Piece by piece: Inside the rapid rise of competitive jigsaw puzzling
IN FOCUS: Once dismissed as a fusty, old-fashioned pastime, jigsaw puzzling has quietly transformed into a fiercely competitive pursuit with a global following. Inga Parkel meets the elite speed puzzlers and devoted fans whose lives have been reshaped by its unlikely boom
Hunched over a table in a hotel conference room, 42-year-old Yvonne Feucht snaps the final blue jigsaw piece into place, revealing a vibrant, beachy collage of San Diego landmarks. It took her just 54 minutes and 41 seconds to complete. Instead of the quiet satisfaction that usually ensues after finishing a jigsaw, the room erupts in cheers as Feucht raised her hands over her head, letting out a sigh of relief.
The Los Angeles-based TV and film camera operator had just become the inaugural champion of the 2022 USA Jigsaw Puzzle Nationals — America’s first-ever major competitive puzzling tournament. This weekend, Feucht returns to try to reclaim her championship title at the 2026 edition of the Nationals. Hosted by the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association, the three-day event, taking place in Atlanta from March 27 to 29, will welcome hundreds of puzzlers from around the world and just as many zealous spectators.
Consisting of three events: individuals, pairs and teams of four, the competition sees contestants race to complete unreleased 500-piece and 1,000-piece puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles have been around for centuries, believed to have been invented in 1770 by British cartographer John Spilsbury as an educational tool to teach geography to children. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, they saw a massive surge in popularity as an affordable escape thanks to the introduction of cheaper, die-cut cardboard puzzles.
Since the new millennium, their popularity dipped slightly with the rise of television and video games. However, the once-solitary pastime is now undergoing a quiet but transformative reimagining — as a highly competitive sport, with national and global competitions and a rapidly expanding fan base. Yvonne Feucht became the inaugural USA Jigsaw Nationals champion in 2022 (Courtesy of Yvonne Feucht) I first discovered speed puzzling on Instagram — time-lapse videos of people assembling puzzles at lightning speed, pure kryptonite for my ADHD.
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