Joyce’s Puzzle Story: 

Joyce (she/her) lives in Nevada, where she specializes in a variety of work within Communications and storytelling. She has loved puzzles since she was a kid, but rediscovered her love for puzzling in 2022. She honed her speed puzzling for a year, leading up to her first competition at the 2024 USA Jigsaw Nationals!

For Joyce, her puzzling time is when she observes her mind “actually getting quiet, since it’s normally very hectic in there.” Puzzling allows her to focus and slip into a flow state, where looking at the beautiful puzzle art makes her happy. She loves solving things, so completing a puzzle brings great satisfaction.

Joyce is a vibrant and creative part of the online puzzling community, where her Instagram videos are cited as some of the most inventive and uplifting content you’ll see! She participates in “puzzle-alongs”, doing traveling puzzles, occasionally hosting giveaways, and partnering with other puzzlers and manufacturers. She is also active in her local puzzle community as one of the group Admins/Organizers.

Q&A Time:

What do you enjoy most about puzzling?

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

“Practice, practice, practice - although you might end up at Carnegie Hall instead but that's not such a bad thing. I definitely saw my times improve gradually the more I practiced and tried different strategies. I watch videos of other people speed puzzling and pick up tricks from them too. Try to do lots of different kinds of puzzles, even ones you wouldn't normally do for fun on your own.”

What is the puzzle community like in your area?

“There's a very active group in Las Vegas that connects on Facebook (Las Vegas Jigsaw Puzzlers) and also meets up twice a month to puzzle together and swap puzzles. We run puzzle-alongs, raffles, contests, etc. We don't have many competitive speed puzzlers here (some do it casually), but we hope we'll find more and be able to do some competitions here.”

”What do you enjoy most about the puzzle community?

“I've found puzzlers to be some of the most wholesome, generous, supportive and fun people I've ever met! I love being able to nerd out with fellow puzzlers and feel that sense of positivity and enthusiasm for our shared hobby.”

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

“I love bright, colorful, graphic, and modern puzzles. Text and line work is super fun to puzzle. I prefer puzzles that are matte finish with thick pieces and a tight fit. I also love random cut and velvet touch. And wooden puzzles are amazing! I collect Alice in Wonderland and Korean puzzles. I have too many favorite brands to list.”

Tell us about your puzzle teammates. 

“Julie Tejeda was my pairs partner at Nationals and she's also in Vegas, so we practice together. My team at Nationals was named “Pieces in a Pod” and added in Jessa Douglas and Hannah Scott who were breakout speed stars!”

Connect:

Joyce is most active on Instagram (@joyce.puzzles) but she also has:

TikTok: @joyce.puzzles

Facebook: Joyce Puzzles

A voiceover website: joyceyoo.com

And a documentary about her wedding which was on a ledge on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park!: elcapwedding.com