Thirteen Puzzle Companies Ranked by Overall Quality

I have added a formal review of Buffalo puzzles to the "Company Reviews" page and revised (as a result of more exposure to their puzzles) the numeric totals of a couple of others. I have broken point-ties strictly by a gut feel for which for which company's product I would likely reach for first.

That said, I do use a point-system to rank the companies, and there is still surprisingly little difference along that 35-point scale in many cases. It seems that most companies are strong in some qualities and just average or even weak in others, so the overall ranking can boil down to only one or two category "misses" on the parts of the companies. Some companies produce too many damaged pieces, some produce poor colors, or too loose a fit, etc., but whatever it is, they almost all have one or two weak areas.

I rate eight separate categories from 1-4 points each, and offer up to three possible bonus points for exceptional quality in any of the rating-categories. That means that a perfect score would be 35 points (and no company has approached that number yet). This thirteen-company ranking is based on total points (with the percentage of a perfect score also shown strictly for informational purposes}. 

More reviews and list adjustments will follow as I gain more experience with the puzzles of other companies.

Puzzle Company Ranking List:

1. White Mountain -   29 points, 83%
2. Aquarius -   28 points, 80%
3. The Jigsaw Puzzle Factory - 28 points, 80%
4. Ravensburger - 28 points, 80%
5. Cobble Hill - 27 points, 77%
6. Buffalo - 26 points, 74%
7. SunsOut -   26 points, 74%
8. Dowdle Folk Art -   26 points, 74%
9. Hogan's Harbor - 25 points, 71%
10. Eurographics - 24 points, 69%
11. Ceaco -  23 points, 66%
12. Hasbro - 23 points, 66%
13. Puzz3D (MB) - 15 points, 43%

Detailed Reviews for Each Company Ranked - Click Here


I invite your comments and/or mini-reviews on any of the puzzle companies I've ranked to this point. Just attach your thoughts below in the comments section and I will copy them to my review of the same company. Your words will appear here in the original post AND as an attachment to my review. 

Thoughts, folks?

Twelve Puzzle Companies Ranked by Overall Quality

I am adding reviews of two puzzle producers today to my ranking list of ten companies previously posted: The Jigsaw Puzzle Factory and Hasbro.

I use a point-system to rank the companies, and there is surprisingly little difference in point-totals in many cases. It seems that most companies are strong in some qualities and just average in others, so it's all boils down to one or two category "misses" on the parts of the companies as to where they will rank. Some companies produce too many damaged pieces, some produce poor colors, or too loose a fit, etc., but it seems that they all have at least one major weakness.

I rate eight separate categories from 1-4 points each, and offer up to three possible bonus points for exceptional quality in any of the rating-categories. That means that a perfect score would be 35 points (and no company has approached that number yet). This ten-company ranking is based on total points (with the percentage of a perfect score also shown for informational purposes}. 

More reviews and list adjustments will follow as I gain more experience with the puzzles of other companies.

Puzzle Company Ranking List:

1. White Mountain -   29 points, 83%
2. SunsOut -   29 points, 83%
3. Aquarius -   28 points, 80%
4. Ravensburger - 28 points, 80%
5. The Jigsaw Puzzle Factory - 28 points, 80%
6. Dowdle Folk Art -   27 points, 77%
7. Cobble Hill - 27 points, 77%
8. Hogan's Harbor - 25 points, 71%
9. Eurographics - 24 points, 69%
10. Ceaco -  23 points, 66%
11. Hasbro - 23 points, 66%
12. Puzz3D (MB) - 15 points, 43%

Detailed Reviews for Each Company Ranked - Click Here

Ten Puzzle Companies Ranked by Overall Quality

I am adding reviews of two puzzle producers today to my ranking list of eight companies previously posted: Eurographics and Cobble Hill.

I use a point-system to rank the companies, and there is surprisingly little difference in point-totals in many cases. It seems that most companies are strong in some qualities and just average in others, so it's all boils down to one or two category "misses" on their parts as to where they will rank. I rate eight separate categories from 1-4 points each, and offer up to three possible bonus points for exceptional quality in any of the rating-categories. That means that a perfect score would be 35 points (and no company has approached that number yet). This ten-company ranking is based on total points (with the percentage of a perfect score also shown for informational purposes}. 

More reviews and list adjustments will follow as I gain more experience with the puzzles of other companies.

Puzzle Company Ranking List:

1. White Mountain -   31 points, 89%
2. SunsOut -   31 points, 89%
3. Dowdle Folk Art -   30 points, 86%
4. Aquarius -   29 points, 83%
5. Ravensburger - 28 points, 80%
6. Cobble Hill - 27 points, 77%
7. Hogan's Harbor - 25 points, 71%
8. Eurographics - 24 points, 69%
9. Ceaco -   24 points, 69%
10. Puzz3D (MB) - 15 points, 43%

Detailed Reviews for Each Company Ranked - Click Here

Eurographics: The VW Love and Hope Bus

"The Love and Hope Bus," Eurographics, 1000 pieces

This has to be one of the most thoroughly enjoyable puzzling experiences I've had so far this year. The image is remarkable in a number of ways: nostalgia value, detail, colors, and cast of characters alone. But what makes the construction process so much fun, I think is the puzzle's numerous straight color lines in the sky and water. Working the various colors in the sky from left to right is fairly easy, and that gives the puzzler that satisfying feeling of "steady progress" all the way through this one.

But I, of course, could not resist beginning with the frame and the puzzle's central image rather than the skyline...that wonderful old, hippified VW bus.

It was only then that I started to work on the puzzle's spectacular skyline, a section that went fairly quickly, so that before I knew it, about forty percent of the puzzle was all done.

This is where simply working left-to-right got me by the end of the third day. The only thing left was the beach itself and the two large female characters sitting around the bus.

Soon enough the guitar-picking hippy on the left and the beautiful lady on the right were taking form and it was more of a matter of finishing the sand and shells than anything else.

This was really fun, and I recommend the whole American Classics series to anyone, but especially to those of a "certain age" who lived through (and loved) this era as part of their own youth. Eurographics makes a high-quality puzzle, and my only real complaint about this one is that it is nearly impossible to turn their puzzles over for taping without having a significant portion of them falling apart on you. That's a real problem for those of us who prefer taping over gluing, so this one ended up back in the box.

(I'll be doing a full review and ranking of Eurographics soon that will be added to my Company Reviews page.)

Eurographics American Classics Series: Muscle Cars, a Caddy, and a VW Bus Full of Hippies

1968 Mustang 2+2 Fastback Cobra Jet

I know it's only Tuesday, but going back about five days it's already been one of those weeks most of us dread, a week in which every spare moment seems to be crammed with an obligation that just can't be put off. It started with a nice, big repair bill to my wife's car (the emission system had to be replaced), oil changes to both our vehicles and my granddaughter's, the unraveling of a complicated credit card problem that my 96-year-old father inadvertently created, two full days (and the job is still not complete) digging the old mailbox out of its cement entombment so that a new box could be placed into the structure, and several runs to the pharmacy to pick up needed meds.

Needless to say, this hasn't left a whole lot of time for puzzling, so progress on the great Eurographics VW Bus puzzle pictured here has gone quite slowly...but at least somewhat steadily. I'm about 850 pieces into the puzzle now, so it should be done in another day or so when I look forward to posting pictures of how it all came together.  In the meantime, I keep looking at the bottom of the puzzle's box which pictures other puzzles in the company's American Classic series and wondering how long I can resist the temptation to buy all of them.  

I mean, just take a look at these beauties:

1959 Cadillac Eldorado 

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T

1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS Z/28

1963 Volkswagon T1 Samba Bus

I think that these puzzles strike me so powerfully because of the nostalgic memories the images bring back. At one point in my life, I owned a used 1964 1/2 Mustang and I traded that in on a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, so there's that. And two of my best friends in high school had pretty good taste, too; one of them owned a 1967 Dodge Challenger the exact color of the one pictured here, and the other had a 1962 VW bus that looked nothing like the Hippy-Bus pictured here but was still a fun ride. As far as the '59 Caddy, I don't even remember seeing anything like that thing...and would probably not been all that impressed if I had.

The topper in all five of these puzzles is their background settings and the folks just going about their business. Taken together, these give a pretty good feel for what living in those days could be like on a good day...and if we are lucky, all we remember are the good days.

How can I resist these things...and why would I want to, in the first place?

Goodwill Store Finds (Plus one from Half Price Books): 6 from Springbok and 1 each from White Mountain, Rose Art, & Eurographics

"At the Wee Folks' Fair," Springbok #5930, 1000 pieces, 24 x 30 inches

In what has become a more or less typical week, I added way more puzzles to my collection than I completed. In fact, I added ten puzzles and worked throutgh about one-and-a-half...meaning that the to-do stack is now officially out of control. I'm going to feature nine of those puzzles in this post - the tenth one is a review puzzle that I'll be featuring in a few days - because they clearly show why I'm so addicted to checking the local Goodwill Stores for puzzles. You just never know what you might find. (Of course, you also never know how many pieces are actually in the box, but that's got to be acceptable to you going in or you shouldn't be buying used puzzles in the first place.)

"At the Wee Folks' Fair" is a Springbok puzzle from the period in which the Hallmark company owned Springbok. I'm guessing that it's from the eighties but there is no copyright year on the box so that's just an educated guess.

"Santa's Delivery" & "Eyes of Color," Springbok 2004 and 2008 puzzles, 1000 pieces

"Feathered Friends" & "The Toy Shoppe," Springbok 2004 and 2006 puzzles

"Butterfly Collection," Springbok 2004 puzzle, 500 pieces

I stumbled upon these five Springbok puzzles one morning at the Goodwill Store I most often visit. I had been there only the morning before, so these must have come in together sometime later on the day of my initial visit. Needless to say, I snapped up the lot of them, and the bargain price of seven dollars for the five helped seal the deal quickly before someone else noticed them.

The particularly interesting thing about these five is that they were obviously produced for the French Canadian market up in Quebec. Last time I checked, Quebec was still requiring that everything be labeled in both French and English - and these puzzles are all packaged that way. The picture below shows the "French side" of the boxes:

The slightly different (in translation) puzzle titles 

I also added these two puzzles from a different Goodwill outlet. The "Kodacolor Puzzle" from Rose Art has never been opened despite being some 27 years old, and the White Mountain one, despite having been previously worked, looks like new.

Unnamed Winter Scene, Rose Art, 500 pieces, 13 x 19 inches

"Candy Wrappers," White Mountain, 1000 pieces, 24 x 30 inches

And, last but not least, the one shown below is the only new puzzle I purchased this week. I got it from Half Price Books and was able to use a 20% discount coupon on their already reduced price, so it cost right at ten dollars with tax. I particularly like it because it features so many of my favorite authors, writers I've been reading for my whole life - and the images are a good bit larger than the impression you get from the box cover.

"Famous Writers," Eurographics, 1000 pieces, 19 x 27 inches