Puzzle Reviews

My little guy is 3 and his favorite activity is putting puzzles together. The little 25-30 piece puzzles have become too easy for him, so I got this one with 48 pieces. I've been teaching him to put puzzle pieces together gently (rather than mashing and beating them together as rough and tumble boys sometimes tend to do) so that he doesn't bend up the cardboard pieces. I explain to him that if he has the correct two pieces, they will go together easily. This puzzle, however, is constructed of wood and is thicker than typical puzzles, so the pieces don't just slide together. They do fit well together, but you have to line them up well and use a bit more pressure than usual, so he often thinks he has the wrong piece when he actually has the right one. This is frustrating for him.

My other issue with this puzzle is the lack of a picture to go by. I expect it is good memory practice for older kids to see the puzzle together, take it apart, and put it together from memory, but this isn't so easy for a three-year-old. My little guy can do it, but he gets frustrated when he can't remember what the puzzle looked like and so isn't quite certain what general area to put a loose piece near.

Other things to keep in mind when you are deciding whether to purchase this puzzle include it's size and storage needs. It is larger than other flat wood puzzles and doesn't fit into the puzzle storage or drawers we generally have available for our puzzles. It's dimensions are about 15.5 x 11.75. Also, it comes in it's wood tray, so it does not have a box and the puzzle has to be completely put together to be stored properly. The wood tray is nice, but is not absolutely necessary to put the puzzle together, so if the size of the tray is a problem for storage you could put the pieces in a baggie or box of your own and keep it separate from the tray.

This puzzle looks nice enough to glue together and hang on a wall when your child (or even multiple children) has outgrown it. It is very durable and is likely to last quite well up to that point even with repeated use (I wanna do this one again, Mommy! Pleeeeaaaaassssse!!)

This is a superb puzzle for almost any child (I recommend over 3 y/o) to enhance problem solving skills, vocabulary building (teaching what the ocean animals are) and for fun. I am becoming a huge fan of Ravensburger puzzles and have bought several more receently. They are not easy, but not difficult and the overall value for these puzzles can not be estimated for your child's future learning. Highly recommended.

The workmanship is evident in the weight -- even though it's small it's quite a bit heavier than you would guess by looking at it, so it's not one of those cheap throw-away travel games at all. Neverthesless, if you plan to play mostly at home I recommend the full-size one (also sold on this site) which includes larger pieces, a larger board, and 4 racks for your tiles.

Also, you can play solitaire if you like -- rules for soliatire are included.