-piece one. This was like Wysocki on steroids. Never had we encountered so much ‘Wysocki’ on one puzzle! Horses galore. Houses everywhere. Trees of every shape and color. This Amish Country Puzzle from Buffalo Games was a truly fun puzzle.

I could not find this puzzle currently on Amazon, and it was unavailable on the Buffalo Games website, but check back often, you never know when it might pop back up!

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki – Virginias Nest…

Contains a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle
Finished size is 26.75 x 19.75 inches

The Details

It took us a while, but this Amish Country Puzzle from Buffalo Games was actually not as complicated as it might look at first. There are subtle differences between each ‘layer’ of the puzzle that help distinguish the pieces. Like the colors of the trees. The colors of the paths. The patterns in the houses. All of these things and more help make it just a bit easier. Still, there are 2000 pieces and a lot going on!

The Last Piece

This 2000 piece puzzle included a nice large poster. The assembled puzzle is about 29″ wide and 27″ high so it is quite large (for us at least). The pieces fit great. We did have a few false fits (you know, pieces that looked like they went somewhere but really didn’t belong there). The color and image quality are fantastic. The puzzle came in a really nice box with the pieces bagged in a heavy duty bag. This is a quality puzzle that is a real joy to assemble.

Bestseller No. 1

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Old Homestead…

HIGH QUALITY JIGSAW PUZZLE: Our 1000-piece jigsaw…
FUN AND RELAXING ACTIVITY: Puzzling is an…

Bestseller No. 2

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Rainbow’s End…

IMMERSIVE CHALLENGE: Piece together this vibrant…
ICONIC CHARLES WYSOCKI ART: Enjoy “Rainbow’s…

Bestseller No. 3

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Patriotic…

1000 PIECE JIGSAW PUZZLE – This 1000-piece…
FUN AND RELAXING ACTIVITY: Puzzling is an…

Got questions about puzzling? Are you new to this great hobby? Check out our FAQ and guide to puzzling!

Ceaco – Puzzle Scoop with LED Light & Magnifier…

LIFT & MOVE PUZZLE SECTIONS: Slides under…
BUILT-IN LED LIGHT & 3X MAGNIFIER: Integrated LED…

Pixels and Pizza Puzzle from Buffalo Games

I wouldn’t be surprised if some people have two different reactions to the puzzles designed by Aimee Stewart, one of our favorite artists. First, the images are always ‘cool’, usually of retro scenes and items. Lots of colors. Lots of things. And that’s why we buy them. But I admit, when we opened the box of the Pixels and Pizza puzzle from Buffalo Games our first thought was “Yowsa, how we gonna sort this thing?” If sorting the pieces first is your thing, this puzzle can be a bit challenging. Colors, everywhere. If you sort by color you’re in for a challenge (sorting by objects might be easier!). But, one thing’s for sure. You cannot beat the final result!

Buffalo Games – Aimee Stewart – Pixels and Pizza…

Contains a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle
Finished size is 26.75 x 19.75 inches

Buffalo Games – Aimee Stewart Pizza and Pocket…

HIGH QUALITY JIGSAW PUZZLE: Our 1000-piece jigsaw…
FUN AND RELAXING ACTIVITY: Puzzling is an…

No Worries

Luckily, sorting this Pixels and Pizza puzzle from Buffalo Games really isn’t that bad after you dive in and get started. Each piece had enough of an identifiable object on it that finding its place in the puzzle was actually fairly easy. And a lot of fun. And when we were done, we found ourselves standing there pointing. “Foosball!” “Boom box!” All the neat nostalgic things to look at and enjoy. This is another great Aimee Stewart puzzle. It started out looking like a monumental challenge but in the end was actually almost easy. Almost.

The Last Piece

This puzzle included a poster. There are 1000 very colorful pieces in this puzzle. The assembled puzzle is about 20″ high and 27″ wide. The pieces fit tightly and it’s fairly hard (but not impossible) to put a piece into the wrong place without it being obvious. This was a great puzzle.

Got questions about puzzling? Are you new to this great hobby? Check out our FAQ and guide to puzzling!

Ceaco – Puzzle Scoop with LED Light & Magnifier…

LIFT & MOVE PUZZLE SECTIONS: Slides under…
BUILT-IN LED LIGHT & 3X MAGNIFIER: Integrated LED…

Storin’ Up Puzzle from Buffalo Games

Doing a Charles Wysocki puzzle is like coming home from a long vacation. Familiar. Comforting. We had just completed a rather tough puzzle. Oh it was fun, don’t get me wrong. But it took a while and really exercised our brains. It was time for something a bit less challenging for us. Not easy, but just a little less taxing on our brains. This Storin’ Up Puzzle from Buffalo Games was perfect for that. We’ve done many a Charles Wysocki puzzle, so its familiarity was a welcome thing for us.

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Storin’ Up…

Americana Puzzle Art: Experience the charm of…
Perfect Snap Fit: Dive into a satisfying puzzle…

Comfort In A Puzzle

When you’ve done a number of Wysocki puzzles you’ll soon realize that there are usually similar objects to be found from puzzle to puzzle. Horses. Trees. Houses. Paths. Grass. All fairly similar. But not boring. They’re definitely not a case of ‘you’ve done one, you’ve done them all’. They’re all fun and challenging in their own ways. Just like this Storin’ Up Puzzle from Buffalo Games. We’ll never get tired of them!

The Last Piece

This puzzle included a poster. There are 1000 pieces in this puzzle. The assembled puzzle is about 20″ high and 27″ wide. The pieces fit tightly and it’s fairly hard (but not impossible) to put a piece into the wrong place without it being obvious. The colors were very good. This was a great puzzle.

Bestseller No. 1

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Old Homestead…

HIGH QUALITY JIGSAW PUZZLE: Our 1000-piece jigsaw…
FUN AND RELAXING ACTIVITY: Puzzling is an…

Bestseller No. 2

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Rainbow’s End…

IMMERSIVE CHALLENGE: Piece together this vibrant…
ICONIC CHARLES WYSOCKI ART: Enjoy “Rainbow’s…

Bestseller No. 3

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Patriotic…

1000 PIECE JIGSAW PUZZLE – This 1000-piece…
FUN AND RELAXING ACTIVITY: Puzzling is an…

Got questions about puzzling? Are you new to this great hobby? Check out our FAQ and guide to puzzling!

Ceaco – Puzzle Scoop with LED Light & Magnifier…

LIFT & MOVE PUZZLE SECTIONS: Slides under…
BUILT-IN LED LIGHT & 3X MAGNIFIER: Integrated LED…

Tranquility Puzzle from Spin Master

Calm is an app for your phone that plays soundscapes or music to help you sleep, focus and relax. Kinda like puzzling. So it makes sense that the makers of Calm and Spin Master teamed up to do a number of puzzles that pair with Calm. The images on the puzzle are calming too, even if you don’t have Calm! We found this Tranquility Puzzle for sale used at one of our favorite antique malls. I’ve scored big and often at it. I’d tell you the name but I don’t want to lose on my favorite sources for puzzles. Sorry!

Big Pieces. Big Fun.

We don’t do many 300 piece puzzles. We tend to have mostly 1000 piece ones going. We puzzle so often that I’m afraid if we did only 300 (or even 500) piece ones we’d have to add a storage unit to the house just to keep up with them. When we do a smaller puzzle it always amazes me how big the pieces are. But that doesn’t always mean easier. The darker areas of this puzzle were still quite the challenge. This Tranquility Puzzle from Spin Master was a fun puzzle. And yes, it was relaxing too!

The Last Piece

This 300 piece puzzle was brightly colored and peaceful! The assembled puzzle is about 24″ wide and 18″ high. The pieces fit very well. It was a fairly easy puzzle to complete, though the darker areas were a bit more challenging. The pieces are nice and large, and thick. They’re easy to handle to boot!

Bestseller No. 1

Spin Master Games, 1000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzles…

2 Beautiful Puzzles In One Set: You receive two…
Vibrant, Colorful Art: This line of gorgeous…

Bestseller No. 2

2-Pack of 1000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzles, Pine Cabin…

2 BEAUTIFUL PUZZLES IN ONE SET: You receive two…
VIBRANT, COLORFUL ART: This line of gorgeous…

Bestseller No. 3

2-Pack of 1000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzles, Succulents…

JIGSAW PUZZLE 2 PACK: The perfect activity for the…
VIBRANT, COLORFUL ART: This line of gorgeous…

Got questions about puzzling? Are you new to this great hobby? Check out our FAQ and guide to puzzling!

Ceaco – Puzzle Scoop with LED Light & Magnifier…

LIFT & MOVE PUZZLE SECTIONS: Slides under…
BUILT-IN LED LIGHT & 3X MAGNIFIER: Integrated LED…

Mountain Retreat Puzzle from Buffalo Games

This Mountain Retreat Puzzle from Buffalo Games is a ‘Night and Day’ puzzle. I didn’t even really notice that when we bought it, but it says it right on the box! Yep. The puzzle goes from night (right) to day (left). Or ‘Day and Night’ if you want to look at it the other way. Anyway, it’s kinda different. A lot of this puzzle is kinda different actually. This was a fun what I call ‘clip-art’ puzzle. Things everywhere. But they made sense. Some ‘clip-art’ puzzles look like someone just dragged-and-dropped stuff randomly onto a screen. Not this one. It was fun. And colorful.

Sale

Buffalo Games – Mountain Retreat – 1000 Piece…

SCENIC PUZZLING RETREAT: Get lost in a relaxing…
STUNNING JEFF HAYNIE ARTWORK: Enjoy a richly…

Sit Back. Relax. And Enjoy.

We had just finished a large, really hard puzzle. Not that that’s a bad thing. But we needed a little something to get us over it… Something a little easier. But not so easy that we weren’t challenged at least a bit. This Mountain Retreat puzzle from Buffalo Games was perfect for that. Lots of colors. Lots of fun. Challenging but not frustratingly so!

The Last Piece

This 1000 piece puzzle included a poster. The trees were the hardest part to complete, we think. The assembled puzzle is about 27″ wide and 20″ high. The pieces fit kinda tightly. The color and image quality are fantastic.

Bestseller No. 1

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Ice Cream…

Iconic Americana Scene: Experience the charm of…
Reference Poster Included: Enjoy a seamless…

Bestseller No. 2

Buffalo Games – Cottage by the Sea – 1000 Piece…

SERENE PUZZLING EXPERIENCE: Unwind as you piece…
PREMIUM QUALITY MATERIALS: Crafted with recycled…

Bestseller No. 3

Buffalo Games – Aimee Stewart – Vintage USA…

IMMERSIVE, NOSTALGIC PUZZLING EXPERIENCE: Enjoy a…
ICONIC AMERICAN ROAD TRIP COLLAGE: This vibrant…

Got questions about puzzling? Are you new to this great hobby? Check out our FAQ and guide to puzzling!

Ceaco – Puzzle Scoop with LED Light & Magnifier…

LIFT & MOVE PUZZLE SECTIONS: Slides under…
BUILT-IN LED LIGHT & 3X MAGNIFIER: Integrated LED…

New York Puzzle from Dowdle

Vibrant and whimsical, Dowdle puzzles are popular in our household. And they can be very challenging, especially the larger piece-count ones. Luckily, perhaps, I ran across this New York Puzzle from Dowdle at an antique mall and it only had 300 pieces. “Whew”, I thought, “A Dowdle I can finish in less than a week!”. It’s not that I’m in a race. But the bigger ones take a long time and that day, I wanted something quick. A puzzle that I could sit back and enjoy the final result in a matter of hours, and not days. And this was it.

Sale

Dowdle Jigsaw Puzzle, New York, 1000 Piece

Each puzzle has a colorful story to tell
Puzzle Fun for Adults: Boardwalk puzzles are…

A Tale Of Two Cities

Our New York Puzzle from Dowdle was used. And maybe older. I’m not sure. But I do know when I looked for it on Amazon what I found was a totally different puzzle. So apparently, there are two ‘New York’ puzzles from Dowdle? Our version was totally fun. The other looks fun too! But I wanted you to know in case you go searching for the one we made, you might find something different!

The Last Piece

This 300 piece puzzle included a poster. The assembled puzzle is about 15″ wide and 1″ high. The pieces fit tightly. Our puzzle was purchased used. You could tell that the previous owner (or owners!) had some issue with determine where some pieces went as they are dog-eared in spots. The color and image quality were quite good. This was classic Dowdle, and fun to assemble and enjoy in the end!

Bestseller No. 1

Buffalo Games – Eric Dowdle Get Your Kicks on…

HIGH QUALITY JIGSAW PUZZLE: Our jigsaw puzzles are…
FUN AND RELAXING ACTIVITY: Puzzling is an…

Bestseller No. 2

Buffalo Games – Eric Dowdle Outer Banks…

PUZZLING EXPERIENCE: Dive into Dowdle’s Outer…
PREMIUM RECYCLED BOARD: Made from recycled…

Bestseller No. 3

Buffalo Games – Eric Dowdle Statue of Liberty…

HIGH QUALITY JIGSAW PUZZLE: Our 300-piece jigsaw…
FUN AND RELAXING ACTIVITY: Puzzling is an…

Got questions about puzzling? Are you new to this great hobby? Check out our FAQ and guide to puzzling!

Ceaco – Puzzle Scoop with LED Light & Magnifier…

LIFT & MOVE PUZZLE SECTIONS: Slides under…
BUILT-IN LED LIGHT & 3X MAGNIFIER: Integrated LED…

Garden’s Glory Puzzle from Buffalo Games

We recently finished our first 1000 piece puzzle of some of Darrell Bush’s artwork. We loved Loon Lake so much that the next time we were at our grocery store we picked up a few more puzzles from Mr. Bush. Like his others, the Garden’s Glory puzzle from Buffalo Games was truly fantastic…. when it was completed. But boy, it was a challenge. Many similar colors gave us hours of enjoyable difficulty. It was all worth it. This is a great piece of art. And one that is definitely frame-worthy!

Red. Green. White.

There are quite a few red pieces in this puzzle. And green. And white. They can give you fits, too. If you’re looking for a puzzle that will give you several hours of quality puzzling time, Garden’s Glory puzzle from Buffalo Games is it. I highly recommend Darrell Bush’s art if you are looking for great lighting and colors. We’ve enjoyed them all. And we are looking forward to the other puzzles of his that we have in our (rather large) to-do pile!

Ceaco – Puzzle Scoop with LED Light & Magnifier…

LIFT & MOVE PUZZLE SECTIONS: Slides under…
BUILT-IN LED LIGHT & 3X MAGNIFIER: Integrated LED…

The Last Piece

This puzzle included a poster. There are 1000 pieces in this puzzle. The assembled puzzle is about 20″ high and 27″ wide. The pieces fit tightly. If you get a piece wrong you had to be careful removing it or you’d damage the pieces. The colors were very good. This was a great puzzle.

Bestseller No. 1

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Ice Cream…

Iconic Americana Scene: Experience the charm of…
Reference Poster Included: Enjoy a seamless…

Bestseller No. 2

Buffalo Games – Cottage by the Sea – 1000 Piece…

SERENE PUZZLING EXPERIENCE: Unwind as you piece…
PREMIUM QUALITY MATERIALS: Crafted with recycled…

Bestseller No. 3

Buffalo Games – Aimee Stewart – Vintage USA…

IMMERSIVE, NOSTALGIC PUZZLING EXPERIENCE: Enjoy a…
ICONIC AMERICAN ROAD TRIP COLLAGE: This vibrant…

Got questions about puzzling? Are you new to this great hobby? Check out our FAQ and guide to puzzling!

Ceaco – Puzzle Scoop with LED Light & Magnifier…

LIFT & MOVE PUZZLE SECTIONS: Slides under…
BUILT-IN LED LIGHT & 3X MAGNIFIER: Integrated LED…

Old Town Cats Puzzle from PICKFORU

We do not frame our completed puzzles. This Old Town Cats Puzzle from PICKFORU almost changed our minds about that. This is definitely a frame-worthy puzzle. Its retro-like cats would match some of the retro-like cats found in our home. It’s a fun picture. And it was a fun puzzle to assemble too, even though it definitely had its challenges! It’s a quality puzzle with a great image that is really fun to stand back and enjoy for a while.

Sale

Black Cat Puzzles for Adults 1000 Pieces, Funny…

Cat puzzles for adults 1000 pieces: Immerse…
Animal puzzles for adults : Dimensions…

A Tale (Tail?) Of Letters

The pieces in this Old Town Cats Puzzle from PICKFORU have letters on the backs to assist in sorting. We used them. I admit it. Some people don’t like them. Some love them. This is going to be a fun puzzle for you no matter which way you go. There are only 6 different letters, so it’s not like you still don’t have some work ahead of you even if you do sort based on them. The letters might help but they don’t do the puzzle for you!

The Last Piece

This puzzle included a nice poster. You could actually frame the poster instead! There were 1000 pieces in this puzzle. The pieces fit tightly. Quite tightly. They are light and have a shiny, almost plastic feel to them. I’m not saying that as a bad thing, they just felt different than other puzzles. It wasn’t easy to have ‘false fits’, so you could pretty much rest easy that when a piece went in, it went in to the right spot. This puzzle was a nice challenge and enjoyable to look at. It was around 24″ high and 24″ wide when completed.

SaleBestseller No. 1