Happy Spooky Season! As soon as October started, I pulled out my spooky puzzles. It is my favorite way to get into the Halloween mood. I got the SunsOut Queen of Shadows 500-piece puzzle as one of my Puzzle of the Month picks. The art is by Nene Thomas who specializes in fantasy illustrations. The... Continue Reading →
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Puzzle Warehouse is offering 13% off all puzzles for your Halloween treat this year. Just enter code SCREAM13. You can browse the Halloween themed puzzles here. Here are a few of my favorites that are in stock right now along with my reviews so you can see the details: FRIENDS ON HALLOWEEN... Continue Reading →
Publisher: Vermont Christmas Company (US), published 2017 Title: “Halloween Barn Dance” by Randy Wollenmann, 1000 pieces Finished size: 30" x 24" OUR RATING: 9.25/10 Last week I posted my "Top 13 for Halloween list". At the top of my list was this puzzle, "Halloween Barn Dance". I'm a fan of Randy Wollenman's hand-painted holiday scenes, especially his... Continue Reading →
This is my favorite time of year by far! I love Fall and I love Halloween. Yes, more than Christmas and summer combined. So while we're in the season, I love to do Halloween themed puzzles, preferably while watching horror movies on TV. 🙂 In this week's post I share my favorite Halloween-themed puzzles currently... Continue Reading →
This weekend's post shares some new releases that I need to talk about--including some awesome new Pomegranates! For your Edification - A Tip on Saving Shipping Costs: I used to never order a single puzzle because the shipping cost for just one can be nearly as much as the puzzle itself! Yet I'm not always ready... Continue Reading →
Check out our "top ten" list of Halloween puzzles for 2016. Because it's Halloween my list ended up at lucky 13.
I loved assembling this Halloween puzzle! The image by Randy Wollenmann has bright colors and patterns that make assembly easy, quick, and super fun. It was so much fun I completed the puzzle in one session because I just had to do the “next little bit”. The Vermont Christmas Company quality is good with hard, solid pieces. The cut is mostly a grid cut, but not all edges line up and some sides have wavy and diagonal edges. This gave the puzzle a unique personality, and I enjoyed working it. This puzzle is easy enough that it makes an ideal family puzzle. It’s the best of the 2016 Halloween season!
I love this 500 piece Halloween puzzle from Charles Wysocki and Buffalo Games. The artwork has a wry, adult tone reminiscent of Edward Gorey. The scene is populated by strange creatures, pumpkins, cobwebs, and tongue-in-cheek signs like "Rooms to Ferment" and the "Pithias Bloodlust Wrinkledeath" motto on the hearse. The puzzle is mostly easy but the forest behind the mansion has a random pattern which offers a little more challenge and makes the puzzle overall more satisfying to complete. The Buffalo Games quality is quite good. The pieces feel thick and are pleasant to work with. It comes with a poster in the box so you have a larger image to work with. There is some glare off the glossy surface under strong overhead lights. This puzzle is a real treat. Highly recommended!
White Mountain's "Autumn Traditions" by Terry Redlin is a beautiful and nostalgic fall-themed puzzle that comes in 1000 pieces and 300 pieces so you can choose your level of difficulty. The 300 piece version is easy and crops out some of the more difficult sky. The 1000 piece version is easy around the country store and pumpkin patch, but moderate-to-difficult for the sky portion. The colors are very pretty and brighter than many Redlin puzzles. The quality is very good. I especially like White Mountain's larger piece size and very flat, smooth finish. This would be a lovely puzzle to frame. Recommended!
"Castle of Horror" is an absolute masterpiece of a puzzle. The art by Jean-Jacques Loup is outstanding. Dozens of scary movie tropes are included in this image in a humorous way, from Frankenstein to ghosts, witches, and vampires. This is a moderately difficult puzzle, mostly due to its size, so prepare to buckle in and enjoy a long puzzling experience. There are dozens of funny scenarios going on around the puzzle, which you'll discover as you assemble it. The Heye quality is good with a gorgeous triangular box, large poster, thick and sturdy pieces, and excellent image reproduction. This is a grid-cut puzzle with a good variety of piece shapes. This puzzle was originally produced in 2003 and was out of print for a number of years. Don't miss a chance to get this classic while it's back in print. Highly recommended!
Publisher: Heye (Germany) Title: “Mystic Circle” by Calligaro, Heye, 1000 pieces Released Jan 2016 Review by Jane OUR RATING: 9/10 Box Quality: (10/10) I have a thing for Heye triangular boxes, and I'm happy every year to add to my collection of them. Pretty much, if it's in a Heye triangular box, I will get it. This year (2016) the... Continue Reading →
Publisher: Falcon (Netherlands/UK), published 2014 Title: “Halloween” by artist Tony Ryan, 1000 pieces OUR RATING: 8.5 For Halloween this year, I did the "Halloween" puzzle by Tony Ryan that came out last year. I love Halloween puzzles in general, and I'm always happy to find a new one to add to my stash since there aren't... Continue Reading →
