Everybody knows what a jigsaw puzzle is, they can’t have passed you by as they have been around since 1760. Lots of you may have even finished one or two. They come in different shapes and sizes and some have a dizzying number of pieces, you can even get 3D ones! They are a fun mixture of frustration and satisfaction. At a basic level, jigsaws are a simple concept. A picture is cut into a number of interlocking pieces and all the pieces scrambled into a box. The task is to assemble those pieces so that you have a complete picture that matches the image on the box. When you are doing a jigsaw, it can be really frustrating when a piece is missing but would it be more frustrating in the jigsaw didn’t match the image on the box? Which is what happens in the whimsical world of the Wasgij adult jigsaw puzzles (and for the eagle-eyed puzzlers out there, you have already spotted that WASGIJ is JIGSAW spelled backwards and pronounced ‘Woz-gidge’). Wasgij jigsaws are 2D jigsaw puzzles with a big difference – the image you need to complete isn’t the image displayed on the box. The image on the box is merely a tease, and the real fun lies in piecing together the future! Wasgij puzzles have a different set of rules; puzzlers must use their imagination to complete the jigsaws and we have been trying out one of the jigsaw puzzles from the Wasgij Destiny range – The Toy Shop! A puzzle that promises to tickle your nostalgia and challenge your imagination.
There are four different concepts of the Wasgij jigsaw puzzles; Original, Destiny, Mystery and Christmas. For this review we have been trying out The Toy Shop from the Destiny range. The Destiny range of jigsaw puzzles are a ‘time travelling’ concept. Puzzlers must use their imagination to piece together what they think the scene and characters shown on the box, in an old toy shop in this case, will look like in the modern day.
The Toy Shop is a massive 1000 piece puzzle. The box shows an image of an old traditional busy and chaotic toy shop. Wasgij jigsaws are aimed at the adult market and look like any regular jigsaws. They are printed on cardboard and piece together just as any flat jigsaw does. But what makes them different and quirky? Is that you must use your imagination and piece together the puzzle to reflect a similar but different image, an updated version of the image shown on the box. With The Toy Shop, puzzlers must look at the image of the traditional toy shop on the box and imagine what it would look like as a more modernised and up to date toy shop, and complete the puzzle.
The image on the box is very colourful, amusing and shows a very very busy, chaotic fun-looking toy shop. Without using any hints, the puzzle is incredibly challenging. Even if you do decide to get a bit of help and use the hints available (You can find some two hints to guide you along the way on the Wasgij website), the journey to complete the puzzle is a long one. It really is a fantastic and challenging concept, a perfect upgrade to the traditional jigsaw and one that is much more enjoyable. The completed image will not resemble the image on the box but will be a future look of that image. For example, the staff will have aged, the toys evolved, updated and some even more hi-tech, but the scene remaining just as busy and chaotic.
Overall, if you like taking the time to piece together jigsaw puzzles, add in another dimension and challenge with the time travelling Wasgij Destiny puzzle. Lots of fun and a great twist over standard jigsaw puzzles. I really can highly recommend the Wasgij Destiny 20 – The Toy Shop, and it won’t be the last one I do (in fact, I have just ordered another two; one from their Original range and one from their Mystery range).
As jigsaws go, you piece it together the same as you would with any other flat jigsaw but with having to try and imagine what the completed puzzle will look like it is much more challenging. I have absolutely loved it as it is not only a fun, colourful, vivid and busy image, having to use your imagination to update the image to a newer similar, but different, version makes it much more interesting. Trying to visualise what the image is going to be rather than what is shown on the box is a visual and mental treat. Superb for getting the brain working. The concept and challenge is excellent.
Definitely not for the faint-hearted or those with a short attention span. It’s a jigsaw for the brave, the bold, and the slightly masochistic who enjoy the sweet torture of a puzzle that tells a story.
The challenge is fantastic, as is the fun. Completing “The Toy Shop” will earn you bragging rights and give you’re a great sense of achievement.
#DitchTheScreens and jump into something more tangible and mentally challenging. A fun, different and interesting jigsaw where the past and future collide in the most entertaining way possible.
At around £13.99 for a 1000-piece puzzle with a more challenging concept, it is definitely value for money with the hours of enjoyment you will get from it.
Use your imagination and puzzling skills to bring the past into the present.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £13.99
For more information visit wasgij.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
