Cartoon Puzzles

I got hooked on cartoon puzzles through my love of Heye starting in the 90’s.  Here are my favorite cartoon puzzle brands/series.

HEYE (Munich, Germany)

Quality — 9/10,   Images — 10/10,  Fun/Challenge — 8/10, Piece shapes: Standard but with a lot of variety

A cult classic and long-time fav of mine for their excellent cartoon puzzles.

    

READ MORE ON OUR HEYE PAGE HERE or on their website here.

Check out our reviews of heye puzzles here.

WASGIJ (Jumbo)  

One of the most successful jigsaw series, Wasgij has spawned 4 extra lines — Wasgij Mystery, Wasgij Destiny, Wasgij Christmas and What If?  All are covered on our Wasgij page. What’s the big deal? The puzzle you put together does not match the one on the lid.  Here’s their excellent website.

Check out our reviews of Wasgij puzzles here.

Above:  Wasgij Original #10 “Antique Hunt”, Wasgij Destiny #9 “Super Models”, Wasgij Mystery #3 “Drama at the Opera”

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Mike Jupp’s “I Love…” Series (Gibson)  

Once you’re done a Mike Jupp you are hooked for life. There are 13 in the series now and each puzzle is packed with intricate detail and humor.  See our Mike Jupp page for more.

Check out our review of Mike Jupp’s “I Love Spring” for detailed photos of the puzzles.

Above:  “I Love Christmas”. “I Love the Spring”, “I Love Boats”

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Wasgij What If? (Ravensburger)  

An offshoot of Jumbo’s “Wasgij” series, Ravensbuger’s “What If?” has all new images.  The puzzle image you put together is a ‘what if’ scenario off the image on the box lid. Artwork is by the amazing Geoffrey Tristram.

Above:  What If #2 “Garden Open Day”, What If #3 “Home Makeover”. What If #6 “The Pet Parlour”

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JVH (Jan Van Haasteren, Jumbo)  

Probably one of the longest running puzzle series, the puzzles of Dutch artist Jan Van Haasteren just keep being reprinted and growing each year. They’re packed with detail and fun, like Mike Jupp’s, but in a looser style and a lot of similar colors and characters which make them a challenge.  Visit the Jumbo page for JVH puzzles here.

Check out our review of JVH’s “The Dog Show” for detailed photos of the puzzle brand.

Above:  “At the Beach”, “Tennis Court”, and “The Zoo”

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PIECES OF HISTORY (Jumbo)  

This is a brand new series by artist Rob Derks, who was an artist with JVH studios.  It’s a fun series and I hope they continue it. 

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BEST OF BRITISH (Ravensburger, Geoffrey Tristram)

Colorful, cartoony puzzles that take a humorous look at British life. There’s no trick — the puzzle inside the box is just what it looks like on the lid, but with Ravensburger’s quality, and these colorful and detailed images, they’re fun to put together.  Artwork by the amazing Geoffrey Tristram. See Ravensburger’s Best of British page for the full list. 

Above:  No 3 “By the Canal”, No 4 “Garden Center”, No 9 “Country Show”

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John Francis’s “Whoopsies” (Gibson)  

Thick Gibson quality pieces, lots of colors and lots going on–these puzzles are quite fun to put together.   Gibson doesn’t have a series page, but you can check out their website for a few of these puzzles here.

FOR MORE INFO:  check out or puzzle blog for news and reviews of these puzzles.  You can search by tag (like ‘Heye’ or ‘JVH’) to find all our blog entries on a particular area of interest.  The categories are at the bottom of our website pages.