20 of the Most Challenging Jigsaw Puzzles You Can Buy
Updated: Sep. 30, 2022
Experts say that challenging puzzles activate new parts of your brain to help you solve them. Here are some of the most demanding jigsaw puzzles around.
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Hard puzzles to show off your brain power
Jigsaw puzzles provide an entertaining way to keep your brain engaged, similar to board games, word puzzles, and other brain games. But if you’re a regular puzzle solver, you may need to amp up the complexity to keep yourself challenged. “When someone becomes an inveterate solver of a puzzle, they need more complexity or challenge because the expertise gained renders the basic puzzle uninteresting,” says Marcel Danesi, a professor of semiotics and anthropology at the University of Toronto’s Victoria College and author of The Total Brain Workout: 450 Puzzles to Sharpen Your Mind, Improve Your Memory, and Keep Your Brain Fit. “There is no more difficult puzzle, just more complex.” Scroll on for hard puzzles that demand everything you’ve got.
Beverly Micro Pure White Hell Jigsaw Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 13 to 15 years
Tiny pieces and a pure white image? It’s no wonder the word “hell” is in the name of this tricky 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Like exercising, doing jigsaw puzzles is difficult but rewarding—and health-promoting. “Jigsaw puzzles prolong life expectancy,” Danesi says. And you may need that extra time to solve this one. For more brain challenges, try some of these logic puzzles.
Educa Amsterdam Puzzle
Number of pieces: 3,000
For ages: 14 years and older
The pop of red in the middle of this 3,000-piece puzzle will be easy to get together. The rest of this black-and-white puzzle? Not so much.
Sharp Brain Zone 3D Wooden Brain Teaser Puzzle
Number of pieces: 54
For ages: 6 to 12 years
It may look easy, but this complex, Tetris-like version adds a new challenge for puzzle lovers used to working in two dimensions. “3D puzzles and Rubik’s cubes are truly challenging as they are, with no need to add additional complexity,” Danesi says. Check out these brainteasers to help train your mind.
Bgraamiens The Lines Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 6 years and older
Research shows that older adults fare better with black-and-white puzzles than younger adults—but it probably won’t give them too much of an advantage with this 1,000-piece monster that’s a simple scribble of black lines on white.
Bgraamiens Flowing Rainbow Lines Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 12 years and older
While this puzzle is definitely a challenge to complete, it’s worth it just to see the beautiful design. It’s full of breathtaking colorful lines that create a 3D effect, making it a little different than your average 1,000-piece puzzle. For practice, see if you can solve the hardest puzzle ever.
Buffalo Games Color Challenge Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 14 years and older
The color gradients—and the 1,000 pieces—make this puzzle particularly hard to complete. While some research has shown that boys have stronger visual and spatial skills, a recent study found that girls were actually much faster at completing jigsaw puzzles, in part because they were better at strategizing how to complete the puzzle.
Bgraamiens Blooming Color Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 8 years and older
If you start your jigsaw puzzling at the corners, you’re in trouble with this 1,000-piece puzzle. The round shape and intricate colors could leave you puzzling for a while—though that may be a good thing. Researchers believe that long-term puzzling could boost your cognition skills as you age.
Bgraamiens Indian Feather Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 13 years and older
The round shape and repetitive pattern of this 1,000-piece puzzle could make it hard for you to puzzle out where each piece goes. If you’re looking for another challenge, see if you can solve Einstein’s riddle.
Wrebbit 3D King Arthur’s Camelot Puzzle
Number of pieces: 865
For ages: 14 years and older
It takes 865 pieces (and a lot of patience) to puzzle together this dramatic 3D castle. Online how-to videos can help you through the tricky parts, or you can simply try, try again.
BetterCo. Milky Way Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 12 years and older
Learn a little about colors while you try to assemble a work of modern art with this 1,000-piece puzzle. Test a different part of your brain with these printable sudoku puzzles.
Moruska Bookshelf Dam Wooden Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 15 years and older
This hard puzzle is supposed to resemble a bookshelf—or is it a dam? When you finally complete it, it can serve as a beautiful piece of surrealist art to add to your home or office.
Spyglass Puzzles Retro Tie-Dye Heart
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 13 years and older
If you enjoy puzzles that seem nearly impossible, this one is for you. The round shape makes it all the more unique.
Bgraamiens Twisted 3D Colorful Squares Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 12 years and older
A puzzle and an optical illusion all in one. All the twisting, colorful lines rotate around the center creating a 3D image.
Beverly 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle for Adults
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 12 years and older
A puzzle of puzzle pieces? Yes, this one is just as challenging as it looks. But imagine how accomplished you’ll feel when you finally nail it in the end, just as you do when you complete a crossword puzzle.
Ingooood Crazy Candy Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 6 years and older
Can you find your favorite candy in this puzzle? With all of the colors and different types of sweet treats, there will never be a dull moment.
Areaware Small Gradient Puzzle
Number of pieces: 100
For ages: 6 years and older
While this puzzle is only 100 pieces, it’s certainly not easy. The gradient makes it all the more challenging. You may even find yourself in more of a meditative state while working on the puzzle, even though your brain is still exercising.
540 Colors 3D Puzzle
Number of pieces: 540
For ages: 10 years and older
A spherical puzzle is daunting in itself, but this one is even more of a challenge because of the blended colors. The work is worth it for a beautiful piece of decor. It even comes with a stand, so you can display it for all to see. Get a sneak peek at what happens inside your brain when you’re solving a puzzle.
Infinite Galaxy Puzzle
Number of pieces: 236
For adults
The sheer beauty of this puzzle will make you forget how difficult it really is. If you are fascinated by space, you’ll love that this hard puzzle is based on a photo from the Hubble Space Telescope. What makes it extra cool is that it doesn’t have a fixed shape or edges, so the possibilities are endless.
Bgraamiens Puzzle-Forest in Black and White
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 12 years and older
The black-and-white coloring on this puzzle already makes it feel daunting, but the tiny branches and straight lines brings the challenge to a whole new level. At least you already know the end result will be gorgeous.
Pencil Collage Puzzle
Number of pieces: 1,000
For ages: 8 years and older
This collection of pencils was created by artist Maureen Rupprecht, who glued hundreds of pencils into a frame. And now there’s a puzzle of her artwork, so you can challenge yourself too. Then, once you’ve placed the final piece on these hard puzzles, take family night up a notch with these strategy board games.
Sources:
- Marcel Danesi, professor of semiotics and anthropology at the University of Toronto’s Victoria College and author of The Total Brain Workout: 450 Puzzles to Sharpen Your Mind, Improve Your Memory, and Keep Your Brain Fit
- Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition: “Effects of age and type of picture on visuospatial working memory assessed with a computerized jigsaw-puzzle task”
- Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience: “Robust Sex Differences in Jigsaw Puzzle Solving—Are Boys Really Better in Most Visuospatial Tasks?”
- Developmental Psychology: “Early puzzle play: A predictor of preschoolers’ spatial transformation skill”
- Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience: “Jigsaw Puzzling Taps Multiple Cognitive Abilities and Is a Potential Protective Factor for Cognitive Aging”
