Wooden, soft, traditional - on cardboard, fluorescent, virtual - now you can find puzzles for every taste and budget.
Invented in England as a geography textbook, fun for the nobility and made popular with the advent of cardboard, jigsaw puzzles have entered our lives. The popularity of jigsaw puzzles is so high that among fans of this activity, tournaments are held to collect puzzles against the clock.
How to navigate the abundance that is offered to us by numerous puzzle manufacturers?
This article will be devoted to a brief overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the world's famous puzzle manufacturers and their products.
Polish printing and publishing company "Castor Printing and Publishing House" exists since 1989 and produces puzzles under the brand name Castorland. Puzzles of this company are easy to distinguish on the shelves by a bright red box.
The company produces traditional puzzles - rectangular, on cardboard.
Puzzles Castorland are very popular due to their excellent quality - precise cutting, which ensures the joining of parts, high quality printing, bright colors.
It is important to note one feature of the product Castorland- the details of the puzzles are on and the elements are smaller than the usual size for everyone - this makes the collection process difficult.
The disadvantages of the product include a box made of thin cardboard - it is easily deformed and clearly loses to boxes from other manufacturers.
For 20 years, puzzle lovers in Central Europe have been familiar with the company's products Trefl. Puzzles for children and adults: frame, gigantic , holographic(with 3D view), panoramic, round , traditional- diverse in subject matter - collages, landscapes, castles, art, travel - everyone will be able to choose a puzzle to their liking.
Puzzles that are part of the series « Giant » , consist of very large details, the colors are bright, the image is contrasting, the plot is simple, but at the same time attractive to the child. These puzzles are suitable for the little ones - children can easily assemble such a mosaic.
Trefl holds many well-known licenses such as Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Barbie Fairytopia,the Magic of Pegasus and Tom and Jerry.
Puzzles Trefl will please with their high quality: excellent joining of elements, multi-color printing, gift packaging made of thick cardboard.
Products Trefl can be recommended both for a gift and for family leisure - both for adults and children.
For over 40 years, the Italian company has been producing high-quality puzzles. In Italy, the name of the company is synonymous with smart and safe games.
A distinctive feature of the products is a series of puzzles - within the same series, products similar in theme, color scheme and design style of both the puzzles themselves and the packaging box are presented. Such assembled puzzles will perfectly decorate your interior, complementing each other favorably.
The museum collection is worthy of individual words - it includes the most famous paintings from the collections of famous museums in the world - vatican, d"Orsay, Louvre and others.
Due to the high quality of both the puzzles themselves and the packaging, these puzzles can be called gift puzzles - their cost is higher than previously described, but the quality will not disappoint you.
German company Ravensburger represents the highest quality puzzles on the market.
The first puzzle was introduced to the market in 1883. It was "Geographic game" Europe "in 270 details".
Each puzzle of the company consists of unique elements with perfect joining, which is achieved by making puzzle cutters by hand.
This company produces a variety of mosaics, covering more than 300 topics: everyday scenes, landscapes, flora and fauna, reproductions of paintings of various genres and directions, maps of the Earth and the starry sky.
It should be noted separately velor puzzles- This is a mosaic, part of the surface of which is covered with velvety velor, pleasant to the touch and resistant to abrasion. Velor masks the joints and gives volume to the central part of the composition. These puzzles look very impressive.
Another interesting product of the company - glowing puzzles– the surface of the puzzle is covered with a special composition that accumulates light and the contours of the main elements of the plot glow in the dark.
2004 Ravensburger releases ball puzzles– plastic puzzles with slightly curved parts. When assembling the drawing, you get a very durable ball that does not need additional gluing and can be stored on the stand included in the kit. Currently available in multiple sizes puzzle balls: 96 parts - diameter 12 cm, 240 parts - diameter 15 cm and 540 parts - diameter 22 cm, as well as the largest puzzle ball 960 parts - diameter 30 cm. texture puzzles . The surface of this mosaic is made of various materials - cork, wood or Japanese paper. Collecting these puzzles can also deliver tactile pleasure - the warmth of cork, the noble structure of wood, the subtlety and transparency of Japanese paper.
Since 1808, the Italian company has been present on the printed matter market. We bring to your attention the puzzles of this company - reproductions of paintings by famous artists. The high quality of both the materials and the printing of the puzzles ensures an excellent result - the match of the color scheme of the puzzles with the original, the exact and unambiguous joining of the elements, the ability to assemble the puzzle many times.
Company Educa Borras S.A. was created in 2001 as a result of the merger of Borras Plana (founded in 1894) and Educa Sallent (founded in 1967). All puzzles of this company are made in Spain. The company offers a series of puzzles with Spanish and French landscapes, reproductions of paintings by famous artists (Van Gogh, Dali, Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci), panoramas and luminous puzzles in the Neons series.
Educa Borras introduces unique jigsaw puzzles to the market - magnetic cubes. 27 magnetic cubes are assembled into a cube. On each side of the cube, one of 3 paintings can be displayed. In total, 18 different images can be collected - landscapes or reproductions of paintings by famous artists. The cube does not require gluing, is held by magnets and does not fall apart. The kit includes a plastic stand that will allow you to conveniently place the cube in the interior.
The company has an after-sales service: in case of shortage or loss of one or more parts, Educa Borras will send them by mail to the buyer anywhere in the world. To use this service, you must save the data inside the puzzle box.
Glue is attached to puzzles from 500 to 2000 pieces (except for some series).
Puzzles Heye - another example of time-tested German quality. Now the company's assortment includes 150 different mosaics. Among the plots there are ironic and very subtle parodies, paintings by talented contemporary artists, cartoon characters, geographical maps. The packaging of some series of puzzles also attracts attention - instead of the usual rectangular box, there is an original triangular pyramid.
Puzzles D-Toys - products of the Romanian company of the same name, which began its activities in 2001. D-Toys puzzles are now sold in 14 countries around the world, gaining more and more popularity due to their high quality and environmental friendliness. The main series of puzzles: sights of the world; horses; art; comic puzzles; pyramid puzzles.
In Russia, there are 4 largest manufacturers of puzzles - companies Astrel, step puzzle, Magenta and Moscow mosaic.
If we talk about domestic puzzles in general, then they are, of course, cheaper than their foreign competitors, but their quality still leaves much to be desired.
Jeruel Industrial Company Ltd was founded in Hong Kong in 1995 and specializes in the development and production of toys, puzzles and logic games. Today, Jeruel Industrial manufactures and distributes its products under trademarks such as Kinato, 3D Crystal Puzzle and Gamax.
Astrel is a trademark of the Russian Astrayt CJSC, which, in turn, belongs to the AST publishing house (just like the AST publishing house also owns Best Toy LLC - the developers of the Astrel brand products). In their price category, Astrel puzzles stand out for their fairly decent quality: a good level of printing, honest color reproduction (that is, the colors on the box correspond to the colors on the puzzle elements), the fit of the elements is quite on the level. The number of segments in puzzles produced by AST ranges from 15 pieces for the smallest, to two thousand pieces and more.
For children, the company produces not only classic cardboard puzzles, but also soft puzzles, frame puzzles, postcard puzzles, window puzzles, clock puzzles (this is when the clock face is offered in the form of a disassembled puzzle), etc. Plots for children's puzzles " Astrel" are quite standard: cartoon and fairy tale characters, animals, cars, comic book characters (in particular, Marvel companies), etc. In addition, the company owns a license for the production of puzzles with pictures from the cartoons "Smeshariki", "Shrek", "How to Train Your Dragon", WINX, etc.
For an adult audience, Astrel offers jigsaw puzzles with popular themes such as landscapes, castles, wildlife, still life, cars/motorcycles, sailboats, underwater world, etc.
In 1962, the German Friedrich W. Heye founded a jigsaw puzzle company and gave it his own surname.
Due to the fact that HEYE puzzles are produced in Germany, we can safely say that the company's products are made of environmentally friendly materials, and the quality of the puzzles is at the highest level. The plots of the Haye mosaics are very diverse: cartoon characters, gothic, illustrations by contemporary artists, geographical maps, etc.
Step Puzzle (Step Puzzle) is a Russian company founded in 1994 and specializing in the development, manufacture and sale of puzzles, as well as board and educational games.
In addition to cardboard puzzles (according to some reports, about seventy percent of Russian “classic” puzzles are produced under the Step Puzzle brand), the company produces puzzle books for kids, wooden puzzles, puzzle mats, etc. The plots of pictures for puzzles of this manufacturer are very wide : heroes of fairy tales and cartoons for children (Carlson, Leopold the Cat, “Well, wait a minute!”, A train from Romashkovo, Disney characters, etc.), flora and fauna, landscapes, castles, still lifes, geographical maps. A special place in the Step Puzzle collection is occupied by puzzles from the Russian Museums series with reproductions of paintings from the State Tretyakov Gallery and the State Hermitage. The number of elements in Step Puzzle jigsaw puzzles varies from 24 to 4,000 pieces.
It is worth noting that despite the relatively low cost, puzzles under the Step Puzzle trademark do not always have decent quality and true color reproduction (that is, color shades can differ quite a lot on the packaging and on the puzzle itself). But, in fairness, this does not apply to all SP products.
The company says that in the near future, Step Puzzle will launch the release of plastic three-dimensional puzzles.
Educa is a Spanish company founded in 1967, specializing in the manufacture of high quality puzzles. The company is best known for the cardboard puzzle “Life”, consisting of 24,000 (twenty-four thousand!) elements. To be fair, this giant puzzle is divided into four equal parts, packaged in individual bags; there are also more modest editions of the Life puzzle.
The firm initially divides cardboard puzzles according to the level of complexity - Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Extreme; Educa applies a special glue to most of its puzzles with a number of pieces from 500 pieces. The theme of the puzzle pictures of this manufacturer is very diverse: reproductions of famous artists (Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Picasso, Dali), landscapes, animals, everyday sketches, etc. In addition, Educa produces three-dimensional magnetic puzzles (the most famous product of this kind is a cube consisting of twenty-seven other magnetized cubes), fluorescent - glow-in-the-dark puzzles, etc. It should be noted that almost any product manufactured under the Educa brand has the highest quality; Plus, the company undertakes to send at its own expense the lost element of any of its puzzles, in case the client loses this very element.
Ravensburger is a German company that has been producing puzzles since 1883 (!) Since 2004, the company has also begun to produce voluminous plastic puzzles. "Flat" Ravensburger puzzles are distinguished from others by the highest quality of workmanship and the uniqueness of each element: that is, when assembling, you can not be afraid that any part will fall out of place. In addition to regular cardboard (and 3D plastic) puzzles, Ravensburger makes velvet, fluorescent and glitter puzzles that delight kids and adults alike.
The plots of pictures for Ravensburger puzzles are quite standard: landscapes, little animals, reproductions of famous painters, everyday sketches, etc. The company's production facilities are located in Germany and China.
Official website - http://www.ravensburger.com/
Clementoni is an Italian company founded in 1963 for the production of goods for children: toys, children's computers, educational games, etc. The company also produces puzzles of excellent quality, and not only for the smallest - a series of puzzles "Clementoni" with reproductions of world masterpieces of painting from famous museums of the world (Louvre, Edisioni Vatican Museum, etc.) is in deserved demand. Among other things, Clementoni has the rights to manufacture products with characters from Walt Disney animated films - Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, characters from Pixar's The Cars cartoon, etc. The company also produces fluorescent puzzles, mainly for children.
It is worth noting that Clementoni products are famous for their excellent quality and therefore cost quite significantly.
Editions Ricordi is an Italian company founded in 1808. Currently, the company specializes in the production of posters / posters, custom printed products and cardboard puzzles aimed at an audience of seven years and older; while the minimum number of pieces in puzzles under the brand name Editions Ricordi is 250 pieces. As illustrations for its mosaics, the company uses reproductions of both classical and contemporary artists, with a special emphasis on the work of the Impressionists; it is worth noting that a sufficient number of plots are very gloomy in nature, with a huge gothic influence. Well, young fans of puzzles are attracted mainly by puzzles with pictures in the fantasy style.
As is the case with other well-known puzzle companies, Edition Ricordi products command respect not only for their quality, but also for their price.
