We are often asked what makes someone great at completing puzzles; from working as a team with friends or family, to competitive solo missions – all kinds of people love to get their puzzle on.
We have narrowed it down to the 5 traits that we think are key ingredients to be a true puzzle master.
Problem Solving
Problem solving is useful in all aspects of life, but especially when it comes to jigsaw puzzles. Someone who can break a larger problem of putting 500 or 1,000 pieces together down into smaller, more manageable stages makes the problem much more approachable.
Key tip: If you are struggling with where to start, find the four corner pieces and as many straight edges as possible. Once you have the majority of the outside edge complete, start in one corner and work out. This not only gets you in the flow, but also reduces the number of pieces left which can help with the rest of the puzzle.
Pattern Recognition
Being able to spot patterns is essential when it comes to being good at jigsaws. Some designs have blocks of colour and recognisable lines, which allow you to work out which pieces go where. If you are natural pattern spotter, then stop what you are doing and pick up your nearest jigsaw!
Key tip: Group the pieces of the same colours and patterns together to help you focus, especially on the bigger puzzles! It is much more manageable looking through 100 sorted pieces as opposed to 1,000 unsorted pieces.
Team players
Some of the best puzzlers we know use (or bribe) their friends and family to help with putting the pieces together. Giving each personal a role, or getting everyone looking for the missing piece is a great way to spend time together.
Key tip: Get your family, friends, children (or all three) to carry out the hard work for you! Puzzling is always a little more fun when you are doing it with someone else.
Creativity
Even though there are many different ways to approach a jigsaw, we often find the ‘naturals’ are the more creative types. Once they get sorted, they can have the ability to hunt through the pieces and start working on the areas that they find most interesting. Taking a creative approach, especially on creative designs definitely helps when it comes down to it.
Key tip: Make sure you take regular breaks if you are getting frustrated and stuck. Sometimes you will come back and be able to find the exact piece you have been looking for the last 20 minutes!
Slow & Steady
Last but not least, we have the slow and steady puzzlers – we all know someone who constantly has a puzzle on the go. It seems to us that these guys are the ones who get most enjoyment from doing a couple of pieces a day and slowly building up the puzzle over time.
Key tip: Take it easy! Enjoy the journey, not just the destination.
We would love to hear your thoughts on what makes someone good at jigsaw puzzles – do you agree with our top five?