Choosing your next puzzle can be intimidatig, especially since each of our puzzles is a bit unique. That's why we're running our annual customer review contest to encourage useful, well-written reviews, and you can nominate reviews that made your day for an award.
To that same end, last winter we published Hertels' Top Ten, a list of the top 10 favorite puzzles out of the over 100 done by one of our puzzle connoisseurs.
Now puzzler Michael Brandt, who has also done a boatload of our puzzles, has shared his top eight puzzles (un-ranked).
Brandt notes, "
People certainly have hugely varying tastes in puzzles - it would be hard to imagine a list of favorites more radically different than mine! I don’t envy you trying to make product to satisfy such a wide range of tastes."
Indeed, while Hertel picked out cheery average-hard puzzles, Brandt's list below are some of our hardest!
Rachell Sumpter Old Friends - "nice picture, extremely difficult, both times I’ve done it it’s taken me well over a minute to place the last piece around the outer edge."
Ito Jakuchu Plum Blossoms - "very nice picture, also extremely difficult."
Van Gogh Undergrowth with Two Figures - "split tendrils and Van Gogh, what’s not to like?"
Alfredo Arreguin Jaguars - "I like the almost enantiomorphic feature of the two halves and the huge Aztec mask whimsy."
Bokuyo Forest - "This was my first experience with one of Artifact puzzles that does not turn out exactly like the website/box picture. I was totally mystified by those three golden connector pieces that didn't match the image. I couldn’t imagine how they could be manufacturing defects but what else could they be? At the end I figured it out and enjoyed the surprise."
Purgatory - "Those flames!" [Ed. Note: sadly, we discontinued this puzzle years ago].
Pieter Bruegel The Elder Triumph of Death - My interest in the picture overrides the fact that it’s too easy.
Rachel Sumpter Chinatown - "The picture is nice enough and the extra pieces are a good touch, and the piece count at 1,121 pieces makes it a very satisfying solving experience."
