Fifty minutes to make a 1000-piece jigsaw fit? For these stars, that puzzle is no problem

In the world of competitive jigsaw puzzling, the “rock stars” are shy and unassuming. Training is done at kitchen tables, pubs and park benches and ties are political and strategic.

The “sport” of speed puzzling has exploded in popularity in Australia since the COVID-19 pandemic, with at least 40 people set to wear green and gold at September’s World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in Valladolid, a small city in Spain’s north-west famous for its medieval architecture.

Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Association vice president Louise Jackett (left) and Heidi Schwegler.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

The number of Australian competitors at this year’s “worlds” will be a leap from 2019, when D’Arne Healy was the country’s sole representative. On her return that year from Valladolid, she founded the Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Association.

The association began just in time for lockdowns, when many puzzlers discovered their talent. Healy returned to the worlds with three compatriots in 2022, with 11 in 2023, and 27 last year.

Melbourne-based financial planner Heidi Schwegler – who discovered speed puzzling during a period of lockdown – was among them in 2023 and 2024, and says preparations are already under way for this year’s worlds as competitors fine-tune their alliances.

Schwegler’s team of four can spend as few as 50 minutes cracking a 1000-piece puzzle, which could otherwise sit on the average family’s table for a week.

Puzzlers (from left) Keelie Reader, Cristina Cascon Abeledo, Louise Jackett, Heidi Schwegler and Jessica Bennett focus on strategy.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

“[A teammate] and I volunteered as judges last year, so you’re up close and personal to the fastest people in the world,” Schwegler says.

“They’re very shy and very unassuming, but they’re just super fast, and when you see them puzzle, you’re just in awe.

“When you see them walk in front of you, [you’re] like, ‘Oh my god, that’s [Norway’s Kristin Thuv], oh my god, that’s [Spain’s Alejandro Clemente]’. They get selfies. They’re so popular.”

The puzzlers’ cheer squad at last year’s world championships. From left: Bevan Coleman, Michael Vanka and Nathan Townsend.

Schwegler’s team tries to meet weekly for up to seven hours of puzzling, and each person additionally aims to complete about two puzzles a day. The competition standard for solo puzzling is a 500-piece puzzle, which fast competitors can complete in under 60 minutes, and world champions can complete in as few as 35 minutes.

In the lead-up to competitions, Schwegler’s team meets up to four times a week, sharing stacks of jigsaws between them.

The process of forming a competitive team is often 90 per cent strategic, and 10 per cent social. Puzzlers try to find teammates with similar times and complementary skill sets, with each team dividing tasks such as arranging the edges, sorting pieces and building the body of the puzzle.

Team building can get political, too, Schwegler says. Her teammate, Jessica Bennett, who works in marketing and can solve a 500-piece puzzle in as few as 42 minutes, is moving to a faster team in the lead-up to this year’s event in Valladolid.

“A lot of people are coming to the worlds that didn’t come last year, so we have to say, ‘This person needs to find a team, you’re being booted out’,” Schwegler says with a laugh.

Reigning Australian nationals champion Katrina Coleman – who took out seventh place in the solo division at last year’s worlds – says speed puzzling fosters wonderful friendships, and is one of the few sports devoid of bickering or animosity.

“It’s because we’re all competing against the puzzle, not necessarily against each other. So we’ve all got the common enemy,” she says.

Like others in the puzzling community, the Tasmania-based champion, who works in caravan sales, expects the sport to grow in Australia. She began her own online puzzle contests business, Speed Puzzles Australia, in January 2024, and sold 20 registrations in 10 days.

Last month, Coleman sold 120 registrations in two hours.

The Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Association’s national championships in December attracted 385 solo competitors, which the association says is the most of any solo competition in world history.

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