Puzzling Puzzlers

There is something satisfying about placing the last piece in a puzzle, coming out triumphant over the challenging and sometimes frustrating task of puzzling. It's a rewarding boost, a reminder of your mind's unlimited power.

I was blessed with a gift for puzzles. Even when I was young, I was always able to do any puzzle set before me. In Preschool, I was often brought puzzles from the older classes, because the ones in my room were... well, simple. When I'd finished them, I would flip all the pieces over and do the puzzles upside-down. When they did developmental tests on me, a neurosurgeon told my mother he envied my I.Q. and abilities for object assembly and problem solving.

Now that I'm older, and able to buy my own puzzles, I've found a few different types that I fancy. They present a viable challenge and keep me busy for a couple days. Seeing as the average 1000 piece jigsaw takes an hour or so, any challenge is welcome. Try out these unique and mindbending puzzles!

3D Puzzles are great for those of us who enjoy imagining in 3 dimensions. As opposed to the tradition puzzle, these puzzles are built. There are several types; buildings, boats, cities, even working clocks! You can get your favorite architectural wonder, from the Sistene Chapel to the Taj Mahal, or my favorite, Neuschwanstin Castle. Or perhaps you'd like a detailed model of the Titanic. Some fancy the cities, which include San Francisco, New York, and Venice.

They all come at different levels of difficulty, so you can do these whether you are a beginner, or a seasoned puzzler looking for the next unique challenge. The coolest thing about these is that they make amazing displays after they are put together, no glue required!

The special shape puzzles are a nice twist if you are bored playing plain puzzles. They tend to have no defined edge pieces, which can make things more interesting if you are looking for a level up from the average jigsaw.

There are several different themes in this type of puzzle. Love animals? There are special shapes of dogs, cats, horses, even birds. Love nature? You can choose from woods, beaches, towns, or rivers. If you're a fan of magic and fantasy, there's no limit to special shaped magicians, dragons, and unicorns. Also, there are several native american themed ones. Each of these has hidden images within the picture, so you can have the added enjoyment of finding these hidden gems. Lots of fun for the family!

Photomosaics are probably the most challenging puzzles available on the market today. Just as it sounds, these puzzles are made up of thousands of small pictures in a collage that makes up a larger picture. The challenge in this is that some of the images show up several times in the puzzle, making it difficult to place the exact location of each copy. Despite the serious difficulty in these puzzles, they are my favorite kind.

The company to go to if you are looking to buy a photomosaic is Buffalo Games Inc. They have photomosaics of anything you can think of, from flowers, flamingos, dolphins, and the American Flag, not to mention many others. They also carry Disney, which include Mickey Mouse, Whinny the Pooh, and Buzz Lightyear. They make awesome wall hangings when glued and framed and are a great gift for your puzzling Mickey fans!