We've been hand-designing and making premium wooden jigsaw puzzles since 1991, so we know a thing or two about traditional jigsaw puzzles. However, we all know that times evolve and change - jigsaw puzzle trends included - and we always aim to be at the forefront of puzzle design and technology.
Last year was unprecedented in so many ways, but something we noticed was a massive jump in young adults buying jigsaw puzzles online, up to 5 times more in the 18 to 24-year-old age group on the previous year! We are super excited to welcome the next generation of puzzlers to the Wentworth family and we realise the importance of ensuring we design puzzles for all of our customers. We were therefore keen to find out the drive behind the boost of this ever-growing new generation of jigsaw puzzle fans, as well as what kind of puzzles they find the most engaging. The growth in extra difficult and specifically Gradient Puzzles was the answer.
We talked to some Puzzle Personalities to find out why they puzzle - it seems that the mindfulness, relaxation, and escapism benefits, coupled with a desire for less screen time led to a sharp rise in the popularity of the humble jigsaw puzzle.
"My mind is always calmer, and my thoughts are always sharper when I puzzle,” advised Amy (also known as @TheClosetPuzzler on Instagram)
“Although it’s a simple process of hunting down and organizing pieces into the correct place, it is perhaps, the very simplicity that provides me with the right headspace to reflect and relax.”
When asked if she would continue puzzling after the lockdown ended, Amy added:
“Pandemic or no pandemic, puzzling is here to stay for me - I just need to find more space to store the growing collection!"
I think we can all agree with Amy!
Now, if you’re a puzzler and you use social media, you’ve probably heard of our next die-hard dissectologist Nathan Tozer, a 20-year-old mathematics student at the University of Bristol. His Instagram profile @PuzzlesByNathan has reached over 80K followers over the last year with fans intrigued by his jigsaw time lapses. Many of his most popular videos feature gradient style jigsaw puzzles, and he often comments in his captions that these colourful puzzles are especially satisfying and addictive.
Nathan believes that one of the many benefits of puzzling for young adults is their effectiveness in combatting study stress.
“I’m often asked why as a university student in my prime years I choose to spend my time putting thousands of little pieces together, instead of doing the stereotypical student things,” he comments. “My answer is that with all the deadlines, coursework, and exams week in week out, there are times where it feels as if I’ve been almost swamped. Taking a break to do a puzzle is just like pressing a reset button. It allows me to pause relax and then revisit my workload with a more-level head, being much more productive.”
“There’ll be many young adults who will have picked up a puzzle for the first time in the past year or so and have fallen in love with them and engraining them it into their working week,” he says.
We want to make sure that we continually keep our puzzle range exciting, challenging and inclusive. It seems that younger puzzles are particularly partial to a relatively new jigsaw puzzle trend – the Gradient puzzle, a design that features lots of colour transitions, especially in Rainbow.
Our amazing product team has been hard at work curating a collection of challenging, Gradient puzzles, but with a ‘Wentworth Twist’ of course! We’ve combined rainbow colours and geometric shapes with some new extra difficult puzzle piece cut patterns, especially for this new collection. The puzzles have an uneven edge around the outside too, just to make them that little bit harder!
Because they were so highly anticipated, we released Water Drop and Fractal Geometry, a little earlier than planned, alongside our Summer Puzzle Collection. We were thrilled to find out how popular they were, so we are very excited to launch the full collection – we hope they will challenge, delight and perplex puzzlers of all ages and experience.
Due to the popularity of this colourful wooden puzzle with a gradient, we decided to release it in 40 and 80 pieces, too!
Harlequin Diamond Gradient Puzzle
We think this puzzle is the very definition of irregular! This Harlequin pattern looks like a patchwork quilt of rainbow coloured diamonds sewn together, to make an extra difficult gradient puzzle.
Colourful Mesh Gradient Puzzle
This one will be difficult to sort the colours, as it doesn’t follow the typical colour scale and order, but it all adds to the fun. The two long edges have notch shapes taken out to add a further tricky twist.
Meditative Lines Gradient Puzzle
This warped rainbow design makes a perfect extra-difficult gradient puzzle for adults. Designs by Eduard-ArtBeats, this interesting pattern is sure to intrigue and entertain. What makes this jigsaw puzzle extra tricky is the strange edge around the outside, with notches taken out at different intervals
Rainbow Feathers Gradient Puzzle
Silky soft and sleek feathers in every colour combine in camouflage to make this beautiful gradient puzzle for adults. The plumage adds an interesting texture which intensifies the extra difficult cut pattern made up of interlocking, tessellated puzzle pieces.