Imagine: The Jig is never up, for puzzler fans

An estimated 48% of the U.S. population indulges in doing at least one jigsaw puzzle a year, notching a not-to-be-sneezed-at $700 million annually in U.S. dollars. (https://www.ipsos.com

A couple in mid-Michigan completed more than 30 jigsaw puzzles during the stay-home COVID
period, and recently completed their 50th jigsaw puzzle in their 50th anniversary year. They work
as a team, preferring 1,000-piece puzzles, and usually dispatching the final piece within three
days. Only once, maybe twice have they done a puzzle marathon in one day.

Let me introduce Larry and Linda, who willingly share their jigsaw secrets as readily as they
exchange puzzles with friends and family.

Larry: “Linda and I did 31 puzzles when we were in pandemic lockdown. All the puzzles were
1,000 pieces, with a couple of exceptions. The quickest we finished a puzzle was about 8 hours
(one calendar day). Normally we work the puzzles off and on throughout any given day and
complete most within 3 calendar days (anywhere between 12 and 15 hours is our best guess).
We always work as a team.”

Linda: “We presort pieces at the beginning, the edge pieces. Once we find most of those (we
never find all of them on the first pass) I start putting the outside edge (frame) together, while
Larry sorts the remaining pieces by letters, color blends, and interlocking patterns. Most puzzles
have some kind of lettering or color pattern.

“Occasionally, we do a puzzle that is chock full of signs or printed type. We recently finished
puzzles of Betty Crocker cookbook covers and Coca-Cola ads. These are fun because each
cookbook cover or Coca-Cola item p is like a miniature puzzle within the puzzle. “

Larry: “After separating any lettering, we sort by color. Sky blue goes in one stack, trees and
grass in another, painted buildings by color, people and animals.

“The human mind is pre-wired to find faces and body shapes. When there are buildings or
bridges or walls, we sort by windows, doors, roofs, and things like shingles, bricks or stonework.

“Cars, carriages, statues, landmarks, waterfalls, rivers, almost anything unique can be used as a
sort criteria.”

Linda: “As we get closer to the end, we find we have left the difficult parts for last — large areas
of grass, blue sky, water or even a green mass of leaves that make up a tree (or several trees).

“And, sorting by shape and color the pieces with four tabs, three tabs, two tabs, one tab, or no
tabs. We find this really speeds up the process of finding those last elusive pieces.”

Larry: “It’s fun to do this together, and we have interesting conversations while looking for
particular pieces. We take regular breaks, and during the winter months, we enjoy a hot cup of
cocoa while we work on the puzzle.”

Larry and Linda are not unique among jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts. Besides becoming adept at
spatial reasoning, the hobby brings friends and newbies together for an engaging afternoon or
evening of low-tension camaraderie. Many offices and break rooms have a puzzle on display,
inviting visitors to add missing pieces.

Serious puzzlers might invest $15 per year to join the U.S. Jigsaw Association.
www.usajigsaw.org

As physician advocate Deepak Chopra notes: “There are no extra pieces in the universe.
Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the
big jigsaw puzzle.”