Gibson Games Wonderful Wildlife Puzzle Review

Reviewed by Nia Lock

Every year I look out for gifts which have an Easter feel to them but are not made of chocolate, this year I’m rather pleased to have found the wonderful wildlife puzzle.

The wonderful wildlife puzzle is new from Gibson Games and arrived very quickly after being ordered, sensibly packed in a cardboard box of an appropriate size. The puzzle pieces were inside a plastic bag within the puzzle box which has a large picture of the puzzle for you to follow along as you do it. There’s also a separate picture sheet inside the box as the box top does have some text covering the real picture.

The puzzle is aimed at children of age 5+ and my two children aged 6 and 8 have both enjoyed completing it by themselves as well as together. I’ve also taken the opportunity to do the puzzle myself a couple of times. It has 100 pieces which is enough for a time poor grown up to enjoy a few minutes of peace and relative tranquillity in a busy day.

For the children, I find that a puzzle is ideal for some quiet play, it’s both enjoyable and absorbing and provides a welcome break from home school activities and online lessons, especially when we can’t go out as much as we’d like to. With it’s 100 pieces it keeps them happily entertained for a good amount of time and the completed puzzle is so beautifully illustrated with such vibrantly cheerful colours that the children spent almost as much time just admiring the finished puzzle and pointing out the details as they did putting it together in the first place. Each time you do the wonderful wildlife puzzle you spot another little detail that had previously been overlooked such as the bees nest in the branches of the tree, the woodpecker on the trunk or the earthworms wriggling between the tree roots.

The wonderful wildlife puzzle depicts a woodland scene on a sunny day with a mature tree at the centre of the picture and a cross section view of the tree roots. There are swallows flying in the blue sky and deer grazing on the grass. The whole thing is surrounded by flowers and butterflies. There are so many insects to spot on every part of the picture and plenty of mammals to find as well. Our favourite part is the warren of bunnies under the ground and we also particularly like the toadstools as well.

The puzzle box included a handy slip to be returned to the manufacturer in the event of there being a puzzle piece missing. It’s never happened to me but I can imagine that it would be very annoying and so I was pleased to find that any disappointment we might suffer in that regard would be easily remedied.

The wonderful wildlife puzzle will provide us with years of play, the XXL puzzle pieces are chunky and the box is sturdy.

I always encourage my children to play with a puzzle as they develop problem solving skills, relax the mind and provide a real sense of achievement throughout the process of completion and especially once the full picture is revealed. I would recommend this puzzle to anyone looking to buy an affordable Easter gift that is full of the joy of spring but isn’t chocolate.

Rating: 4/5

RRP: £10.50

This product can be purchased from Gibsons Games here.