Top puzzles of 2022

I wanted to compile a list of my favourite puzzles that I completed this year. I do a lot of puzzles, and it’s very rare that I don’t enjoy them, but there are a few that stood out this year. I thought that these deserved a second showcase in a special New Year’s Eve post.

One puzzle that really stood out for me this year was a super tough one by Galison puzzles – Chop Suey by artist Edward Hopper. This was certainly a hard one to assemble, but the finished picture was just so beautiful. I love the era and streamline style of architecture that his paintings featured which really made this puzzle make the list!

Next up in my top selection of puzzles is a Sunsout 1000 piece puzzle called Getting Close by artist Pollyanna Pickering. This puzzle pretty much has it all, hilariously cute cat artwork, a lovely gradient sky, good quality thanks to the Sunsout team, it was a great mix of simple puzzling and challenging puzzling (thanks to the fur). I loved it!

Tenyo! The next puzzle that made my top favourites list was the Disney Characters 4000 piece puzzle released by Tenyo from Japan. I love completing bigger puzzle projects and the quality of this puzzle was excellent. I’d love the chance to do another Tenyo puzzle again in the future. Another wonderful aspect to this puzzle is the artwork, sure, it’s Disney, but it’s not your usual style making for a very unique puzzle!

A couple more to go…. Another amazing puzzling experience that stuck with me was a 512 piece Liberty wooden puzzle called Road Chief by artist Taralee Guild. Wooden puzzles really are in a category of their own, the experience is so luxurious. Each piece is is cut with care and you can feel that as you drop it into place. I had to put this one close to the top of my list because the experience was so unique and rare! Finding a used and complete Liberty puzzle at the thrift store is not an every day occurrence!

And finally, my most favourite puzzle of 2022 was of course, my childhood puzzle. Penguins at the Beach by artist Susan Sturgill released by the Great American Puzzle Factory. This puzzle was just so much fun to revisit, it’s where my love of puzzling first started in earnest. I don’t think I realized at the time how calming and meditative assembling a puzzle is for me. I’ve had this hobby for a long time and it’s sure to be a hobby of mine for a lot longer!

Let me tell you, this was a hard list to assemble. I found so many fun puzzles this year, I made some great connections on Instagram, and I participated in some really fun Puzzle alongs in 2022. I’ve already signed up for a few more in 2023. There are some fun puzzling times ahead!