Jigsaws!

Jigsaws!

Four of my favorite puzzles from the past year have been jigsaw puzzles! I'm surprised to hear myself say that, as I've always had mild contempt for jigsaws, regarding them as formulaic, repetitive, and unimaginative. That disdain is shared by others: none other than Stewart Coffin wrote, dryly perhaps, that "most jigsaw puzzles are not designed to exercise or perplex the mind." But these four really breathe new life into the genre, and they give a sense of tremendous, unexplored possibilities. Each of them has been a joy to solve.

Framed Jigsaw by Hajime Katsumoto

The most elegant, and in my opinion most brilliant, is Hajime Katsumoto's masterful Framed Jigsaw, crafted by Jean-Claude Constantin out of laser-cut wood and acrylic. It has sixteen pieces, already a rather small number; but there are only four distinct types - and any two of them can be fit together, since all the connectors are identical! The catch is that the pieces must be carefully maneuvered into a 4x4 frame with a square 2x2 opening in the center.

It seemed rather daunting at first, and my initial trial-and-error experiments went nowhere. With a bit of logical thought, though, I was able to narrow down the possibilities considerably - always the sign of a great puzzle! - and execute the intricate series of movements necessary to fit all the pieces snugly into the frame. Ultimately I found it only moderately difficult, but with a very satisfying solution. Each of Katsumoto's puzzles is a gem, and this one is no exception.

Jigsaw Puzzle 29 by Yuu Asaka

Next up is Jigsaw Puzzle 29, so named because it has twenty-nine pieces (a rather odd number, given that they tile a rectangle). It was designed and made out of laser-cut acrylic by Yuu Asaka, and it has been widely popular, receiving a Jury Honorable Mention at the International Puzzle Party 38 in 2018.

Jigsaw Puzzle 29 has the most "traditional" appearance of the puzzles mentioned here - at first glance, the pieces look nearly indistinguishable in shape from those in, say, an ordinary Ravensburger puzzle, and they must be fit into an unassuming rectangular tray. Unlike traditional jigsaw pieces, however, they are completely blank, and it is not clear which side is "up".

Closer inspection reveals other differences as well. There are five corners (!), and the pieces vary slightly in dimension, so that it is not obvious at all into which orientation they belong. It took me quite a bit of (thoroughly enjoyable) trial and error and head-scratching to solve, and it was a challenge practically right up until the end.

Asaka has also released a simpler variant, Jigsaw Puzzle 19, which I haven't tried. I found Jigsaw Puzzle 29 perfectly approachable without having done its baby sibling, though, so it isn't necessary to attempt Jigsaw Puzzle 19 as a stepping stone. Here's hoping for a Jigsaw Puzzle 39 (or larger) in the future!

Cornered: The Logical Jigsaw by Portponky

The third, somewhat less publicized, design is Cornered: the Logical Jigsaw by Portponky, a designer I hadn't previously encountered. It's made out of laser-cut acryclic by Pavel Curtis, who describes it as an exercise in pure logic: "This is a challenging, but super satisfying solve, involving no backtracking or guessing: every single time you place a piece, it's because you know that it's correct!"

I might quibble philosophically with the latter statement; on some level, backtracking is just an iterative application of logical thought, and where you draw the line really boils down to how many steps you're able to keep in your head, a rather vague consideration. But it absolutely is challenging and super satisfying, and it's hard for me to envision solving it without first reasoning through the underlying logic of the design.

Cornered consists of twenty-five identically sized pieces, and the challenge is to arrange them into a 5x5 grid - somewhat reminiscent of Framed Jigsaw, but this time without a tray. And it has five corner pieces - somewhat reminiscent of Jigsaw Puzzle 29! But the bizarre assortment of connector types - one of them "androgynous" - gives it a unique flavor.

I can't say too much without dropping spoilers, so I'll just reiterate that it's as much logic puzzle as jigsaw, and if you've enjoyed Framed Jigsaw or Jigsaw Puzzle 29, I can certainly recommend Cornered as well.

Hills of San Francisco by Liberty Puzzles - a daunting box of beautiful laser-cut wood!

The final puzzle is really more of a traditional jigsaw puzzle, but it's so beautifully made that I feel compelled to mention it here. Boulder, Colorado-based Liberty Puzzles offers traditional, artisan jigsaw puzzles in over 600 designs. The one I chose is titled "Hills of San Francisco."

Those are some gorgeous and high-quality pieces!

In one respect, they are fairly ordinary: hundreds of 2D shapes interlock to create an image - in this case, an artist's rendition of the city of San Francisco. What sets them apart is that the piece shapes are very inventive and unusual; each one is unique, and among them one will find a variety of spirals, jagged edges, and odd angles. Each puzzle also contains a few dozen "whimsy pieces" - figurative shapes that cleverly relate to the parts of the image where they appear in the solution, often exhibiting a creative interplay between the patterns on the image and the shape of the puzzle pieces.

Evidently, a lot of care and artistry goes into these designs, and they're beautifully made from 1/4" thick laser-cut wood - just the weight of the pieces in your hand reminds you that this is no ordinary jigsaw. The publisher describes them as a tribute to a bygone era in puzzle history:

The golden age of jigsaw puzzles was approximately the 1930s. This was before the advent of die-cut (stamped) cardboard puzzles. Most puzzles were made of wood, and hand-cut using a scroll saw.... By the early 40s, the craze had died down.... The art and popularity of the hand-cut puzzle subsequently waned significantly. Liberty Puzzles are a throwback to the golden age of jigsaw puzzles!

I've done a few other Liberty Puzzles designs as well, and they're all beautifully made and just plain fun. They make for a great communal solve, and I've particularly enjoyed working on them with friends and family.

At the time of this writing (November 2019), all four puzzles are in print and available! Framed Jigsaw is in stock at Mr. Puzzle Australia, Jigsaw Puzzle 29 at Puzzlemaster, Cornered at Pavel's Puzzles, and Hills of San Francisco at Liberty Puzzles.

Let's hope we can look forward to more innovations in this genre in the next few years!