Alyssa’s Puzzle Story: 

Alyssa Z. (she/her) lives in California, and placed 7th in the Pairs division (alongside her teammate Tiffany M.) at the 2023 World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship!

She has been casually puzzling for as long as she can remember; some years more than others. As was the case for many others, she was able to puzzle more in 2020, which was the year that she first competed in speed puzzling competitions.  

Alyssa plans on attending future competitions with Orange County Speed Puzzlers, and returning to the USAJPA Nationals Competition.

Q&A Time:

What do you enjoy most about the puzzle community? 

“I feel like puzzlers understand each other on a different level. I don't know how or why, but the puzzle community is so kind, open-hearted, supportive and generous.”

What is your best advice for someone who wants to improve their speed puzzling abilities?

“I'm still trying to figure this out for myself. Haha! But start with smaller piece counts. 300-pieces are fun to practice. I don't think I ever even did a 300 or 500-piece puzzle until I started speed puzzling.”

What is the puzzle community like in your area? 

“We have a very active and generous puzzle community. In Los Angeles in general, since it is such a populous city, we have a lot of puzzlers. There are puzzle swaps throughout Southern California all the time, and I've done some speed puzzling with local puzzlers as well.”

Do you have a cherished puzzle-related memory?

“I fondly remember over 10 years ago when my husband and I were dating, he bought a 2000 piece puzzle of a snow-covered Neuschwanstein castle. This is NOT an image I would choose to puzzle, but we had a trip planned to Germany so we did the puzzle before we got to visit in person. He doesn't do puzzles with me anymore!”

Connect:

Alyssa can be found through Instagram:  @puzzlesatoz