Working on a super difficult jigsaw puzzle

Earlier this year I shared my experience working on the World's Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle - Kittens edition. This was a puzzle that I received as a gift when I was a teenager and had completed several times over the years. It's quite a challenge, although in my blog post I describe some ways to help solve it.

I love to browse charity shops for secondhand jigsaw puzzles, and so I thought I'd start keeping an eye out for some of the other puzzles in the series. There are loads and I have no intention of collecting them all, especially as many of the images don't really appeal to me - I'm not keen on cartoon puzzles and I'm selective about photographic puzzles. But I thought it would be nice to have a small collection of the ones with an image that I do like.

My Mum is helping with the hunt too, and she recently found me this one - Impossipuzzle Golf Balls and Tees. I've only solved the golf balls side which actually wasn't too difficult - however the tees side looks very challenging!

Recently I had a very successful charity shop haul and picked up another three puzzles to add to my growing collection. Two are from the World's Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle series and my favourite is an image entirely composed of Smarties. I passed over this one in a charity shop a couple of years ago and later regretted it, so I was really pleased to find another one. The other puzzle is similar to the kittens jigsaw and features a variety of different animals.

The third puzzle I bought is also from the Impossipuzzle series, and it's the one that I decided to start with. Baked Beans on one side and Brussels Sprouts on the other! It's very much a puzzle that needs to be fully shape sorted and completed piece by piece, so it's going to be my jigsaw companion for a little while yet.

I was working on it last night, placing a piece every five to ten minutes or so, and my son asked me whether I was actually enjoying it. Usually he sees me work on jigsaws with a pleasant picture that aren't too difficult and can be completed in a couple of days.

I realised that yes, even though it's very slow going and can be frustrating at times, working on a more difficult puzzle like this is really enjoyable. When you place a piece in any jigsaw you can get a small dopamine hit, but when you place a piece in a difficult jigsaw it's even more satisfying. And when it's finally completed you really feel as though you've achieved something that not everyone can (or would want to!) do.

When I'm putting together the puzzle I can really feel my brain working, and I feel that my skills have improved over time. If I have the chance to work uninterrupted then I can enter a 'flow state' and it helps me to feel calmer. 

I'm definitely not going to be exclusively working on 'impossible' jigsaw puzzles from now on, but if I spot one that appeals then I'll be picking it up to work on at some point!