The joy of the puzzle
Picture: it’s a cool Sunday afternoon, the kids are playing outside, the house has settled into a soothing quiet and you have a few glorious hours to yourself. You open a brand-new puzzle, the one you received for your birthday, lay the pieces out on the table and group similar colours together. You remember doing puzzles as a child and how it always calmed you, and excited you when the picture started to take shape. The appeal of puzzle-making never left you, and fortunately, there are many new puzzles available on the retail and toy shelves, ensuring that the joy continues.
Puzzle building is emotional as much as recreational: relaxation, fun and stress relief are among the top reasons people puzzle, with the average session lasting around 102 minutes. It’s a hobby that works alone or with others, and one that feels especially suited to holidays and slow weekends at home.
“Puzzle-building continues to grow because it gives people a fun way to slow down and enjoy a screen-free activity. Globally, the jigsaw puzzle market is expected to keep growing over the next decade, which shows that this is not just a nostalgic hobby, but a meaningful part of how people are choosing to spend their downtime,” explains Philip Galliford, spokesperson for Solarpop, the distributors for Trefl puzzles in South Africa. “The demand for puzzles is across all ages, from young children who are just learning how to find the missing pieces, to adults who want the thousand-piece challenge. People want high-quality puzzles with ranges and themes to suit many tastes, and Trefl delivers on that.”
Top 5 reasons people love to puzzle
1. It calms the mind
A jigsaw puzzle gives the brain something gentle to do. In a world of notifications, deadlines and too many open tabs, a puzzle offers permission to focus on one simple, enjoyable task.
2. It feels good to make progress
There is joy in seeing the picture come together, whether you begin with the corners, the border or the first recognisable object. Puzzling rewards patience in small, visible ways, which is part of its charm.
3. It works alone or with others
A puzzle can be a beautifully solitary thing to do, but it can also be wonderfully social with family or friends drifting in and out, each person adding a piece and making suggestions.
4. Screen-free entertainment
Puzzles offer entertainment that doesn’t need charging, scrolling or updating. For families, they create shared time that feels relaxed rather than forced.
5. A great gift
With various themes, images and difficulty levels puzzles make the perfect gifts. Images range from art, travel, animals, cars and sport to nostalgia and scenery, making it easy to find a theme to suit a person’s tastes and interests.
For more puzzle inspiration follow @solarpopsouthafrica
