I just thought of something while answering comments - If you don't finish the puzzle in the allotted competition time, they count the number of pieces you have assembled as your score. So probably best to do the easier sections first to have more pieces done. What do you think? Thanks so much for watching! Please consider subscribing 💜🧩
I think a really important part of speed puzzling that's not talked about that much is scanning area. The areas you have to look over will affect your speed. That's why I tend to believe that sorting and doing the easier stuff first is advantageous. As you eliminate the pieces from the pool doing easy areas, you now have significantly less pieces to look over while finding what you need. If you start those hard parts (that tend to have a lot of similar colors with all 500 to scan for every piece it will be slower. thanks for the videos, they're great!
Definitely working the easier sections first is the smart way to go - have been learning that over these months of speed puzzling. Try to do as much as possible of the easy stuff and leave the more difficult for later because as you pointed out, you have less pieces to worry about. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I did the dandelions puzzle, but not speed puzzling it, but in two sittings. I didn't think it was that difficult. The grass parts were challenging, but I was looking for the parts with flower stems in them and did those first and than fill in the rest. It probably took me 3-4 hours 😂 so you are golden!
I'm going to redo the Dandelion one on my own in a few months time. Not sure I will be able to finish it in the qualification time of 90 minutes though. 💜🧩
Any 500pc puzzle completed in qualifying time is good!! As far as hard vs easy first, personally I do the easy parts first so I have something to build off of. There was a US competition in San Diego, CA and most people worked the obvious parts first, the red house, the sun, the letters. Again, something to build off of. Regardless, you seem to have realistic goals for Spain, trying your best to do well, but going with a great attitude to enjoy every minute!! And wow!!! Just goes to show how being familiar with a puzzle can definitely help with the time. And how exciting abt the australian competition!!! I never knew there were so many around.
This speed puzzling thing is growing like a weed around the World!! It's so much fun. I do think building the easier parts first is the better approach as like you wrote, you have something to build off of. 💜🧩
Doing the hard parts first sounds good in theory - but when you struggle doing your regular method at least you know you will be done. You are coming down the home stretch. Imagine getting hung up say in the sky ( hard stuff first ) - time is slipping by and the stress factor becomes magnified disproportionately at least in my mind.
I agree - I think it would stress me out more. And also, I just thought of this, they count the number of pieces you have assembled as a result if you don't finish in time, so best to have as many pieces assembled as possible if unable to finish the puzzle. 💜🧩
Hello lovely 😊 Congratulations on your new times and it was so good to see Wendy again! Janette is very good in speed puzzling and since you are pairs together with her I believe you have a very good chance to win! I will cheer for you 🥳 Here are a few tips you might find useful: - I wouldn’t start with the hard section when doing individuals, but maybe it can be an advantage in pairs if someone starts to build it while the other participant is doing the easier parts. - while doing the shuffle method you can try to take out more pieces at the beginning. Maybe to take out only one specific area. Of course it depends on the puzzle but I think it is a great method and you are very good at it. - when having only one section left I would take out the pieces from the box because the box border is in the way - when doing hard sections and solid color sections the piece shape can be helpful. I just found out that next to non standard piece somewhere has to go another non standard piece. I hope I could help 😊 Sending love 💕
Such great advice! Thank you for sharing. I doubt Janette and I will win but we will make our best effort and have lots of fun while in Spain. Good idea bout removing the last pieces from the box so that the edge is not in the way. And yes, I have also noticed that non-standard pieces have at least one other non-standard piece next to it. But in the panic of the build, I'm not sure if I will remember that. 💜🧩
Another thought about pairs and teams, that I might mention here: Karen from Karen Puzzles once mentioned that the strongest puzzler from the team should do the edge. I do not know her reasoning (finish the edge as fast as possible since it gives structure to the whole solving process?) but one could also argue the other way (the edge is often the easiest part of the puzzle, thus a less experienced solver may also tackle it)...
I only typically build the border as I find it or as I am building that section of the puzzle as I find it can get in my way - especially for larger 1000 piece puzzles. 💜🧩
The "shuffle method" is my go-to puzzling style. It's fun, chill and just like a treasure hunt trying to find the right pieces! :D It's definitely not the strategy I'd use in speed puzzling though. I'd probably go for a full sort or flip all the pieces upside.
Love your videos! I dump the pieces in a cake pan and pull the edge pieces and the pieces of a large item in the puzzle-often the sky. once they are done, I sort out the pieces of other colorful items and turn all the remaining pieces face up in the pan to be sorted through later. In your puzzle I would have started with the black,
Hi ! Thank you for your videos I love watching them (from France :)) . I do the easy part of puzzles first to stay motivated. My eyes start then to "discover" some different textures / color variations that help to do the harder part. If I start with the hardest part, I'm not focus enough to see the variations (it sounds strange haha) but the easy part helps me to calm down and then work on the puzzle.
We are not speed puzzlers but we have a suggestion re competition; do the easiest bits first to get as much done as possible in the set time, you'll have more time for the difficult bits.
Yes, I agree because I just thought of one thing while answering comments. If you don't finish the puzzle, they count the number of completed pieces so best to do as much as possible (meaning the easier parts first) so to have a higher piece count at the end. 💜🧩
If a puzzle has a very difficult part you can choose whether you get despaired in the beginning or in the end. 🙂The only thing that might cool your nerves is reminding yourself that all others will struggle with this part as well... On a more serious note: I also tend to leave the more difficult part to the end because I do not prefer to already start struggling while I am not even familiar with a puzzle. Only if the puzzle pieces of the difficult part are *very* distinctive (e.g. of bright orange color and very different from the rest) and they more-or-less jump into my eye while doing full flip or full sort, I might find myself building such a difficult area right in the beginning. The dogs of "Cute Dogs in the Garden" could be built very soon, for instance - but I left them for last.
Sometimes it's hard to know what will be the easier or more difficult areas of a puzzle to build. Thinking about it more though, in competition, if you don't finish the puzzle, then they count the number of assembled pieces. So probably best to do as much as the easier parts first in case you don't finish the puzzle. 💜🧩
Quando eu fazia meus quebra cabeças eu começava pelas partes mais difíceis. Como a Wendy disse, no final estamos mais cansadas. Que legal! Mais uma competição. Sucesso!! Abraços. Fica bem, tchauuuuu
Uau! Ok, então acho que começar com as seções mais fáceis é melhor. Além disso, acabei de lembrar que se você não terminar o quebra-cabeça, eles contam o número de peças que você juntou como sua pontuação. Portanto, é melhor ter o maior número possível montado antes que o tempo acabe. 💜🧩
Vesna from Puzzling Happiness has done the jigsaw with the dandelions and I think she found it difficult. I don't think I would get on with a shuffle method. I like to get all the pieces out so that I can see them all.😊
It was so tricky all that dark grass in the Dandelion one. So you enjoy the full flip method - I've tried it but just can't seem to focus. Eventually though I do have the pieces from a section all up and then get to working on it. 💜🧩
I'm so enjoying your videos! I'm a puzzler myself and you remind me of me! (Except I don't refer to the box as much haha!) I'd really love to try speed puzzling too! I've just begun my very first 3,000 piecer! And it's tough just to finish the sorting! I do sometimes find if there's a tough section, I do end up saving it to last because there are fewer pieces to pull from. Every other piece is in it's place so you're only working from a smaller pool. But in a pairs situation, you could split the work so one person does the tough stuff while the other focuses on the easy stuff! I hope that helps! Good luck!
I feel my sorting limit stops at around 2,000 pieces - after that, I just get a little bored and want to get though it. So I feel for you sorting a 3,000 piece. Stick with it though - you go this! I think everyone you puzzles should try speed puzzling at least once. You might enjoy it. We definitely worked on different areas for that first puzzle but them mostly worked together on the second one - although there weren't too many distinct sections. 💜🧩
I'm not a speed puzzler, so I can take breaks between hard sections, but I tend to leave them to the end. There are less pieces to deal with and have to try in each spot. I did notice you left the dark border almost to the end; I think I would have gotten the border done as much as possible first to help with placing pieces.
In both the Dandelion and Knitter puzzles, that dark border was so difficult and tricky! Wendy struggled with the Dandelion one and I struggled with the Knitter one. Why were they so difficult?! It got frustrating that’s for sure. 💜🧩
@@fortheloveofpuzzles Sometimes it's the puzzle not you! There shouldn't be false fits, especially in the border! I just put together a tiny little puzzle that was the same 2 shapes and it was really tricky getting the right pieces in the right spots!
See you in November! I already bought my ticket for the Sydney competition. I might do only the individual event as I know no one to pair with. About doing the hard parts first, there is not a single right answer, it depends where the hard part is. If it is the sky and the border has already been done, you might do it first, but for the grass there were flowers in there, so I think it is best to do the flowers first and then you can do the grass around it.
Great! We can finally meet. Having thought about this more while answering comments, if you don’t finish the puzzle in the allotted time, then they count the number of pieces you have assembled. So maybe best to do as much of the “easy” parts as possible to get as many pieces connected. 💜🧩
Ah yes, Dandelions at Sunset! 😅🙈 I filmed myself doing it for my Saturday puzzling vlog some time ago and oh the struggle! I got the sky, the bright colored grass and the flowers done in 1 h 25 min, but the dark grass...... It took a while longer! 😂 1 h 55 min to be exact, so 3 h 20 min in total. But I liked the first part of the puzzle! 😄 And you did really well!! ❤️
Now I saw also the ending of this video and you have so much good insight about everything!! I haven't done speed puzzling with a pair yet but you gave many good tips for it, thank you! ❤️ I still don't quite believe in the build as you shuffle method, but you did very well! 👍 Recently I did a video where I did Vintage Cook Books for 6 (!!!) times so I finally got my time under 1 hour!! ✨ I think it might be a helpful strategy and I will investigate it further... 😁
I saw your video of the Vintage Cookbooks. Definitely memory of the puzzle can help improve time, like I did with that Washi Wishes 300 piece puzzle. I can't wait to see what new unreleased puzzles we get to do in Spain. 💜🧩
Easier parts first, that way you create the perimeter for the harder pieces. If you'd try with the harder pieces first, you would try putting them in places where they don't belong.
I don’t really look at it as doing hard and easy parts, I just usually do distinct parts together. Hmmmm maybe you will start the New Zealand jigsaw association. Someone has to be the one!
I think starting with the easiest parts of the puzzle may work best because at least you are dealing with less pieces to complete any other parts of the puzzle.
It would be a good way to have a break from getting frustrated. I typically resort to sorting my piece shape when I start getting frustrated with an area. 💜🧩
Sure thing - for the competition in Spain, all the rules with table dimensions can be found here - www.worldjigsawpuzzle.org/wjpc/faq "Which are the competition’s table measures? Tables are 180 cm length, 80 cm width and 74 cm height. Regarding each category, 2 participants will be placed in each table in the individual one, where as 2 pairs will be placed in the pairs one and 1 team in its category." So when practicing, it is good to limit your space to what you will have at the competition. I especially find this important for those that do the full flip method. I see many using a large area and that is not the case at the competition - it's much more limited. Hope this helps!
I just thought of something while answering comments - If you don't finish the puzzle in the allotted competition time, they count the number of pieces you have assembled as your score. So probably best to do the easier sections first to have more pieces done. What do you think? Thanks so much for watching! Please consider subscribing 💜🧩
I think a really important part of speed puzzling that's not talked about that much is scanning area. The areas you have to look over will affect your speed. That's why I tend to believe that sorting and doing the easier stuff first is advantageous. As you eliminate the pieces from the pool doing easy areas, you now have significantly less pieces to look over while finding what you need. If you start those hard parts (that tend to have a lot of similar colors with all 500 to scan for every piece it will be slower. thanks for the videos, they're great!
Definitely working the easier sections first is the smart way to go - have been learning that over these months of speed puzzling. Try to do as much as possible of the easy stuff and leave the more difficult for later because as you pointed out, you have less pieces to worry about. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Good work Wendy - she's really coming along! I want to try the grassy one!
I don't think I ever want to do another Nature Edition puzzle again...but I know I have to in order to practice. 💜🧩
And yes, Wendy has come a long way and is doing great! 💜🧩
I did the dandelions puzzle, but not speed puzzling it, but in two sittings. I didn't think it was that difficult. The grass parts were challenging, but I was looking for the parts with flower stems in them and did those first and than fill in the rest. It probably took me 3-4 hours 😂 so you are golden!
I'm going to redo the Dandelion one on my own in a few months time. Not sure I will be able to finish it in the qualification time of 90 minutes though. 💜🧩
Any 500pc puzzle completed in qualifying time is good!! As far as hard vs easy first, personally I do the easy parts first so I have something to build off of. There was a US competition in San Diego, CA and most people worked the obvious parts first, the red house, the sun, the letters. Again, something to build off of. Regardless, you seem to have realistic goals for Spain, trying your best to do well, but going with a great attitude to enjoy every minute!!
And wow!!! Just goes to show how being familiar with a puzzle can definitely help with the time. And how exciting abt the australian competition!!! I never knew there were so many around.
This speed puzzling thing is growing like a weed around the World!! It's so much fun. I do think building the easier parts first is the better approach as like you wrote, you have something to build off of. 💜🧩
Doing the hard parts first sounds good in theory - but when you struggle doing your regular method at least you know you will be done. You are coming down the home stretch. Imagine getting hung up say in the sky
( hard stuff first ) - time is slipping by and the stress factor becomes magnified disproportionately at least in my mind.
I agree - I think it would stress me out more. And also, I just thought of this, they count the number of pieces you have assembled as a result if you don't finish in time, so best to have as many pieces assembled as possible if unable to finish the puzzle. 💜🧩
This video was awesome. I love Wendy and I love when you have a couple of puzzles to show. Also the sunflowers puzzle looks like torture. 😂
And sunflowers are my favourite flower!!! I even have a huge tattoo of them on my shoulder. It was a tough one indeed! 💜🧩
Hello lovely 😊 Congratulations on your new times and it was so good to see Wendy again! Janette is very good in speed puzzling and since you are pairs together with her I believe you have a very good chance to win! I will cheer for you 🥳 Here are a few tips you might find useful:
- I wouldn’t start with the hard section when doing individuals, but maybe it can be an advantage in pairs if someone starts to build it while the other participant is doing the easier parts.
- while doing the shuffle method you can try to take out more pieces at the beginning. Maybe to take out only one specific area. Of course it depends on the puzzle but I think it is a great method and you are very good at it.
- when having only one section left I would take out the pieces from the box because the box border is in the way
- when doing hard sections and solid color sections the piece shape can be helpful. I just found out that next to non standard piece somewhere has to go another non standard piece.
I hope I could help 😊 Sending love 💕
Such great advice! Thank you for sharing. I doubt Janette and I will win but we will make our best effort and have lots of fun while in Spain. Good idea bout removing the last pieces from the box so that the edge is not in the way. And yes, I have also noticed that non-standard pieces have at least one other non-standard piece next to it. But in the panic of the build, I'm not sure if I will remember that. 💜🧩
Another thought about pairs and teams, that I might mention here: Karen from Karen Puzzles once mentioned that the strongest puzzler from the team should do the edge. I do not know her reasoning (finish the edge as fast as possible since it gives structure to the whole solving process?) but one could also argue the other way (the edge is often the easiest part of the puzzle, thus a less experienced solver may also tackle it)...
I only typically build the border as I find it or as I am building that section of the puzzle as I find it can get in my way - especially for larger 1000 piece puzzles. 💜🧩
The "shuffle method" is my go-to puzzling style. It's fun, chill and just like a treasure hunt trying to find the right pieces! :D
It's definitely not the strategy I'd use in speed puzzling though. I'd probably go for a full sort or flip all the pieces upside.
I did enjoy being able to keep the pieces in the box and not all over the table. I agree, it's fun to hunt for pieces. 💜🧩
Love your videos! I dump the pieces in a cake pan and pull the edge pieces and the pieces of a large item in the puzzle-often the sky.
once they are done, I sort out the pieces of other colorful items and turn all the remaining pieces face up in the pan to be sorted through later. In your puzzle I would have started with the black,
Interesting!!! I love how people puzzle differently and approach a puzzle from different angels. 💜🧩
Hi !
Thank you for your videos I love watching them (from France :)) . I do the easy part of puzzles first to stay motivated. My eyes start then to "discover" some different textures / color variations that help to do the harder part. If I start with the hardest part, I'm not focus enough to see the variations (it sounds strange haha) but the easy part helps me to calm down and then work on the puzzle.
Makes sense - do as much of the easy parts of the puzzle so you also have something to build off of when you get to the more difficult parts. 💜🧩
We are not speed puzzlers but we have a suggestion re competition; do the easiest bits first to get as much done as possible in the set time, you'll have more time for the difficult bits.
Yes, I agree because I just thought of one thing while answering comments. If you don't finish the puzzle, they count the number of completed pieces so best to do as much as possible (meaning the easier parts first) so to have a higher piece count at the end. 💜🧩
If a puzzle has a very difficult part you can choose whether you get despaired in the beginning or in the end. 🙂The only thing that might cool your nerves is reminding yourself that all others will struggle with this part as well...
On a more serious note: I also tend to leave the more difficult part to the end because I do not prefer to already start struggling while I am not even familiar with a puzzle. Only if the puzzle pieces of the difficult part are *very* distinctive (e.g. of bright orange color and very different from the rest) and they more-or-less jump into my eye while doing full flip or full sort, I might find myself building such a difficult area right in the beginning. The dogs of "Cute Dogs in the Garden" could be built very soon, for instance - but I left them for last.
Sometimes it's hard to know what will be the easier or more difficult areas of a puzzle to build. Thinking about it more though, in competition, if you don't finish the puzzle, then they count the number of assembled pieces. So probably best to do as much as the easier parts first in case you don't finish the puzzle. 💜🧩
Quando eu fazia meus quebra cabeças eu começava pelas partes mais difíceis. Como a Wendy disse, no final estamos mais cansadas.
Que legal! Mais uma competição. Sucesso!!
Abraços. Fica bem, tchauuuuu
Uau! Ok, então acho que começar com as seções mais fáceis é melhor. Além disso, acabei de lembrar que se você não terminar o quebra-cabeça, eles contam o número de peças que você juntou como sua pontuação. Portanto, é melhor ter o maior número possível montado antes que o tempo acabe. 💜🧩
I had no idea you were in NZ. welcome. great video.
I am! Been here for nearly 10 years - love it! Am an officially kiwi now for the past 3 years. It's home. 💜🧩
Vesna from Puzzling Happiness has done the jigsaw with the dandelions and I think she found it difficult. I don't think I would get on with a shuffle method. I like to get all the pieces out so that I can see them all.😊
It was so tricky all that dark grass in the Dandelion one. So you enjoy the full flip method - I've tried it but just can't seem to focus. Eventually though I do have the pieces from a section all up and then get to working on it. 💜🧩
Thank you for mentioning me! 🥰❤️ Yes, Dandelions at Sunset was a real challenge for me, but Donnalouise and Wendy, you did really well!! 👍
I'm so enjoying your videos! I'm a puzzler myself and you remind me of me! (Except I don't refer to the box as much haha!) I'd really love to try speed puzzling too! I've just begun my very first 3,000 piecer! And it's tough just to finish the sorting! I do sometimes find if there's a tough section, I do end up saving it to last because there are fewer pieces to pull from. Every other piece is in it's place so you're only working from a smaller pool. But in a pairs situation, you could split the work so one person does the tough stuff while the other focuses on the easy stuff! I hope that helps! Good luck!
I feel my sorting limit stops at around 2,000 pieces - after that, I just get a little bored and want to get though it. So I feel for you sorting a 3,000 piece. Stick with it though - you go this! I think everyone you puzzles should try speed puzzling at least once. You might enjoy it. We definitely worked on different areas for that first puzzle but them mostly worked together on the second one - although there weren't too many distinct sections. 💜🧩
I'm not a speed puzzler, so I can take breaks between hard sections, but I tend to leave them to the end. There are less pieces to deal with and have to try in each spot. I did notice you left the dark border almost to the end; I think I would have gotten the border done as much as possible first to help with placing pieces.
In both the Dandelion and Knitter puzzles, that dark border was so difficult and tricky! Wendy struggled with the Dandelion one and I struggled with the Knitter one. Why were they so difficult?! It got frustrating that’s for sure. 💜🧩
@@fortheloveofpuzzles Sometimes it's the puzzle not you! There shouldn't be false fits, especially in the border! I just put together a tiny little puzzle that was the same 2 shapes and it was really tricky getting the right pieces in the right spots!
See you in November! I already bought my ticket for the Sydney competition. I might do only the individual event as I know no one to pair with. About doing the hard parts first, there is not a single right answer, it depends where the hard part is. If it is the sky and the border has already been done, you might do it first, but for the grass there were flowers in there, so I think it is best to do the flowers first and then you can do the grass around it.
Great! We can finally meet. Having thought about this more while answering comments, if you don’t finish the puzzle in the allotted time, then they count the number of pieces you have assembled. So maybe best to do as much of the “easy” parts as possible to get as many pieces connected. 💜🧩
@@fortheloveofpuzzles At the australian competition you have 3 hours for 500 pieces. I don't think there is a big risk that you wouldn't finish it!
Easy parts first so you have something to build on. Makes sense to me.
I agree...I can't see myself trying to tackle the hard parts first. 💜🧩
Ah yes, Dandelions at Sunset! 😅🙈 I filmed myself doing it for my Saturday puzzling vlog some time ago and oh the struggle! I got the sky, the bright colored grass and the flowers done in 1 h 25 min, but the dark grass...... It took a while longer! 😂 1 h 55 min to be exact, so 3 h 20 min in total. But I liked the first part of the puzzle! 😄 And you did really well!! ❤️
Now I saw also the ending of this video and you have so much good insight about everything!! I haven't done speed puzzling with a pair yet but you gave many good tips for it, thank you! ❤️ I still don't quite believe in the build as you shuffle method, but you did very well! 👍 Recently I did a video where I did Vintage Cook Books for 6 (!!!) times so I finally got my time under 1 hour!! ✨ I think it might be a helpful strategy and I will investigate it further... 😁
I don't know if I have the strength to try and tackle that Dandelion puzzle on my own! 💜🧩
I saw your video of the Vintage Cookbooks. Definitely memory of the puzzle can help improve time, like I did with that Washi Wishes 300 piece puzzle. I can't wait to see what new unreleased puzzles we get to do in Spain. 💜🧩
Easier parts first, that way you create the perimeter for the harder pieces. If you'd try with the harder pieces first, you would try putting them in places where they don't belong.
I agree - I do think it is best to do as much of the "easier" parts as possible first. 💜🧩
Well done girs❤
Thank you!! 💜🧩
Easy bits first. Get those pieces out of the pile, so you have a clearer field when you're trying to tackle the harder bits.
I don’t really look at it as doing hard and easy parts, I just usually do distinct parts together.
Hmmmm maybe you will start the New Zealand jigsaw association. Someone has to be the one!
I so wish that I had the time - and energy - to form the NZ Jigsaw Puzzle Association. I would definitely become a member if someone set it up. 💜🧩
I think starting with the easiest parts of the puzzle may work best because at least you are dealing with less pieces to complete any other parts of the puzzle.
I agree - and I’d also only want to be frustrated at the end and not right from the start. 💜🧩
I'm not a speed puzzlers but I think going back and forth between the hard and easy might be less frustrating
It would be a good way to have a break from getting frustrated. I typically resort to sorting my piece shape when I start getting frustrated with an area. 💜🧩
I have been trying to find the size of a competition puzzle table for 500 pieces. Can you please help?
Sure thing - for the competition in Spain, all the rules with table dimensions can be found here - www.worldjigsawpuzzle.org/wjpc/faq
"Which are the competition’s table measures? Tables are 180 cm length, 80 cm width and 74 cm height. Regarding each category, 2 participants will be placed in each table in the individual one, where as 2 pairs will be placed in the pairs one and 1 team in its category."
So when practicing, it is good to limit your space to what you will have at the competition. I especially find this important for those that do the full flip method. I see many using a large area and that is not the case at the competition - it's much more limited. Hope this helps!
Do the easy parts first. If you dont finish in time you will be placed according to pieces done.
Yes! I just thought about that this morning as well so it is best to do as much as possible. 💜🧩
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I don’t like speed puzzling.
And the best method is the one that works for you
Speed puzzling is not for everyone but I really enjoy it. 💜🧩