Puzzles, Books and More!: Puzzle #26 - Vermont Christmas Company

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Puzzle #26 - Vermont Christmas Company - Village Square- 550 pieces

So after basically determining that Vermont Christmas Company puzzles are my favorite (except for missing a poster) this one has had multiple times where pieces fit together perfectly in the wrong place. Twice along the edge and then once in the puzzle, but along an edge which made me finally figure that section out... then go looking and sure enough, more edge pieces were wrong. But you couldn't tell from either the fit or the image. None of the fits are super tight... and the images were of sky or the stone bottom, so vague anyway. Perhaps with a larger poster I could discern there were real differences in the variation of the pieces - but naked eye, box, and such a close fit and look - there is no way. That is so frustrating. That is NOT what makes a puzzle FUN and challenging to me. :( Hmmm.... Also realizing the 1000 piece Vermont Christmas Company puzzles have irregular shapes which helps with unique fit (no mistaking where a piece actually fits). The 550 piece puzzles (like this one) are more identically cut so you can have pieces that fit multiple places.

Written upon completion of the puzzle...

It is truly funny to me how much easier 550 piece puzzles are (overall) than 1000 pieces. I have come so far in just a couple months of puzzling. I did this one in one day. I wrote more detail on the 'underway' caption describing my frustration with pieces that fit multiple places. But I do think it is because of the way they cut the 550 pieces versus the 1000 pieces. 1000 pieces are more random cut (which I don't like when Bits & Pieces does it, but do like when VCC does it). That means they don't fit two places. The 550 piece puzzles are more traditional (I think they call it ribbon?) cut - even though they say they aren't. That means that pieces can fit more than one place. And again, without a good poster to really see small details, it is nearly impossible to get it right. You just play around with it until all works out. That is not challenging, that is frustrating. However, Vermont Christmas Company puzzles are still about my favorite at this point, I think. I may prefer the 1000 piece puzzles from now on...