Goodwill Store Finds: Amish Country, San Francisco, a European Castle, Pencils, Shoes, and a Mystery

"Lancaster County," Milton Bradley, 1000 pieces, 26 x 20 inches

The puzzle pickings at my local Goodwill Stores were a little bit below par last week, but I still managed to pick up a half-a-dozen interesting puzzles, including this Amish scene produced by the Milton Bradley people. The puzzle is a little dark, meaning that it will probably drive me nuts when I get to that dirt area in the foreground. I always seem to have a real problem fitting together large sections of dark pieces, something that doesn't seem to be getting much better with experience.

"Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!," Springbok, 500 pieces, 24 x 30 inches

This Springbok image is not of a subject that I have a whole lot of interest in, but I got the feeling that I was rescuing this one from a certain date with the trash bin if I didn't buy it. The Goodwill folks had failed to tape the box together and I found three loose pieces  on the shelf alongside the puzzle. That means I'm taking a huge chance that other pieces were separated from the box somewhere along the line too, but for a buck, I decided to risk it. (Too, I really like Springbok puzzles.)

"Along for the Ride," Bits & Pieces, 1000 pieces, 20 x 27 inches

I don't see a whole lot of Bits & Pieces puzzles in the shops, so this nice San Francisco image was too good to pass up.  Not a whole lot of color variation in this one, and that generally translates into a tougher than normal puzzle.  We'll see.

"Neuschwanstein Castle," Buffalo, 1000 pieces

I probably should have left this one on the shelf because I have the identical puzzle in 2000-piece size that I haven't worked yet, but for 79 cents I decided to take it home with me. I've been told that the 2000-piece version is really, really difficult, but honestly, this looks like it would be tough no matter what the piece-count.

"Pencil Pushers," Springbok, 500 pieces, 18 x 24 inches

This older Springbok is the companion to the Springbok shoes puzzle shown earlier. They sat side-by-side on the shelf, but this box was taped together as used-puzzle boxes always should be. I like the colors of this one, and I expect that it will be a nice change-of-pace puzzle one of these days.

"Last Chill & Testament," Bepuzzled, 1000 pieces

This is the second of Bepuzzled's mystery puzzles that I've picked up in the past couple of weeks but I still haven't worked one of them. The image on this cover photo is said not to be what the actual puzzle will show...that's part of the mystery to be solved...so I have no real idea what all I'm getting into here. I just hope it's not quite all as dark brown as this image. The puzzle comes also with a 75-page book to read before building the puzzle and solving the book's mystery.

All in all, I suppose this was not a terrible week of puzzle-hunting at the Goodwill shops. I've certainly had better weeks, but I've also had whole weeks where not a single usable puzzle turned up at the three shops I visit regularly. So I'll take it. (And the new week is already shaping up to be a pretty good one.)