MikesAPuzzler, Author at Puzzling For Fun

Fairhaven by the Sea Puzzle from Milton Bradley

You won’t find this Fairhaven by the Sea puzzle from Milton Bradley in the store. At least, not new you won’t. It’s an older puzzle from artist Charles Wysocki. We ran across it in an antique mall somewhere. I don’t recall what we paid for it but it wasn’t much. We never pass up on a Wysocki puzzle. But, I admit that about 8 hours into this one we were almost reconsidering that! This was one difficult puzzle. Did we ever get our money’s worth out of this one!

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The Sky’s The Limit

The steamboat and the wharf were definitely the easier parts of this Fairhaven by the Sea puzzle from Milton Bradley. The pieces for those sections fell into place pretty easily. And then came the sky. Oh, yeah, you look at the image now and think “really? looks kind of easy to me”. Well, up close, you can’t tell one yellow from another. Cloud edges become difficult to find. They all start to blur together. This one was tough. But yeah, we really enjoyed the final picture when it came together. This was another great work from Charles Wysocki. And a longer journey for us than usual with his puzzles! We usually finish a 1000 piece puzzle in a few hours. Not this one.

The Last Piece

This puzzle contains 1000 pieces. The final puzzle is about 26″ wide and 23″ high. The puzzle did not include a poster but really could’ve used one. We did buy this used, so maybe the original puzzle came with a poster. The pieces fit fairly loosely, but again, it was used so maybe that’s from wear and tear. There aren’t many different kinds of piece cuts which actually added to the challenges. Parts of the image on the box cover were obscured. We found that to be very frustrating. Nowhere on the box could you find a decent-sized image of what the completed puzzle would look like.

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

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Fun Pack Puzzles from Spin Master

I have a seemingly undying addiction to puzzles of cereal boxes, so I had to have this Fun Pack Puzzles from Spin Master. I think it’s because I gobbled down my share of those little boxes of cereal as a kid. And still do on occasion. To not help matters, the puzzles are packaged just like the cereal boxes. How could they not be fun!

This is the third set of puzzles of cereal boxes that we’ve done. The set from White Mountain was super fun. As was the set from Kellogg’s! And I’ll always be on the lookout for more. I wonder if there’s a puzzle of my childhood favorite, Count Chocula cereal!

Big Pieces, Big Fun

The 6 puzzles in the Fun Pack Puzzles from Spin Master aren’t that difficult to finish. The pieces are big. They’re colorful. Each puzzle is boxed individually so you don’t have to worry about accidentally putting Toucan Sam’s nose on Tony The Tiger. The boxes are small, so the images are small, but they’re not hard to figure out. These puzzles are great fun!

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The Last Piece

Each ‘cereal box’ puzzle comes in its own box. There is no poster included with this puzzle, but honestly you really don’t need one. Each puzzle is about 13″ high and 9″ wide. This is a fun puzzle and would make for a great gift for all ages! There are 100 pieces in each puzzle, and they are nice and big and fit tightly. The colors and artwork are fantastic.

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

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In Spring Puzzle from Buffalo Games

We’ve done a good number of puzzles of artwork from Charles Wysocki. They’re very popular, and we can see why. We almost always follow a non-Wysocki puzzle with a Wysocki one. Not that they’re super-easy, but they are often a nice break from some of the really hard ones we’ve done. The In Spring puzzle from Buffalo Games is another great one. It’s an older puzzle, but age doesn’t matter when it comes to puzzles. We love them all, old or new.

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A Little Different

Most of the Charles Wysocki puzzles we’ve completed are views of a large area. Like a main street. Or a countryside. Several houses. Lots of horses. Many trees. The In Spring puzzle from Buffalo Games is a little different in that there’s just one house. One horse. And just a few trees. It’s a very nice painting. This is another one of our favorites.

The Last Piece

This 1000 piece puzzle includes a nice, large poster. The assembled puzzle is about 30″ wide and 24″ high. The pieces fit very well (and rather tightly) and the image quality on the pieces is fantastic. The colors were great. The pieces are thick. This is a quality puzzle that brings hours of enjoyment.

SaleBestseller No. 1

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Effortless Assembly: Buffalo Games presents…
Perfect Snap Fit: Each precision-cut piece ensures…

Bestseller No. 2

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Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Know It All…

Distinctive Americana Imagery: Dive into the world…
Precision Snap Fit: Experience the satisfying snap…

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

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Pet Parade Puzzle from TCG Toys

This Pet Parade Puzzle from TCG Toys caught my eye at an antique mall because it reminded me of some of the artwork from one of our favorite artists, Charles Wysocki. This puzzle had plenty of challenges. All over. Lots of people. In colorful clothing. Fun things and happenings everywhere. There’s a lot going on here, and when completed, this is a great puzzle to sit back and enjoy.

An Interesting Tale

It wasn’t until we finished this Pet Parade Puzzle from TCG Toys that we found out why it seemed familiar. The artist was Harry (Heronim) Wysocki. Same last name because they were brothers! It seems that the two didn’t have a great ending to their relationship. I won’t go into it but if you’re interested in it, I found a link that tells about them.

We did buy this puzzle used. We noticed a few pieces had what appeared to be ‘scuff marks’ on them. I thought it was because it was used, and not gently used at that. But the marks actually seemed to be from the manufacturing process. Things happen, but perhaps it’s something to watch out for in the future from the manufacturer.

The Last Piece

This 1000 piece puzzle did not include a poster. The assembled puzzle is about 27″ wide and 19″ high. The pieces fit fairly well. The colors were clear and nice. We did not encounter any ‘false fit’ pieces. Everything went and fit where it should.

SaleBestseller No. 1

Buffalo Games Charles Wysocki, Old Homestead…

Effortless Assembly: Buffalo Games presents…
Perfect Snap Fit: Each precision-cut piece ensures…

Bestseller No. 2

Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Gifts, Antiques…

CHARLES WYSOCKI WINTER VILLAGE: A snowy Americana…
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Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Know It All…

Distinctive Americana Imagery: Dive into the world…
Precision Snap Fit: Experience the satisfying snap…

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…

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Spices on Spoons Puzzle from HUADADA

When I first saw this Spices on Spoons Puzzle from HUADADA on Amazon I was caught by the colors. I really could see us framing this puzzle to hang in the hallway by our kitchen. And if we did frame our puzzles, we would have. It really is a nice image and definitely one that is frame-worthy. We’ve refrained from framing our puzzles for one simple reason. We’d need 1000 frames and a bigger place!

I was worried, though, that this one would be tough. Lots of black. Small details that would be hard to match. But in the end, my worries were mostly unfounded. This puzzle was actually not terribly hard to finish. Now, that’s not saying it was a total breeze. Nope. But the piece cuts helped make it easier to find where difficult pieces would go. The image quality was fantastic, so the details were easy to match up.

And wow, what a great puzzle to stand back and enjoy after that last piece went into place!

What Spices Do We See?

So let’s see what all we can find in this Spices on Spoons Puzzle from HUADADA! From right to left, I think the spices in the spoons are:

— cloves
— coriander seeds
— red pepper flakes
— black peppercorns
— dried oregano? or basil?
— cayenne
— allspice
— turmeric
— pink peppercorns
— cardamom
— fennel

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What do you see? I could be wrong on a few, so let me know! No matter what, this puzzle (based on a work by Alexander Raths) was fun and fantastic. There are many variations of it available on Amazon and other retailers. And in different sizes!

The Last Piece

This puzzle contains 1000 pieces. The final puzzle is about 27″ wide and 19″ high. There is a HUGE poster included. Like really huge. It’s almost frameable by itself. The pieces fit very nicely. There was almost no puzzle dust in the box. We had no misfitting pieces. Everything went where it looked like it should. The image is bright and detailed. This is a great puzzle, and would make for a great gift for your foodie friends!

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

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Promises Promises Puzzle from Buffalo Games

I probably say it too much. But it’s true. We always love doing a puzzle of Charles Wysocki‘s art after we’ve finished a really hard puzzle. It’s not so much that puzzles of his nostalgic, stylized works are easy. They can be quite challenging. No, it’s more like that feeling you get coming home from a long day at work. Or a long trip. Comforting. Familiar. This Promises, Promises Puzzle from Buffalo Games was another example of that. Although we finished it fairly quickly, we enjoyed it just as much as we do larger puzzles. It’s another Wysocki favorite of ours!

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Snow Blind

We kind of divvied up the assembling of this puzzle. My wife worked the bottom half and I worked the top. She loves the parts of the Wysocki puzzles where there are horses, carts, and animals so this Promises Promises Puzzle from Buffalo Games was perfect for her. Me, I got ‘stuck’ with the snow and sky. You’d think that after all my years of puzzling, the larger pieces and the smaller puzzle, that I’d knock them out in no time. But nope. I hit some roadblocks. They made it fun. I love a good puzzle challenge.

In the end this was another great puzzle. Actually, not just in the end. It was great from start to finish!

The Last Piece

This 500 piece puzzle included a nice poster. The assembled puzzle is about 21″ wide and 15″ high. The pieces fit kinda tightly and it is possible to put pieces where they don’t belong (“mis-fits” or “false fits”). The color and image quality are fantastic. It’s another great example of Wysocki artwork and a quality Buffalo Games 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…

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Know It All Puzzle from Buffalo Games

We’ve done quite a number of puzzles of art from Charles Wysocki. And we’ve enjoyed them all. Usually, there are elements in his works that are common across them. Hearts. Chimneys. The types of trees. Those things. We found this Know It All Puzzle from Buffalo Games to contain a few of those common things, but also, many new ones that we had not yet experienced. This was a little different than our ‘usual’ and we really enjoyed it!

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Kick Back And Enjoy

It’s a sign of a good puzzle when, after the last piece goes in, you can kick back and enjoy the results. Look around. Find things. Point to them, smile. Remember the easy parts. And the tough ones. This Know It All Puzzle from Buffalo Games was a good puzzle. Even great!

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 very well and the image quality on the pieces is fantastic. This is a very fun puzzle to do and enjoy afterwards. The sky and grass areas were the most challenging but not frustratingly so!

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Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki Know It All…

Distinctive Americana Imagery: Dive into the world…
Precision Snap Fit: Experience the satisfying snap…

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…

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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…
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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.

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Perfect Snap Fit: Each precision-cut piece ensures…

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Distinctive Americana Imagery: Dive into the world…
Precision Snap Fit: Experience the satisfying snap…

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…