Review: “The Gardener’s Cupboard” by Colin Thompson, Ravensburger – 9.25/10

Publisher: Ravensburger (Germany)

Title:  “The Gardener’s Cupboard” by Colin Thompson, Ravensburger, 1000 pieces

Review by Jane

OUR RATING: 9.25/10

Box Quality:  (10/10)
The Ravensburger box is excellent. This puzzle is the third in the “Curious Cupboard” series, and there’s a series logo on the box front. I love the branded series, being of a collectible mindset, so I like the Ravensburger series boxes. The back of my box had generic Ravensburger info, but inside the box is a guarantee card, a sheet on the “What If?” series, a mini-catalogue, and a sheet on this puzzle and artist, which you can use for reference as you puzzle. I appreciate having more info available on the artist and puzzle image.

The Image: 9/10

Colin Thompson has done puzzle images for various brands and his artwork is always ‘busy’ and filled with a variety of photographic and hand-drawn figures. They make for good puzzles because there’s lots of color and detail. This image has a gardening theme, so there are flowers and garden ornaments and tools in the mix. I quite like the image.

Above: The completed puzzle. Click for closer view.

Puzzle Quality: 10/10

Ravensburger puzzles are always of excellent quality.  The grid-cut puzzle has lots of variation in piece shape, as you can see in the close-up below.

I noticed on this puzzle, it really was a fairly tight fit, so that I was able to move the puzzle when it was done without it falling apart. Nice!

Assembly: 8/10
This puzzle is difficult for a 1000 piece puzzle. It is so busy and there are little spots of similar color all over the place. That makes it hard to take an ‘area by area’ approach. There were a few areas that could be worked independently–the sunflowers box, the box with the blue background, and the waterfall area. But most of the puzzle requires referencing the box lid and comes together in little dribs and drabs.  It’s fun to discover the image as you put the puzzle together. There are crazy little details that you don’t notice on the box, such a tiny creature in the center of a flower. If you like a challenge, or a busy puzzle which requires you to reference the box image frequently, this one is for you!

Conclusion

Another fun Colin Thompson puzzle from Ravensburger. What’s not to love?

Where to find:

You can get it at Puzzle Warehouse

JJ