Working on a jigsaw puzzle can be an incredible solo activity that allows you to unwind and enjoy some alone time. But what many people haven’t realized is that puzzling can be even better in a group.
The right puzzle can bring people together for some fun, fellowship, and collaboration. How do you choose a jigsaw puzzle that everyone in your group will love? We’ve got you covered.
Keep reading for the ultimate guide to choosing a puzzle for your next puzzle party, plus all the party planning tips you need to make your event a success.
When it comes to picking the perfect jigsaw puzzle for a group, you need to start with the puzzle image. We recommend puzzles with distinct sections so that it’s easy to divide and conquer.
For example, puzzles with clear color-blocked sections or distinct shapes make it easy for everyone to build out their corner and gradually bring the whole image together. Collage puzzles are great options for groups!
Another fun idea is to choose a puzzle with a recognizable image that everyone loves, such as an image from a movie or a well-known landmark.
Even if your party is packed with pro puzzlers, steer clear of super challenging puzzles. The point of the party is to have fun and complete a puzzle together, so you don’t want there to be too many obstacles in your way.
To speed things up, you can pick a puzzle that has a helpful sorting feature, such as numbers printed on the back of the pieces to identify which section it goes in. This is a thoughtful way to make puzzles less intimidating for guests who are puzzle newbies.
We recommend having a couple of puzzle options with diverse puzzle images. You can let your guests vote on which one they want to work on and save the others for a future puzzle party.
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If your goal is for your group to complete a puzzle together in one sitting, puzzle size matters. However, it also depends on how many people are coming to your puzzle party. Here’s what we recommend:
You want to strike a perfect balance here. There needs to be enough puzzle pieces to give everyone something to do, but not too many that it takes too long and you end the party with a half-finished puzzle (unless you want to gather everyone again for a part two!).
Another option is to provide more than one puzzle. Instead of having everyone work on a large puzzle, you can break up into two groups and work on two smaller puzzles. You can even make it a friendly competition and see who can complete their puzzle first for a prize.
Does your party have a big age range? Gathering a few families together for a puzzle party can be so fun, but it leaves you in a bit of a pickle. How do you choose a puzzle that both the kids and adults will love?
We recommended choosing smaller puzzles with larger pieces, such as 300-piece puzzles. Prioritize sturdy pieces and bright, lively puzzle images. Your puzzle of choice may be on the easy side for the adults, but they’ll still love doing the activity with their kids. As long as the puzzle image is still fun for everyone, all ages will have a great time.
If you want to give the adults more of a challenge, you can break up the ages by setting up two tables: one for kids and one for adults. The adults can still go back and forth and help the kids while also working on their own puzzle.
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Want your puzzle party to be the talk of the town? Follow these easy tips to ensure everyone has a great time and can’t wait to do it again.
First, set the stage with your puzzling space. Make sure you have a large surface with plenty of good lighting for the best puzzling experience. You want it to be easy for everyone to reach pieces and have plenty of space to work on their section.
We recommend a big table with a puzzle mat on top to protect your table and make clean up easy. You should also provide puzzle sorting trays so everyone can organize their pieces and easily reach for the pile they need.
Next, if you’re planning to offer refreshments, consider food and drink options that won’t ruin the puzzle. Go for non-greasy snacks that don’t leave a residue, such as popcorn, trail mix, or a veggie tray. Avoid messy dips or sauces near the puzzle.
For drinks, offer coasters and lids to keep spills and condensation away from the puzzle pieces. We recommend not mixing the puzzle table with the snack table to avoid a big mess.
Want to put a twist on your puzzle party? Choose a theme, like Disney movies, and choose a puzzle image and snacks that align with your theme. You can even put on a themed playlist to set the vibe.
As we said earlier, another way to make it more fun is to provide multiple puzzles and let your guests vote on the one they want to complete.
If you’re setting up multiple puzzles and breaking into groups, make it a friendly competition with a prize for the group that finishes their puzzle first. You can even have the groups switch every thirty minutes so everyone works on all the puzzles. Just make sure that all groups have puzzles with the same piece count.
There are tons of ways to take your puzzle party up a notch, but you can also keep it simple. Gathering your friends around a good puzzle is all it takes to have a great time, so don’t overthink it.
Whether you’re puzzling solo or with a group, the Completing the Puzzle catalog has the perfect puzzle options for you to choose from. With a membership, you can add the puzzles you want to complete to your wishlist, and we’ll send them to you one at a time as you complete them.
The Completing the Puzzle catalog is the largest of its kind, so we know you’ll discover the perfect jigsaw puzzle for your next puzzle party. Sign up for a membership today!