Cardiff Speed Puzzle Championship: My First Attempt at Speed-Puzzling
- 17 hours ago
- 1 min read
There are hobbies you do to relax and then there are hobbies you suddenly attempt under pressure, surrounded by strangers, a ticking clock and the creeping realisation that two hours disappears far faster than you ever imagined. That’s how I found myself staring down at 500 scattered cardboard pieces at Cardiff’s first ever speed-puzzling championship.
Hosted at Cardiff City House of Sport, the buzzing event brought together more than 300 competitors for duels, team builds and solo races. Confident in my puzzling skills, I chose the solo category. How hard could it be?
Each competitor tackled the same 500-piece Ravensburger puzzle. I’d never attempted a jigsaw competitively before. At home, puzzles unfold slowly, edges first, colours grouped casually, breaks taken whenever needed. Here, it meant strategy, speed and instant concentration. The moment the timer started, the room shifted from friendly chatter to intense concentration. Pieces scattered across tables. Sorting trays rattled. Near me someone was already assembling what looked suspiciously like a skyline.
The real challenge wasn’t the puzzle. It was time. Two hours vanished in what felt like minutes, turning a relaxing pastime into something closer to an endurance sport. When the final bell sounded, a stubborn handful of pieces remained. Birmingham’s Rachael Chambers claimed victory in an astonishing 35 minutes and 58 seconds, proof that competitive puzzling is far more skill than luck. Walking away slightly stiff and still mentally searching for missing edges, one thought lingered, next year, I’m finishing it.
