Josh’s Puzzle Story: 

Josh lives in Ohio, where he is an Operations Manager for a specialty construction company. Josh has been casually puzzling for as long as he can remember, and attended his first in-person puzzle competition with his mother in 2019. He was a big winner at the Origins game convention in 2023 with these standings:

-Individuals - 2nd Place

-Pairs - 1st place with partner Kat

-Teams - 1st place with teammates Kat, Hanna, and Michaela 

Josh will be competing at the Origins Tournament of Pieces in Ohio this June and regularly participates in SpeedPuzzling.com virtual events. An avid large-format puzzler, he is now working on the 42,000-piece Educa Around the World puzzle, and hopes to have it completed by the end of the year! He also collects Lazels miniature titanium puzzles and works hard to maintain life balance with three young kiddos and a lovely wife, Breana.

Josh says that puzzling provides different things to him at different times. Sometimes it affords an escape from the stresses of life, sometimes it provides an adrenaline rush and feeling of competition that he seeks, but it always gives a dopamine rush each time he places a piece or finishes a puzzle.

Q&A Time:

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

“Practice using both hands. Practice images and cuts that are not your preference. Practice doing puzzles upside down/sideways. Practice different techniques and see what works best for you.”

What is the puzzle community like in your area?

“The puzzle community in Cincinnati and Ohio in general is a little sparse, however it seems to be picking up some momentum as more and more contests are popping up which provides a great place to meet other puzzlers.”

”What do you enjoy most about the puzzle community?

“The thing I enjoy most about the puzzling community is that people come together from all different walks of life to put cardboard pieces together to form an image, and somehow this community sucks you in and you end up with genuine friendships from it.  With speed puzzling specifically, it is so fun that you can be rivals, teammates, and friends.”

Are you active in the puzzle community?

“I try to attend as many local contests/events as possible and try my best to stay in touch with puzzle friends through social media.”

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

“Ravensburger is my favorite brand of cardboard puzzle, however the artistry and cut styles of wooden puzzle brands like Liberty and Stave and the titanium puzzle manufacturer, Lazels, are so impressive to me.  For cardboard puzzles, and definitely for speed puzzles, I am a ribbon cut fanatic.  My favorite style/subject for a puzzle is a gradient image.”

Tell us about your puzzling teammates!

“My first teammate was my mom, who got me into puzzling in the first place. I really owe my involvement in this hobby to her and getting to puzzle with her is still so special to me.

Next are Kat Dilks and Grey Rogers. These two were some of the first puzzlers I connected with on instagram and they welcomed me with open arms to the Jigsaw Junkies empire.  They are both great puzzlers and amazing humans.

Kyle Kossin is a great person and an amazing puzzler. Kyle will take on the hardest part of any puzzle and do it with a smile.  The top male in the US speed puzzling scene that I am continually trying to catch on leaderboards.

Geoffrey Scott was my pairs partner for the 2024 USA Jigsaw Nationals. He is an all-around awesome guy that loves busy puzzles; the perfect compliment to my gradient preference.  Geoff carried us through the beast of a puzzle in the pairs final.

I have been on teams with many other puzzlers who are all fantastic people and I have enjoyed puzzling with all of them!”

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

“I have several, but one of them is when I broke the 1-hour 30-minute barrier for the 1000-piece Blue Kazoo Puzzle Wheel puzzle!”

What do you enjoy about tackling large format puzzles?

“I most enjoy the additional challenge and subsequently the extreme dopamine rush they provide when you finish. Most puzzlers would agree that the average 1000-piece puzzle is exponentially harder than a 500 piece puzzle. Likewise a 2000-piece puzzle is exponentially harder than a 1000-piece puzzle. When you step into the world of 5000 or 6000-piece puzzles, the challenge is amplified. Everything about large format puzzles is challenging. The physical space to complete even a section of many large format puzzles is tough, staying focused sorting 5000-6000 pieces is challenging, and the assembly of these physically large chunks of puzzles is challenging and taxing on your body because you are leaning and stretching much further than with an average size puzzle. That said, the feeling when you complete a section of a large puzzle, or definitely the entire puzzle, is hard to match!  I completed a 5000-piece underwater scene puzzle many years back, and I would consider that my first large format puzzle. I had always been intrigued by the 24,000-piece Educa Life puzzle, and I took the leap and purchased it in late 2019. I completed two of the 6000-piece sections at the start of 2020, and when COVID hit in March, I was provided plenty of time to complete the remaining two sections of the puzzle. I then started assembling the first two 6000-piece sections of the 42,000-piece Educa Around the World puzzle, which I still have yet to complete! Along the way, I have also completed two versions of The Play Group's Clemens Habicht's 5000-piece gradient puzzles, the Ravensburger 5000-piece Pokemon puzzle, and the Clementoni 13,200-piece Disney Orchestra puzzle.”

What can you tell us about your collection of Lazel puzzles?

“I see Lazels puzzles as really tiny metal art pieces in puzzle form. Thanks to the puzzle community on Instagram, I have been following Lazels since the beginning and consider myself  very lucky to own the entire collection. Being in possession of the entire collection and having regular access to admire and re-complete these puzzles, I can really follow the evolution of Pete Clyde's creativity, craftsmanship and technique. Unsurprisingly, the Lazel's with anodized gradients are my favorites; I count the Azure 121 as one of the most difficult puzzles I have ever completed. I can't wait to see where the Clyde's take Lazels in the future.”

What does "balance" look like for you when it comes to family time and time you choose to allocate to the world of puzzles?

“Ah yes, puzzle/life balance… With work, projects around the house, and three young kids (8,5,and 3) finding time to puzzle can be a real challenge. My wife, Breana, is a saint and I am able to attend a fair amount of in-person local contests which I try to prioritize when I can. I have also been fortunate to travel to the St. Paul Winter Carnival twice and to the 2024 USA Jigsaw Nationals. In the spring and fall when youth sports are at their peaks, it feels like the only puzzling I do is completing the five monthly speedpuzzling.com contests which I complete offline. Getting any time to puzzle before my kids are asleep that time of year is rare. Their bedtime is usually between 7:30-8:30pm and I will start puzzling after the kids are asleep. This makes those solo 1000-piece contests a real challenge. Occasionally in the summer and more so in the winter, there is some time on the weekends to slow down and work on some puzzles during the day.  My children have been well trained not to take off with puzzle pieces so I don't usually have to worry about that. But thank goodness for my Zakco puzzle boards to keep my puzzles out of the way when I'm not working on them! My two oldest kids genuinely enjoy puzzles and are both very good at them, but 500-piece and 1000-piece puzzles are still a bit intimidating to them. I'm excited for the next couple of years when we can really sit down and work on puzzles together more. In summary, there are times I wish I had more time to spend puzzling, but ultimately I understand that this is a season of life and there will be plenty of time for puzzling in the future.”

Connect:

Josh can be found on Instagram @trauger