Puzzles – absorbing, fun, challenging
For many of us tackling a jigsaw puzzle evokes fond memories of childhood. Depending on how old we were, we might have been given a 100-piece, 200-piece or even 500-piece puzzle to work on. It was often a shared challenge with brothers or sisters with the unspoken acknowledgement that sooner or later an adult would lend some assistance.
We started off with the corners and then worked our way around the edges, creating a frame to fill-in. And then with a copy of the picture, we looked to recreate close to hand (usually printed on the back of the jigsaw puzzle box) it was off to work.
Looks like the perfect place to relax and do a Fine Art America jigsaw puzzle.
A ‘respite activity’
Wall-filling TVs, speakers throughout the house, PCs, laptops, games, phones, iPods, iPads, iManythings – many homes don’t lack devices connecting them to the outside world. Those connections often demand instant attention and continuous communication. The number of messages and communications we receive on a daily basis – the vast majority digitally – has increased more than exponentially in recent years.
Sometimes we just need a bit of a break.
Jigsaw puzzles for adults, or indeed children, can provide a welcome respite from the pinging of devices and relentless flow of ‘stuff.’
Recent Covid-19 lockdowns, restrictions on travel and levels of social interaction have generated a resurgence in people taking on the challenge of a good jigsaw puzzle.
Puzzles are fun
I love the idea of a black and white jigsaw puzzle being more challenging.
… and of course, they can be completed at the puzzler’s (or puzzle team’s) own pace. No pinging, buzzing alerts or reminders. Puzzles have come on a bit in recent years as well. Traditional landscape and harbour scenes are still available and widely popular, but there’s a whole new raft of images and designs that bring this most nostalgic of pursuits firmly into the twenty-first century. You can get puzzles for adults based on inspirational phrases or quotes, modern beach scenes, science fiction and/or superheroes, animals, the supernatural and more. Most people seem to be sticking to the standard sizes of 500-piece and 1000-piece jigsaws with just a few brave souls venturing into more ambitious territory.
Custom puzzles
If you’re looking for something a bit different, very familiar or perhaps quite adventurous, you can upload your own photo or image to create a custom jigsaw puzzle. It’s simple to do. A custom puzzle would, of course, make a great gift – your wedding picture, a favourite car or motorbike, that lovely, really natural picture last year when Mum and Dad weren’t looking. Or maybe young Jake in his college death metal band? Creating a custom puzzle provides the opportunity to put your stamp on something that will generate hours of fun over many years.
So why not?
Puzzles are fun. There’s no time limit to completing them. They can be a solitary or group challenge. They don’t hinder conversation. And… you don’t need to recharge a jigsaw puzzle.
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