Pokemon: Pikachu Silhouette

Brand: Buffalo

Pieces: 500
Size:  54cm x 38cm

Product Code: 3350

When I was in primary school back in the 90s, a little craze called Pokemon arrived in our world. Before you knew it, everyone was playing the Nintendo game and collecting the trading cards and talking about Pikachus and other 'pocket monsters'. 

Fast forward 30 years and we're celebrating the anniversary of that time. During my high school and university days, I dropped Pokemon and focussed on other things but as an adult, I am fully back in the game and have collected many of the cards. I have a full-blown collection, and besides jigsaw puzzles, this is what I spend most of my disposable income on. 

So you can imagine that when I have the chance to mix my two passions, I'll take it. 

I bought this puzzle second-hand but luckily all the pieces were there when I was completing it. It was fun to do, and I enjoyed putting it together- I only wish it had had more pieces!

There are only a few puzzle brands that have a licence to produce Pokemon-themed puzzles, but rest assured, I aim to try and 'catch 'em all' (Yeah, I know that was lame haha)

Until then, I will continue collecting the cards and completing the puzzles. 

90's Icons

Brand: Smith Street Gift

Pieces: 500
Size: 45.8cm x 61cm

Product Code: -

This is one I've been holding onto for a while, but I've decided to finally put it up- simply because it's been in my photos folder for long enough and it was time to take it out! 

However, there's nothing particularly special about it - except for the little nostalgia hit it gave when I completed it. The pieces were of an OK quality, and it has a very cut-and-paste design, as you can see. It was fun to recognise different aspects of the 90's within the pictures though- I'm pretty sure I got all of them!

Do you enjoy doing this style of puzzle? Collage? Nostalgia? 

Vintage Games

Brand: Ravensburger

Pieces: 1000
Size: 70cm x 50cm

Product Code: 194063

I've decided to put this older puzzle up today, as it has been sitting in my photo collection for quite a while and I thought it might be time to show it. 

The weather lately has been pretty lousy- cold, wet and miserable- which is the perfect time to get out the old gameboards and play something different. This puzzle features all of the classics, such as cards, bingo, checkers, dominoes and a whole lot more. The vintage style is really accentuated with the colours chosen for the design.

This puzzle was easy enough to do, once you sorted by different features. 

Do you have a go-to in your games cupboard for cold winter nights?

Monopoly: Australian Community Relief Edition

Brand: Winning Moves

Pieces: 1000
Size: 53cm x 53cm
Product Code:  WM01148-EN3

The Monopoly board game has such a, well, monopoly I guess, over the gaming world. There are so many different versions- covering music, pop culture, and even cities.

Now they have a few variations in jigsaw puzzle format. 

I have the original Monopoly jigsaw puzzle, which I plan on doing soon but I also have the above one, which was released as a fundraiser for struggling Australian communities. In it, the towns names have been changed to some of those affected and in need of aid (although I'm not sure if it was because of fires, floods or some other disaster which has befallen the towns- I really should read what it says on the box!)

This puzzle was quite different, in that the piece shapes followed a certain format. They were longer and narrow, and followed a pattern as you assembled the pattern. That said, it was quite quick to complete, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Mario Kart: Funracer

Brand: Winning Moves

Pieces: 1000
Size: 68.3cm x 48cm
Product Code:  -

Hey all, welcome to a new year! Hope your New Year's festivities were safe and a whole lot of fun.. 

There are two reasons I have put up the above puzzle today.. 

One reason is because, being a new year which has followed an extremely unprecedented and shit year, this puzzle is kind of relevant. It's all about racing forward to cross the finish line and be a winner. Hopefully that's something that people can do this year.

The other reason is a more personal one. One of my best friends has a nine year old son who has been battling a debilitating muscle disease his whole life. In the last few days, his health has gone very downhill and though we are all trying to be optimistic, it isn't looking good :'( One of his favourite games/characters is Mario, so this one is for him. Hope he pulls through....

This puzzle is by Winning Moves and was a little challenging in some parts (the sky, ugh!) but it turned out well. The quality was great and the pieces fit together well. It's likely I'll do a few more puzzles by them in the future...