Over the last few years, the magic of jigsaw puzzles has caught on worldwide, and an amazing puzzle culture has been born. Our team at Completing the Puzzle has been puzzle-crazed for a long time, and we’re thrilled to see that the rest of the world is catching up.
Puzzles are everywhere, from jigsaw puzzle events to up-and-coming puzzle brands and puzzling social media influencers sharing their best tips. Let’s dive into how our favorite pastime, which used to be a solo activity, has become so beloved and community-oriented.
The COVID-19 pandemic played a huge role in the origins of Completing the Puzzle, and it also sparked a new love of puzzling around the world. With everyone stuck at home, working on a jigsaw puzzle was a fun and comforting way to pass the time. In fact, puzzle sales went through the roof in 2020!
Jigsaw puzzles offered a screen-free activity that people could do by themselves or with their families. Thanks to the meditative flow state that you get into when you work on a puzzle, it was a great way to forget about the troubles of the world and destress.
While some people hung up their puzzling habits when the pandemic ended, for many, it inspired a lifelong hobby. We’ve welcomed tons of new puzzlers into the Completing the Puzzle community, and we’re thrilled that their love of puzzling has lasted much longer than the pandemic!
Puzzle images had stayed in a pretty predictable zone for a couple of decades, but new art and aesthetics have taken off in recent years. Smaller puzzle brands have made a name for themselves in the puzzling industry. We still have big love for the big brands, but we also love highlighting new brands that are doing things differently.
Indie brands are finding creative new ways to deliver puzzles by:
These brands have attracted a whole new generation of jigsaw puzzle lovers, and they offer puzzle veterans new and exciting options. We’ve added a ton of indie puzzle brands to the Completing the Puzzle catalog, and we’re always adding more!
Speed puzzling events–where teams and individuals race against the clock to finish a puzzle–were a big deal around the 1980s in the United States, but then they petered out. Thanks to the rise of puzzle culture, these events have made a big comeback, especially in the 2020s.
The St. Paul Winter Carnival Jigsaw Puzzle Contest in Minnesota has been running for many years and is the largest puzzle competition in the Western hemisphere. In 2019, The World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships entered the scene and launched their first event, drawing competing teams from around the globe. Next, the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association was founded in 2020, and by 2022, they hosted their first US Nationals competition.
Speed puzzling events have grown in size and popularity annually, and it serves as a celebration of both puzzling and the jigsaw puzzle community. Some participants take it so seriously that they train throughout the year!
While puzzles are a great screen-free activity, they’ve also taken off in the online world. We’ve seen the rise of puzzle influencers like Karen Puzzles, The Casual Puzzler, and SarahDoesPuzzles, and fun viral puzzle challenges that everyone can take part in.
The online world of puzzles has grown the puzzling community and connected puzzlers around the world. We’re excited to see how it continues to grow!
We love that puzzle culture has reached the mainstream, and we can’t wait to see what happens next. Our favorite thing is welcoming new members into the Completing the Puzzle community and watching them fall in love with jigsaw puzzles too.
Completing the Puzzle is a puzzle subscription service that delivers unique puzzles to your doorstep. When you’re done, simply send it back to us and we’ll send you your next puzzle! Check out Completing the Puzzle membership options today!