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

The Jigsaw Puzzle Factory: "Venetian View" Is a Winner

"Venetian View," The Jigsaw Puzzle Factory, 1000 pieces, 19.125 x 26.625 inches

"Venetian View" is my first experience with a puzzle from The Jigsaw Puzzle Factory, but I can confidently say that it will not be my last. This one caught my eye a while back because of the uncommon perspective of its image. Building "Venetian View" is almost like building two puzzles at once, one being the interior of a beautiful Venetian room (encompassing about two-thirds of the overall puzzle) and the other being the exterior view seen from the room itself (the remaining one-third of the puzzle).

I have to admit that, right out of the box, this one proved to be more of a challenge than I ever expected it would be. A closer look at the image on the cover shows why that is: lots of similar patterns and colors throughout the image, multiple doors and windows made from the same building materials, and a large carpet very similar to the fabric used on the several chairs spread throughout the room being the main culprits. 

In the spirit of "taking what the puzzle gives you," I started with the columns in the room and some of the picture frames on the room's wall. As you can see from the picture, I did try to get the room's big carpet done, but I stalled there pretty quickly - because it was not easy to tell pieces of the carpet from pieces of the chair upholstery. This resulted in me pretty much working the puzzle from the top down.

At this point, I was approximately half-way through the puzzle and it was starting to look good. I particularly enjoyed watching the view through the windows take shape as some of the buildings started to come together. Even some of the framed pictures were starting to fill in.

Soon enough, the top-to-bottom approach brought me to the realization that the toughest part of the puzzle was all that was left to me...and for the first time, I began to be certain that the piece almost in the center of the puzzle that I had still not found was truly going to be missing. (More on that later.)

Another few hours in, and I was left with about 50 pieces that all looked very much alike. The bottom thirty percent or so of the puzzle would turn out to take as much time as the first seventy percent took me. But don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about that because I love a good puzzle challenge and I never come anywhere near to giving up on a puzzle in frustration. "Venetian View" was great fun and I am very pleased with the finished product.

I will be doing a formal review of the The Jigsaw Puzzle Factory for my Company Reviews page soon, but I want to mention a couple of highlights right now. I absolutely love the way the company's puzzle pieces fit together so cleanly and obviously, never leaving a doubt about whether or not a piece has been placed correctly. The image's colors are sharp and accurate to the image on the poster included with the puzzle, and because this is one I would have hated to tackle without a poster, that was very helpful. And best of all, The Jigsaw Puzzle Factory produces a puzzle that can actually be lifted off the puzzle board and carried around without it becoming a jumbled mess of loose pieces that need to be reworked. That is extremely important to puzzle-tapers like me who prefer to avoid glue.

And finally, about that missing piece. After looking everywhere in the room, checking pockets, etc., I gave up and figured that I had most likely lost it forever. Then, in the process of putting everything away, there it was...safe and sound in the little plastic bag it was shipped in. (Now THAT'S a good feeling.)

Bottom Line: Fun building experience offering an above-average challenge and a great finished product.

("Venetian View" was provided for review purposes by The Jigsaw Puzzle Factory.)