Ravensburger Positively Puzzling Autumn/Winter 2023

Making Connections

How puzzles can bring people together

The Final Piece

Puzzles and puns with artist Geoff Tristram

And..the puzzling world of Karen Puzzles

WIN!

£250* worth of puzzles!

Welcome

to the second issue of Positively Puzzling. We loved sharing puzzle facts, news, and inspiration with you in our first issue, and you’ll be pleased to know we have plenty more of the same this time.

Are you a strictly solo puzzler, or do you love connecting with friends over the pieces? In this issue, we’re discovering how puzzles bring people together. We’ll also be catching up with artist Geoff Tristram about his latest and last puzzle design (although we never say never!). And, if that wasn’t enough puzzle goodness for you, we’re also giving you the chance to win a whopping £250 worth of Ravensburger puzzles in our big competition.

Grab a cuppa and let the puzzle talk begin!

The Ravensburger UK Puzzle Team

IN THIS ISSUE

04. Bits & Pieces

What’s new and now in puzzles

05. People & Places

Inside the puzzling world of Karen Puzzles

06. Artist Spotlight

Celebrating the work of Geoff Tristram

08. Making Connections

Puzzles are bringing people together in great ways

10. Wooden Wonders

Discover our new wooden puzzle range with this playful activity

11. Crafty inspiration

Your chance to £250msrp of puzzles

Liven up a plain tray with your favourite puzzle

13. Competition

Enter our ultimate puzzler’s competition

14. Puzzle Picks

Find a new favourite in this selection of our latest and best-loved puzzles

Bits&Pieces

Every piece in a Ravensburger puzzle is unique.

This is because each puzzle design is cut using a handcrafted punching tool. For each puzzle design, our experts first draw a template to ensure every piece in the jigsaw is completely different. Then our highly skilled technicians craft the punching tool by bending razor-sharp steel bands to form the shapes. As well as technical expertise, this requires dexterity and a big slice of patience!

It takes a whopping 160 hours to create a new cutter for a typical 1000-piece jigsaw.

Cutting it Don’t miss

46 mins 35 secs The fastest time for an individual to complete a 500-piece puzzle in a championship.

Did you see our recent Coronation Capers puzzle? It was our first collaboration with Yorkshire-based artist Eleanor Tomlinson, known for her heartwarming depiction of the late Queen Elizabeth II with Paddington Bear. Watch this space for news of more puzzles from Eleanor.

The puzzling world of

Karen Puzzles

Karen Puzzles is undoubtedly one of the most-followed sources of puzzle knowhow in the world. The hit YouTube channel is all the work of US-based Karen Kavett, a self-confessed puzzle-aholic. With a collection of Karen Puzzles hitting shelves this autumn, we caught up with Karen to find out more.

An early start

Karen has always loved jigsaws. “I don’t remember a time before I was doing puzzles… I think I was around 9 years old or so when I started doing one-thousand-piece puzzles by myself.”

A competitive streak

Karen is generally a solo puzzler but has recently taken up competitive puzzling, even entering the World Puzzle Championships in Spain this year.

Order from colourful chaos

“I have excellent colour vision and love putting colours in orders. It’s so satisfying to make a rainbow out of colourful chaos,”

Record-breaking

extreme. There are dozens of puzzling achievements in the world-famous Guinness Book of Records. If you don’t fancy going all in to break a record, you could just try our new Guinness World Records 2000-piece puzzle (17319).

Ravensburger collection is packed with vibrant, gradient-style colours.

Ever Met a Meta Puzzle?

One of the new puzzles from Karen Puzzles collection is the Meta Puzzle. It’s a mindboggling series of puzzle-piece shaped mini-jigsaws within an incredible 1000-piece puzzle. Karen worked with the team at Ravensburger and 3D artist Wes Cockx to bring her initial concept to life.

Check

PEOPLE & PLACES

Your next puzzle favourite?

Nottinghambased Angela Holland is one of the latest artists to join our happy family!

Her first Ravensburger puzzle is the 1000-piece Riverside Town (17554) with its bustling scene of waterside life. Our team thoroughly enjoyed piecing this puzzle together! We can’t wait to see more of Angela’s work soon.

Karen Puzzles Meta

Puzzle (17498), 1000pc

Where’s Geoff?

Geoff marked his last puzzle design by including himself for the first time.

Can you spot him in the puzzle?

PAINTING, PUNS AND PUZZLES

Geoff Tristram could perhaps have been a famous comedy writer or even a rock star. He certainly has the relevant skills. But, while his chosen career might not see him strutting his stuff before millions of fans at Wembley, it is fair to say he has more than entertained many thousands of fans with his work. In a career spanning decades, West Midlands-based Geoff has been the illustrator behind a raft of Ravensburger puzzles. He has brought to life dozens of everyday events with warmth and wit in the What If?, Cabinet

Collection and Best of British jigsaw ranges and earned himself a strong following along the way.

At this point, we must of course say that as well as his work in puzzles, Geoff is also a successful artist, writer and public speaker, but hopefully you’ll forgive us for highlighting his puzzle-illustrating prowess above all. Geoff’s first Ravensburger puzzle, created in 2011, was based on the comedic goings-on at a talent show – complete with an unconvincing Elvis impersonator and a handful of not-so-talented pets wreaking havoc. This popular puzzle set the tone for many, many more effortlessly funny creations to come, including this year’s instalment - which is also his last as he heads into retirement. Befitting of the occasion, this final image is a celebration in itself, featuring a good old-fashioned Street Party. Giving a nod to this year’s coronation, ‘Charles’ and ‘Camilla’ lookalikes make an appearance, but perhaps more significantly, Geoff has added himself into the picture: true jigsaw royalty and the first time he has made a cameo appearance in one of his designs.

So, after countless Ravensburger designs, and a vocation that has seen him produce over 55,000 images and publish nineteen comedy novels, the time has come for the puzzle world’s most unstoppable pun machine to enjoy his retirement. “Maybe I’ll paint for fun again one day,” he explains. “I will miss Ravensburger..”. We’ll miss you too Geoff, and so will the many puzzlers who have loved your work!

Best of British No. 24 - The Street Party (17549), 1000pc

Geoff is very musical, he can play clarinet and guitar.

Geoff uses friends for character inspiration. His friend

‘Lord Duckhouse’ has appeared in numerous puzzles!

Connections

As well as being a great solo activity, puzzles can provide a great way to bring people together too.

Emma, London

Are puzzles the ultimate pastime? You would say that wouldn’t you, we hear you say. But not only does the humble jigsaw offer a mindful escape for a little alone time, these fascinating boxes of pieces are also great to gather around with friends and family, and making those social connections is a big plus for mental well-being too.

We try to always have a puzzle on the go in the kitchen. It’s something that both me and my teenage son find a challenge, and as he’s grown up, it’s really great to have something we can still enjoy together. We’ve had some brilliant chats over a puzzle.

When we talk about puzzles, Christmas afternoons spent poring over a puzzle with family often spring to mind – pure joyous nostalgia. But today, with so many of us turning to puzzles as an outlet to escape day-to-day stresses, getting together over a puzzle is no longer reserved for festive family times. In fact, there are puzzle clubs and groups springing up all over the place, and there’s probably one near you now – and, if there isn’t, why not get something started? From church rooms to front rooms and even the local pub, jigsaw fans are making connections with each other in their thousands as they rifle through the pieces of a puzzle.

Puzzles are a great way to bring generations together

Image by John Day Photography

PUZZLE TALK

Sue, Piece Together Club, Banbury

On our recent holiday, three of us spent time piecing together a 1000-piece jigsaw listening to the rain on the roof of our static caravan. Such a mindful activity that brings back memories of previous wet holidays in Norfolk. In our local puzzle club, we have around 50 members who come to exchange puzzles and chat. We always have puzzles on the go, and new members often gravitate towards this as it is a good way to get into conversation with others.

Gather a-round

These 500-piece Circle of Colours puzzles are great for get-togethers

Puzzles provide a focus, taking the pressure off conversation, making them a great icebreaker

Candies (17350)

Flowers (17167)

Doughnuts (17346)

Pizza (17347)

Whimsy-cal

FUN

Our cover puzzle is the wonderful Fantasy Forest 500-piece puzzle from our new wooden puzzles range. Each jigsaw in the collection is crafted from FSC certified responsibly-sourced wood and features fun ‘whimsies’ –shaped and themed pieces – for a unique touch.

Can you spot which whimsy at the top of the page doesn’t belong to this puzzle?

Our wooden puzzles are designed to last a lifetime, and make a great gift for puzzle fans. Visit our website to see the full collection.

See the full collection at www.ravensburger.co.uk

Fantasy Forest 500pc (17516)

Under the Sea 500pc (17515)

Shaped Fox 150 pc (17512)

Some puzzles are special for all sorts of reasons. Perhaps you have happy memories of the time you spent putting it together, or maybe it’s just simply a stunning image. Why not enjoy it every day by turning it into something useful for your home? We got creative to bring some puzzle magic to plain trays.

Pieces of Inspiration

If that latest jigsaw is just too pretty to put back in its box, here’s an idea to inspire you.

We made our trays by gluing our puzzle with Puzzle Conserver. We then cut it to size with a craft knife. If you try this, be careful and don’t forget to use a cutting mat to protect your surfaces. We glued the puzzle into the tray and then topped with a sheet of thin Perspex to keep things spill-proof.

Stick with it

Use Puzzle Conserver to glue your puzzle together well! Follow the instructions on pack for great results.

Riverside Town (17554) 1000pc

We’d love to hear about your creative uses for puzzles. Email us at positivelypuzzling@ravensburger.com

Image by John Day Photography

DID YOU KNOW?

Positively

Painting

It’s not just jigsaws that can provide a mental escape. Enjoy mindful creativity with these incredible new painting-by-numbers sets.

We know plenty of puzzle fans who love getting arty and crafty too. Our CreArt painting-by-numbers range has been designed to provide all you need to create your own masterpiece. And many of the sets have been created in collaboration with independent artists, who have developed images exclusively for our range. Artist Pixie Cold has developed a range of three CreArt designs that will captivate you from the first brushstroke. Featuring the Pixie’s signature take on flora and fauna, with these sets, you too can bring the natural world to life on the canvas as you add colour by colour.

Activities like painting by numbers are a great way to relax. As you focus on painting the numbered sections, your mind is centred on the here and now – and away from dayto-day worries. And, the satisfaction of completing a painting gives your confidence a real boost too!

CreArt Pixie Cold Edition Fox (23511)

CreArt Pixie Cold Edition Raccoon (23509)

CreArt Pixie Cold Edition Bee (23512)

Each set includes high-quality pre-printed canvas, acrylic paints, wooden dual-tipped paintbrush for detailed work, varnish to give your work a professional finish and a handy hook to display your masterpiece. Visit www.ravensburger.co.uk to see our full CreArt range

WIN Puzzles worth £250*

How do you fancy getting on your hands on a huge £250 worth of Ravensburger puzzles? Our lucky winner will be spoiled for choice with this mega prize bundle, including an exciting collection of our best-selling puzzles.

How to enter

To be in with a chance to win, click Enter Here below or scan the QR code to take you straight to the entry page. The winner will be chosen at random from all the entries.

The competition closes at 11.59pm on Monday 1st Jan 2024. No purchase necessary. Entry is open to adults in the UK and ROI only. Please see full terms and conditions on the competition entry web page.

Puzzles shown are for illustrative purposes only and may not be included in the prize package. *Prize value is representative of manufacturer’s recommended retail price and is correct at the time of publication.

Puzzle Picks

Feeling the urge to try a new puzzle? Say no more! We’ve got something for everyone. To give you a little inspiration, we’ve put together a selection of our new and best-selling puzzles.

Days

Our cover puzzle is Fantasy Forest (17516), a 500-piece puzzle from our Wooden range