Waves Puzzle Review

Reviewed by Rebecca Wong

Puzzles are a great bit of escapism. They focus the mind and engage parts of the brain that aren’t usually in use. I love a jigsaw puzzle as do my family. Hyper-focusing on every tiny detail of a picture in order to complete the bigger picture can be quite relaxing and intrinsically rewarding. So when I got the chance to review this Waves puzzle, I’ll admit I was more intrigued than anything else. This is a puzzle without a picture and contains 49 pieces.

The puzzle is designed by Benjamin Sachs and comes in a lovely simple box – not a bit of plastic in sight. The packaging is strong and sturdy and will certainly last for years for storage, unlike many puzzle boxes that often end up stood on, ripped and torn (in my house anyway). When I removed the pieces I was blown away by how striking they are. You just want to look and them and see the light reflecting off them. They are made of acrylic, so really hard wearing, are translucent and have an iridescent shine to them. Reflecting beautiful colours, they certainly have an eye catching and calming effect.

I sat down ready to get started. The puzzle comes with instructions that show a diagram of how all 49 pieces fit together to create a 7×7 square shape. You can also make smaller squares of 3×3 and 5×5. I of course was going to go for the full size. Given the size of the puzzle I estimated that it wouldn’t take me to long to complete – maybe 10 or 15 minutes. Well I was soon proved wrong! First I attempted the puzzle without the accompanying instructions – as you do! This proved to difficult. I then grabbed the instructions for the second layer of the square, but as all the pieces look the same on first sight it can be difficult to find the exact one you need. They are in fact different in shape. And you will know immediately if you don’t have the right one as the fit just won’t happen even though your brain tells you that technically it’s the right shape.

I stuck with it for about an hour or so (with a few breaks in-between). There is a pattern to it and as I got to the out square layer, I got more confident and abandoned the instructions to follow my own instinct. I ended up with a frustrating last piece that did not match the empty space I had. So back to the instructions I went. This lead to me back-tracking over every piece, one-by-one to figure out my mistake.

The puzzle is designed to send your mind into a state of flow. Maybe it was the environment I was in (noisy family home) and maybe I’d feel different if I was alone in a quiet space but I felt very frustrated. Maybe its something that takes practice like yoga and with each practice I’ll discover a deeper level of zen. I can see how it can be quite addictive for people who love to get stuck into a problem solving activity and it would be great as a Father’s Day present with a difference – challenge dad to complete the puzzle. There are also a number of different combinations of the puzzle and can additionally be combined with another waves puzzle of a different colour.

The puzzle is advised for age 8 and over. I’m not sure my 9 year old would have the patience for it but again for come children it may be the perfect conundrum.

Rating: I’m going to give it a 3/5.

The puzzle can be purchased from wavespuzzle.com for around £39. As puzzles go its quite pricey. I can see the draw of it and it’s really pleasing to look at so would make a very special present.  If puzzles are your thing, if you can easily get lost in them, you will love getting your head into this one!