Worlds 2024
Reflections on the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship
Written by Becca Taylor / October 02, 2024 / Profile photo: Becca's profile photo by Andrew Brodhead
It wasn’t until the home stretch of the second team puzzle that I truly realized the possibility which lay before us.
All of a sudden, I became aware that the cameras had gathered around our table, and that we had not yet heard applause. My memory is already a bit foggy on the details, so I’m grateful there is video evidence of those last moments in case I need a reminder that it really happened. The Busy Birdies are reuniting in a few weeks for a celebration dinner, and I can’t wait to be together with my teammates once more. The bond we cultivated through this experience would be just as strong regardless of the outcome of the race, but we are drawn even closer by the bizarre and surreal experience of claiming ‘world champion’ status in something together – even something so esoteric as speed puzzling.
Photo above: Busy Birdies team (Andrea Peng / Jeanne Roiter / Cathy Roiter / Becca Taylor) celebrate their victory at the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in September, 2024, finishing with the world record 01:16:07. (First Photo by CESAR MANSO, Second Photo from WJPC)
I attended the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship on September 17-22, 2024 in Valladolid, Spain with over 100 other puzzlers from the United States and over 1,000 other puzzlers from around the world.
I arrived home a few days ago with a heart full of deep emotional connections with other puzzlers, a brain full of memories that I’ll try to capture here, and a suitcase full of 16 puzzles that I squished into one bag and now need to somehow squish into my puzzle shelf.
I trained for months leading up to the competition, leaving my puzzle table with a permanent layer of Ravensburger blue dust and my head full of mental notes about what I’d learned from trying out various strategies.
Like so many others, I tried to predict what we might see at Worlds, seeking out and repeatedly solving every “nature edition” and every “circle of colors” puzzle I could find (note: I did not get a single nature edition or circular puzzle at Worlds. Present Self is having a good laugh at the expense of Past Self).
I also trained with my teammates! Cathy R., Jeanne R., Andrea P. and I gathered for a practice weekend at Andrea’s house, where we tried out a variety of styles and puzzle images to help get us into a rhythm. I also visited Alice R., my pairs partner, for a day at her home where we did the same thing. We did a lot of beautiful puzzles very quickly during those training days, and both practice sessions left me feeling hopeful that we had a chance to put on a decent show in both divisions. But moreover, both practice sessions left me feeling light and happy to have spent quality time with such a warm collection of wonderful women. We all had great conversations and a lot of laughs, and I’m so grateful that puzzling brought us together.
That theme continued in Spain. I loved doing all of the puzzles, but far more so I loved the people.
I was connected with Hanna from Sweden and we traded a huge batch of puzzles with each other, then stayed and talked for over an hour. Every time I saw her for the rest of the week, we exchanged big hugs and heartfelt wishes for luck in puzzling, and we were excited to end up at nearby tables several times in the competition.
As it turns out, the very best part of this worldwide competition had nothing to do with competing at all. It was the beautiful experience of fostering friendships with people from all over the globe who are connected by a love of this sweet little activity of puzzling. Stepping outside the dome during breaks between races to do fun, casual puzzles with new friends from across the planet. Putting faces to names of the people we’d chatted with over Instagram in the past, but felt so different and special to connect in person for the first time. Walking away with new “puzzle pen pals” and plans to exchange puzzles from our home countries in the coming months. This culture is the single most important thing that the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship cultivates.
It’s interesting to feel deep emotional bonds with relative strangers so quickly, and I think Worlds fostered that for lots of us.
There was a lot of investment and buildup to the experience, significant travel to arrive after days, weeks, months of intense training, and then the races themselves produced tremendous waves of emotion from nauseous anxiety to guttural relief.
The most intense emotional connection I experienced was with my pairs partner, and I feel so incredibly lucky to have had this chance to get to know her. Alice and I spent lots of time together outside the dome, ostensibly for “mind-melding” to get us amped up for the pairs races, but which quickly evolved into just having a great time. We stole away to go puzzle shopping one afternoon, and it was the most fun I had the whole week. It feels like the universe conspired to give me the gift of racing with this young woman, who I quickly learned is an absolutely lovely human with whom I hope to stay connected forever.
I’ll always remember the amazing, validating, heart-pounding feeling after strong and even winning puzzle performances at Worlds this year. But I’d like to end with a story about a failing performance instead, which as it turns out, is also one of my favorite memories of the week.
I sometimes achieve ultra-fast times in the 30s on 500-piece puzzles – while alone in my kitchen. But I’ve never managed to come below 50 minutes on the national or world stage at an in-person competition before, because my nerves get the best of me. Going into Worlds this year, my two goals for individual performance were to survive through to the final round, and to achieve a time in the 40s on a 500-piece puzzle (Check-marks on both fronts – huzzah!).
To be clear, I did not go to Worlds expecting to accomplish anything noteworthy in the individual division.
I went there for pairs and teams, and decided to participate in the solo race because I was there, so why not. No one was more surprised than I when I took 2nd place in my preliminary round. Sometimes it’s just your puzzle, and your day! And no one was chuckling harder than I when I took 144th place in the final. Sometimes it’s just not your puzzle, and not your day!
But here’s what’s great: I had a fabulous time despite bombing. Going into the individual final, I was exhausted from having already raced three 1,000-piece puzzles earlier that day, I was in some pain from exacerbating a broken foot that afternoon, and I was feeling my age as my eyes squinted in the low evening overhead lights of the dome. We opened the bags and I knew immediately that the puzzle image didn’t speak to me. I decided in that moment that I just wanted to focus on celebrating others’ successes. I looked up at almost every sound of applause so I could see who finished and cheer for them. I’m so glad I made the decision to do that, because witnessing Kristin Thuv’s win was one of the most emotional moments I have ever experienced in speed puzzling. The sheer outpouring of joy in that dome is hard to capture in words – it was a moment I will remember for years to come, and I was happily part of the standing ovation for her epic performance.
Below: Kristin Thuv's winning moment (World Champion of 2024)
The other thing that made the individual final such a special memory for me was the kindness and love I felt from others.
I was lucky to share a table with Karen Puzzles, and her words of encouragement kept me going throughout that grueling Tiger Hour. As soon as I laughingly shoved in that last awful piece, I looked up to see that Lauren K., Dawne R., and Andrea K. from the You Betchas were all still waiting for me before leaving, and it brought tears to my eyes. And then my sweet Alice came running to give me a hug.
THIS is the good stuff. This is what the speed puzzling community is all about. This culture of lifting each other up, of celebrating the wins of others, of the hugs being just as tight and just as meaningful whether you come in 2nd place or 144th place – this is why I love puzzle people.
Video by Kurt Hickman
Get to know the Author: Becca Taylor
Becca is a puzzle fanatic, huge Soonness fan, and proud member of the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association board. She has fallen in love with speed puzzling, particularly in pairs and teams, and was honored to be on the 2024 national and world champion teams.