Traditional jigsaw puzzles are surprisingly popular right now and puzzle company Ravensburger has the numbers to prove it. To capitalize on the newfound resurgence of puzzle popularity, the company is rolling out a brand-new line of confusing contraptions: Escape Puzzles.
Escape puzzles blend traditional jigsaw puzzles with even more escape room-style mystery. Putting all the pieces together isn’t the end of the fun, as the picture reveals more questions to solve. President of Ravensburger America, Thomas Kaeppeler, says the puzzles are the work of a collaboration with escape room enthusiast Johannes Schiller.
“Johannes owns and operates several successful escape rooms in Germany and he offered his expertise to help drive the inspiration for the themes, riddles, and solutions in the puzzles,” Kaeppeler told Player.One. “The team then worked closely with various artists to design the themes, which include a Space Observatory, Witch’s Kitchen, a Submarine and a Vampire’s Castle.”
Each of the four puzzles has a unique backstory that explains what players must do in order to escape. Of course, to escape a room you need to have a room first. That’s where the 759-piece jigsaw puzzle comes in. Once pieced together, the final puzzle image differs from the image on the cover of the box. These changes provides clues on how to “escape”. “The riddles range from solving math problems, and deciphering codes and symbols, to simply finding numbers hidden in the image,” said Kaeppeler.
Kaeppeler says the escape room puzzles are more challenging than a standard 500 or 1000-piece puzzle. Surprisingly, he also says it’s easiest to start in the middle as opposed to the more common jigsaw puzzle tactic of building out the border first. “The fine details in the imagery allow for easier puzzling when you start with the middle pieces and also helps with placing the edge pieces at the end,” he said.
While puzzles may seem like a dated way to pass the time, the category saw a 9.9 percent increase in spending last year, despite the overall toy market’s two percent decrease. The reason for this is growth is precisely because puzzles aren’t as loud and flashy as other forms of entertainment. “All our research indicates this [growth] is driven by an increasing demand to disconnect from a screen, relax, and of course, to connect with friends and family,” said Kaeppeler. He also said puzzle aficionados are becoming more interested in challenging puzzles, as there have been increases in interest in higher piece count puzzles.
Escape puzzles from Ravensburger are now available for pre-order on Amazon. The puzzles are available in stores starting on March 4.
So what do you think? Are you curious to try a 2D escape room? Are you looking for a little more challenge in your standard jigsaw puzzle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
