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

Six Puzzle Companies Ranked by Overall Quality: White Mountain to Puzz3D

Since starting Puzzle Fanatics, I've had sufficient experience with the recent puzzles of several companies to compare the overall quality of their products. My "Company Reviews" page, in fact, now includes full reviews of puzzles from six different companies, so I've decided to post my first puzzle company ranking list. And, I'm close to feeling comfortable about reviewing a handful of other companies, so I'll continue to add to the review page and ranking list as those reviews are ready.

I use a point-system to rank the companies, and there is surprisingly little difference in poing-totals in some 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. 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 six-company ranking is based on total points with the percentage of a perfect score also shown. Remember that more reviews and list adjustments will follow when I feel comfortable with doing initial ratings for 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. Ceaco -   24 points, 69%
6. Puzz3D (MB) -   15 points, 43%

Detailed Reviews for Each Company Ranked - Click Here

Puzz3D, The US Capitol: And My Miserable Experience with It

"US Capitol," Puzz3D, 300 pieces, 12 x 34 inches

I can't say that I wasn't warned. I read all the negative reviews, and I heard a lot of the horror stories about this particular Puzz3D puzzle, but I actually believed that with enough patience it would all work out in the end. Well, it didn't.

At the point pictured above, I was still pretty satisfied that it was going to work out great, and that I would end up with something to be proud of...I was even considering spaces where I could display it for a few days. And then, the bottom fell out of my plans.

These are the written instructions to solving "The US Capitol"...all of them. In addition to this there are almost twenty small diagrams showing how the pieces will fit together in the various sections of the building, beginning with the base - which looks like the driveways and landscaping surrounding the building. 

What cracks me up most about these instructions are the "Helpful hints," which amount to a warning to beware of static electricity making pieces stick to your clothing. It would have been really helpful to add a hint that the diagrams sometimes show a puzzle-shape that appears to be three separate pieces, but is in reality, is only one piece. Or that some pieces that appear on the diagrams to be one-piece, are actually two separate pieces. Too, keep in mind that all the pieces are shown in the diagrams only as shades of gray, with no indication as to what they really look like.

Here's a better idea of what the diagram sections are like. As you can see, there are no colors or patterns on the pieces - as shown in the pictures. That would be bad enough, if the illustrators had not found a way to be even more misleading by misrepresenting the pieces shown as mentioned above.

It was at this point that I decided I would be better off by just junking the diagrams, and began working this one more like it was an ordinary jigsaw puzzle. And for a while, that approach worked well, and I started to make some good progress.

It seemed logical to start putting sections of the wall together next. Most of the sections, as it turned out, were made up of nine-piece blocks, but a few were more simply made from three large pieces despite what the diagram may or may not show.

My confidence in the finished project grew with every section of the wall that I slotted into place on the base. Things were looking good, even though I suspected that the tricky part was yet to come.

My luck continued right on through getting the roof on the building and setting the open spot for the Capitol Dome in place.

This is the point where things began to go badly...so badly, in fact, that my frustration level caused me to forget to take any more pictures. There are three more sections of the dome, each progressively more difficult and fragile than the one before. I managed to get two more sections up, but the final section that adds the actual curvature to the dome structure just proved impossible for me.  

If the dome pieces had been limited to twelve instead of being cut into 24, this probably would have worked fairly well. It would have been simple just to cut deep creases into those twelve pieces where they have to bend rather than cutting all the way through. This is very much a trial-and-error kind of puzzle, and after those twelve pieces were placed, replaced, bent, and re-bent enough times, they started to fit very loosely despite being made of quarter-inch-foam backing. About the twentieth time that a pair of them came apart (often with the small piece falling inside the hole cut for the dome fit), I threw in the towel.

Oddly, the most frustrating after-taste I have of this whole experience is getting it 95% successfully built, only to fail miserably in the last 5%.  I would have much preferred to hit the impossible stretch early on; at least that would have saved me four days of messing with this thing for nothing.

Spend your money on this one at your own risk.

"Bacintyme Boulevard" by SunsOut vs. "US Capitol" by Puzz3D

"Bacintyme Boulevard," SunsOut, 1000 pieces, 16 x 34

After spending three days trying to assemble one of Puzz3D's three dimensional puzzles...and failing miserably...I decided to start a puzzle today whose image calms me. This painting by railroad artist Greg Garrett perfectly captures what so much of America looks like to those of us willing to venture off the congested interstate highways as often as we can. I take an extended road trip or two every summer (can't wait for this year's drive) exploring different sections of the country in detail, and I avoid interstate highways like the plague. So for me, this is a "comfort" image, a little safe space in my head. 

But it won't be enough to calm my feelings of frustration with the whole 3D experience totally, so I'll have more to say on that whole experience tomorrow or Saturday - with pictures. I will say right now, however, that Puzz3D packaged the most misleading set of instructions I have encountered with any product requiring home assembly - ever. And that "ever" has now morphed into "never."  Never again will I purchase anything from Puzz3D.