It's time to up-level your puzzling game; read on to learn why solid color, gradient, black and white, round, photomosaic and clear glass puzzles are the most challenging puzzles for adults!
If you’re a long-time puzzler, you’re probably looking for a new way to be challenged. Sure, puzzles are fun and relaxing, but they can be mentally stimulating too. In fact, putting a jigsaw puzzle together engages both sides of your brain, and it has even been shown to improve your short-term memory.
What are the best jigsaw puzzles for adults who need an extra challenge? That’s the question we’re answering in this guide. If you’re bored with typical landscape or cityscape puzzles that you could finish with your eyes closed, this guide is for you.
Could you solve a puzzle where all the pieces are the same color? Trust us, it’s not easy! Solid color puzzles are perfect for pro puzzlers who don’t want to rely on an image anymore. When all the pieces look the same, you really have to pay attention to size, shape and fit.
If one color is too advanced for you, you could also try a gradient puzzle that fades from one color to the next. Gradient puzzles still don’t have an image, so they are incredibly challenging, but at least it has multiple colors so that it’s easier to distinguish the sections of the puzzle.
If you need an extra challenge but still want your puzzle to have an image that you can admire when it’s all put together, try a black and white puzzle. With just two colors, black and white puzzles require intense concentration, but at least you can follow the image on the box to help guide you.
Plus, black and white puzzles make great artwork. They are the perfect puzzles to frame and display.
Most puzzlers, no matter what their skill level, start puzzles by putting the border together and then working on the inner pieces. What if there wasn’t a rectangular border? Could you solve a puzzle without corner pieces?
Round puzzles have grown in popularity recently because the shape offers an extra challenge and gets you out of your regular puzzle routine. While there is technically still a border, the border pieces have rounded edges. Without corner pieces, it’s harder to tell where the rounded border begins and ends.
You can ease into round puzzles by choosing an easier image or fewer pieces. We recommend them for anyone who wants to build their puzzle skills without going too far off the deep end with an impossible puzzle. You will love having a unique puzzle when you get it all put together!
This is for the ultimate pro puzzlers who want a near-impossible challenge. Photomosaic puzzles are made up of pieces that have tiny images on them that make up the overall puzzle image.
These puzzles can get really confusing really fast. Not only do you have to put together the whole image, but you have to pair up the pieces to construct all of the tiny images inside the mosaic as well.
Buffalo Games makes great photomosaic puzzles, like this one of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Going with an image like this that’s recognizable to you may help make the process easier, but take our word for it, this puzzle will take tons of time, strategy, and perseverance.
If you thought a single-color puzzle was hard, what about no color at all? At face value, the Clearly Impossible Puzzle may seem too easy for you since it’s only 200 hundred pieces, but the fact that all of the pieces are see-through glass definitely makes it a challenge worthy of your ability.
See-through pieces mean it’s hard to tell the front of the puzzle piece from the back, which poses an extra challenge. There are also several false edge pieces, so you’re in for hours of frustrating fun with this puzzle.
To make completing this impossible puzzle possible, make sure you use a work surface that isn’t too dark. You also need plenty of light. When this puzzle is put together, it will beautifully reflect light and dazzle.
The most obvious way to give yourself an extra puzzling challenge is to increase the number of pieces. Are you a pro at 500-piece puzzles? Try a 1000-piece one instead. When you master those, try a 1500-piece puzzle, and so on.
The largest jigsaw puzzle ever is over 40,000 pieces, so there is plenty of room to grow your skills with bigger and bigger puzzles.
If you want to make the puzzles you already have more challenging to complete, try changing up your strategy. For example, work on the puzzle from the inside out. Instead of putting the border together first, assemble the inner pieces and add the edge pieces last.
You can also try completing a puzzle without looking at the image on the box. Look at the image for a few minutes before you start, and then put the box away so you can’t refer to it again. This method will force you to recall the image and rely on the shapes and colors of the pieces to find where they go.
Whether you’re a brand new puzzler or a seasoned pro, part of the fun jigsaw puzzles for adults is that they challenge your brain in an immersive way. When you shut off all the other distractions to work on your puzzle, you’ll also find that you’re more relaxed and having fun.
With a Completing the Puzzle membership, you can custom choose your skill level from beginner, intermediate, and expert. You can also tell us your puzzle topic preferences, and we’ll custom choose the perfect puzzle for you. If you are looking for an extra challenge, just let us know and we’ll send you our hardest puzzles. Sign up for a membership today to get started.
