I know spring is here and we are almost firmly out of puzzle season. But there will still be rainy days which means time for puzzles and boy do I have some recommendations.

Great Puzzles for the Spring

First on my list is Springbok puzzles. Springbok features great photos of really dynamic pictures—great for any puzzle person. The pieces on Springbok puzzles, however, are not standard. If weird-shaped pieces are an issue, I would suggest going with one of our other wonderful brands.

White Mountain Puzzles is a good brand for standard pieces while still being fairly challenging puzzles. The best part? The pieces really stay together. Recently I finished a White Mountain puzzle and was getting ready to fold the puzzle and take it apart. To my amazement, I was able to slide the whole puzzle off the table and walk into another room to show off my completed work. The puzzle is solid chipboard and cut really well, which creates a good locking hold. No losing a puzzle piece placement when you lean over the puzzle and it shifts!

Puzzles for Rainy Days

Another great puzzle company we carry is Cobble Hill. Wonderful images that are fun to put together, Cobble Hill puzzles are great for anyone who enjoys puzzles. As of the publishing of this article, I’m working my way through Cobble Hill’s color puzzles.  Each puzzle has items that are predominantly one color of the rainbow. My goal is to put each one together, glue it and then mount it to a wall in my home. It’s going to make a wonderful art piece!

We also carry Dowdle puzzles. The images on Dowdle puzzles have a folk-art feeling to them. Many Dowdle puzzles are specific to places around the country including five puzzles that feature Chicago. Not looking for scenery or Americana puzzles? Don’t worry, we still have a few more brands to go over.

Ceaco puzzles feature a lot of collages and natural scenes. The Ceaco line also includes a wonderful selection of Disney puzzles. My favorite products Ceaco has are the boxes that have multiple puzzles in them. They range from 300 to 1000 pieces assorted. The 4 pack of 5oo piece puzzles are nice for a quick two-puzzle-day if you are dedicated.

Sports Puzzles, Art Puzzles & Assorted Puzzles

If sports are your passion, we can find a puzzle for your team from Master Pieces Puzzles. Master Pieces signature is their panoramic puzzles. I find sports-themed panoramic puzzles difficult because of the crowd shots in the stadium pictures. Not really my cup of tea, but Master Pieces still makes quality puzzles.

On the other end of the spectrum (from sports), Piatnik puzzles are mostly works of fine art reproduced in puzzle form. The difficulty of Piatnik puzzles is pretty standard. Many iconic art images are available—find your favorite!

New York Puzzle Company has a wide selection of images; from Vogue magazine covers to drawn nature collages and everything in between.  NYPC also has a great selection of Harry Potter art, along with other popular book art.  Christmas puzzles from NYPC include National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, Peanuts Christmas, and A Christmas Story.

Another smaller puzzle company we carry is Babalu.  Specifically Babalu’s crossword puzzle puzzle. Yup, crossword puzzle puzzle is not a typo. It’s a puzzle with a puzzle on it.

Kids Puzzles and Puzzle Puzzles (A Puzzle in a Puzzle!)

Melissa and Doug offers a great selection of children’s puzzles. From wooden board puzzles to floor puzzles, Melissa and Doug have it all. M&D puzzles are well made and the company really stands behind their products.

Last, but not least, we have Ravensburger Puzzles. Ravensburger offers a wide selection of puzzles, ranging from 35-piece children’s puzzles to adult puzzles with piece numbers too high for me to remember!  As many people may already know, Ravensburger puzzles are some of the most well-made puzzles we carry.  The pieces stay together but don’t stick when you are working with them. The images used by Ravensburger are perfect for puzzles.

Ravensburger just came out with a new line called Escape Puzzles. These things are tough. I just completed an Escape Puzzle called The Witches Kitchen and let me tell you; the box image so does not match the puzzle image. The image on the box is close, but there are a whole lot of changes that surprised me when I was working the puzzle.

Once you get the Escape Puzzle together you have to read the booklet that comes with it to try and solve the riddle to “escape” the puzzle room. You may think you have figured out all the clues in the puzzle to solve the mystery but won’t know until you open the Escape envelope.  I figured my clue out kind of backwards but still got it. The company includes a URL code that brings you to a web site that can help you solve the puzzle. I had so much fun with my first Escape Puzzle. I can’t wait to start my next one, “The Observatory.” Highly recommended. Happy sleuthing!

Oswald’s Pharmacy Puzzle Selection

Just because it’s not cold doesn’t mean it’s not puzzle season.  Spring brings plenty of rainy days to sit around the table and work one of our fantastic puzzles. Stop by the store anytime to check out what styles we’ve got in stock. If you need help, ask for me and I’ll let you know which puzzle will be the best for you!