I've been continuing with my puzzling practice. When I last posted my goal was to break the hour mark for a 500 piece puzzle. Let's see how I did...
Circle of Colours: Ocean - 1:23:34
Circle of Colours: Ocean
I sacrificed a bit of time at the beginning to do a full colour sort and I think that worked out well. It was really helpful to know where the pieces I wanted were likely to be. I wouldn't have qualified with this time in the 2023 semi final where it was used, but it's still my best time for a first attempt at a Circle of Colours puzzles.
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Spooky Curiosities (200 pieces) - 18:05
Ok, so this isn't a puzzle that's going to be used in any of the competitions but I loved the spooky vibe of it and thought I could knock it out quickly, which I did!
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Disney Stamps - 1:15:26
Not a bad time. I was also slightly hindered by the fact that I got this puzzle and the next one as a two-pack, which meant that both puzzle images were on the front of the box so each one was pretty small and difficult to reference.
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Disney Toys - 1:02:42
So close to the hour mark! Honestly I was shocked. This puzzle is so busy I was convinced I was going to go over the hour and a half limit so it was pretty amazing when I saw the time.
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Floral Reflections - 1:20:39
I would describe this puzzle as deceptively difficult. It looks pretty simple, with each block of colour separate from the others, but it was difficult to place the pieces within their own groups. The yellow flowers in particular gave me so much trouble! (Also, the box image isn't accurate. It shows a red group on the left hand side, and the purple on the right is significantly bigger.)
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The Fisherman - 57:01
SUCCESS! I have broken the hour mark! I was so pleased with myself. I did have an advantage in that I have done this puzzle before, so now my new goal is to break the hour mark on a puzzle I haven't already done.
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Husky Puppies - 2:26:16
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Photo of the box because I managed to do it again and forgot to take a photo after completing a particularly difficult puzzle. The fur and sky were real killers. But it's all good practice. And now I'll probably have to do it again to get a proper picture...
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Furry Friends - 1:03:15
Not quite under an hour but pretty close. And another puzzle I've done before. I probably should have sorted a bit more than I did in the beginning. I think that would have helped.
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Welcome to Spooky Town - 57:50
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Now, this one is interesting. I did it first not as a speed puzzle cos I wanted to enjoy the bright colours and spooky vibes, but I put the timer on anyway and, while it's not 100% accurate cos I had to stop and start a couple of times due to doing other things, I ended up at 1:11:20, which would have been a good speed time! So I did it again as a speed puzzle and got 57:50, which isn't as much of a difference as I expected. Maybe there's something to being a bit more casual even when speed puzzling. Maybe it's trying to go too fast that causes me to fumble and make mistakes...