Crossword Puzzle Puzzle
Location: at home
Date Played: June 30, 2019
Team size: we recommend 3-5
Size: 550-piece jigsaw
Price: $18
Publisher: Babalu Inc
REA Reaction
The Crossword Jigsaw Puzzle was exactly what the name suggests: a jigsaw puzzle made from a crossword grid. It played out in two distinct phases:
- Solve the crossword puzzle
- Assemble the jigsaw puzzle using the crossword puzzle as a guide
As a crossword, it was solid and approachable. It wasn’t too easy or particularly difficult; there wasn’t anything wrong with it.
As far as 550-piece jigsaw puzzles go, it was quite challenging. A black and white letter grid was certainly solvable, but it didn’t provide any of the color, size, and texture clues that are typically helpful in jigsaw puzzling. It also wasn’t much to look at.
The Crossword Jigsaw Puzzle was puzzling for sport. I would never break this out with my family after a holiday dinner. With a small group of dedicated puzzle people, however, we had a remarkably fun time pushing one another and inventing different techniques to increase our effectiveness.
Play this if you love puzzles for their own sake. Make sure you have the right people at the table. There is a second Crossword Jigsaw Puzzle sitting on our shelf and we will solve it.
Who is this for?
- Crossword & jigsaw puzzlers
- Best for groups
- You have to love puzzles
Why play?
- The intrigue of a mash-up of two familiar puzzle types
- Solving works best as a group
Setup
First solve the crossword puzzle. Then you’ll have the “picture” for the jigsaw puzzle.
Gameplay
Crossword Jigsaw was a mash-up of two puzzle types: crosswords and jigsaws. Both were standard. In combination, however, Crossword Jigsaw had a high level of difficulty.
We found that this was best experienced with a group to facilitate the piece searching and keep the pace up.
Analysis
➕ Crossword Jigsaw combined two common puzzle types to create a puzzle that looked and felt familiar, but exhibited unique challenges.
➕ It’s rare to find a jigsaw puzzle that can actively engage 6 people. While we found it worked best as a group of 3-4 people, when we opened the box, 6 people actively participated… until dinner was ready.
➖ Crossword Jigsaw was not approachable. We knew to start by solving the crossword puzzle and the frame of the jigsaw. Beyond that, it took some trial and error to find a technique for forward momentum.
➖ A large part of the experience was trial and error. We could narrow down by the letter on the piece or the shape of the piece, but solving was less strategic than in most jigsaw puzzles that we’ve solved to date.
➕ We played Crossword Jigsaw with friends. Jigsaw puzzles are individual experiences. Even when you solve them with friends, each person works largely independently on different sections of the whole. Crossword Jigsaw worked better as a group communication game to find the right pieces and assemble the puzzle.
❓ The image is a crossword puzzle, and not a particularly attractive or interesting one. If you’re doing this, it’s purely for love of puzzles.
Tips For Player
- The finished jigsaw puzzle measures 24” by 18.”
- The jigsaw has 550 pieces.
- The same crossword can be downloaded so that the puzzle can be shared with someone else and they can enjoy the same level of challenge.
- We recommend group solving this one.
Buy your copy of Crossword Jigsaw, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Babalu Inc provided a sample for review.
(If you purchase via our Amazon links, you will help support Room Escape Artist as we will receive a very small percentage of the sale. We appreciate the support.)
