Jessica’s Puzzle Story: 

Jessica (she/her) lives in Ohio, where she runs a boutique marketing firm focused on helping fun businesses connect with their communities. As a kid, she had a “knack for figuring things out” and doing logic puzzles. She and her family also gravitated towards board games and books. Jessica remembers seeing her Grandpa complete countless Puzz3Ds, and had them all on display since he glued them while assembling. 

In her 20s, she would complete a 1000-piece puzzle about once a month. It wasn’t until Origins Game Fair in 2023 when she found out about the world of speed puzzling through the Tournament of Pieces. She had never timed herself while puzzling, so she went to a bookstore to purchase a puzzle! After finishing a 500-piece puzzle in 1 hour 40 minutes, she signed up for the solo contest. She successfully convinced her best friend who was also a casual puzzler to join her for the pairs contest. They were proud to have ended up placing 8th in pairs and Jessica finishing her solo puzzle within the time limit.

For the next six months, Jessica practiced for speed on her own, and searched for more competitions. She bravely signed up for a team event at a library, hoping to form a team at the competition. It paid off, because she met Colleen D., Jessica G. and Christine D., who as a team, completed a 1000-piece Remarks puzzle in only 45 minutes. They joked with each other upon finishing the puzzle “Did we just become best friends?” 

Jessica is part of the USAJPA year-round volunteer team for social media. She additionally leads the Ohio Jigsaw Puzzle Association. Jessica finds time to complete locally about 10 times a month and also competes in Euro Jigsaw Jams or SpeedPuzzling.com events. 

Watch for Jessica in upcoming notable competitions like the 2025 USA Jigsaw Nationals, and possibly the 2025 World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship. 

Q&A Time:

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

“I'm proud to be an average speed puzzler, but I've learned so much from others. So instead of offering a tactical tip, my advice is to connect with other puzzlers so you can strategize, share ideas, and help each other learn. We have an entire channel in our OHJPA Discord for strategy talk and there are some brilliant ideas from there that I’m able to implement into my own training. I also know I puzzle faster with someone else physically in the room racing me. So any time I can be with other puzzlers is a win for me.”

Do you have a favorite brand, type, or style of puzzle?

“I'm still on a mission to try more brands, particularly smaller, indie brands. I recently borrowed a couple Le Puzz from my friend, Michelle P., that were glorious! I'll always collect Ravensburger 500s for major competition training, and I prefer flat illustrations like “Brunch Crunch”, “Valladolid”, and “Magical Rainforest”. I like anything rainbows, anything collages, and places that remind me of my travels. I also prefer random-cut since I feel like it gives me more data to work with to find the right piece.”

Do you have a cherished or unforgettable puzzle-related memory?

“So many! Solving “Brunch Crunch” with Colleen for our Pairs Prelim at Worlds was the most fun I've ever had puzzling. We danced and giggled the entire time and were so proud of our 18th place! Some of my other favorite memories are puzzling mishaps like when Juli L. spilled her water on the table as our race started at a local contest and earned the nickname "Puddles." I also thoroughly enjoyed what we called "Puzzle Camp" last month where my Nationals team and another Ohio team got together and kicked off our training together. Collectively the seven of us did more than 15,000 pieces in less than 48 hours.”

What do you enjoy most about the puzzle community?

“The generosity. It's a give-first community, be that volunteering, lending puzzles, or just gassing each other up. The best events are that way because the behind-the-scenes volunteers help carry out the vision created by the event organizers. I've never been offered so many gifts and puzzles to borrow, even shipping across the country. (Huge shout out to Sammy B., Michaela K., Josh T., and many others who lent me hundreds of puzzles to practice after I decided to go to Worlds at the last minute in 2024.) If you're ever feeling a little down on yourself, find a nearby puzzler or post a time to your social media of choice, and you'll find yourself inundated with encouragement and good vibes.

What is the puzzle community like in your area?

“Growing! I think many people outside our community perceive puzzling as a quiet and solitary pursuit, but as an extravert, I make everything I do a social activity. 

After Origins/Tournament of Pieces in 2024, I made friends with some of the coolest puzzlers around Ohio. I had been chatting with a few folks (Josh T. and Juli L.) about starting a formal community and then Nick M. made a Discord on the spot.

In September 2024 we launched the Ohio Jigsaw Puzzle Association and are currently working through all of the formal requirements for nonprofit status through the state so we can become an official chapter of USAJPA. We had our launch event earlier this month and it was so cool getting to meet even more people who share this hobby. My goal as president is to connect all our local puzzlers so we can not only practice and team up for big events like Nationals and Worlds, but also so we can simply make new friends and enjoy our hobby with others.”

Tell us about your puzzling teammates!

“My main team is called The Indoor Kids, however, I love puzzling with everyone so we're not an exclusive team by any means. Colleen, Christine, and Jessica mentioned above, plus Juli as the alternate. However, Michaela was kind enough to pair with me at Origins 2024, Colleen and I got to puzzle with Susanne R. and Andrew B. at Worlds in 2024, and Christine and I will be puzzling with Meredith Y. and Nick M. at Nationals in 2025. If you ever want to puzzle together, just ask!”

Connect:

You can follow along with Jessica’s puzzling adventures on Instagram @indoorkidspuzzle.