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January 10, 2022

Even in today's technology-driven world, the old-fashioned puzzle maintains a certain allure. January is National Puzzle Month and if you haven't worked one in a while, it's a great reason to spend time with the family and enjoy the unique gifts of some low-tech togetherness.

The New York Times Jigsaw Puzzle Of Your Birth Date lets a recipient revisit the headlines, photos, and articles of his or her memorable day piece by piece. This 500-piece jigsaw puzzle recreates The New York Times front page on the day you were born, or any other milestone date from any of the 57,500 in The Times' archive. To honor a special place in someone's life The Personalized Topographic Map Jigsaw Puzzle is the only custom jigsaw puzzle created from a U.S. Geological Survey topographic map. When completed, this 400-piece jigsaw puzzle displays a 1:24,000 map of the address you provide that includes details such as main roads, contour lines, water features, and buildings.

For a unique spin on puzzling, The Crossworder's Jigsaw Challenge requires solving a crossword puzzle to guide you in the assembling of a jigsaw puzzle. When the crossword is successfully completed, it reveals the correct letter positions of the words in the 550-piece crossword-themed jigsaw puzzle.

The Superplexus is, perhaps, the ultimate puzzle. This three-dimensional spherical labyrinth will challenge the limits of your manual dexterity and spatial understanding to maneuver a wooden marble through a complex network of chicanes, multi-planar hairpin turns, spirals and staircases - even a vortex. The entire track, if laid out on a straight line, is longer than a football field and requires a minimum of 425 turns of the sphere without letting the marble fall off the track. Completion will be your life's work!

Dedicated dissectologists often find themselves facing another common conundrum-a lack of work space. The Solid Wood Fold And Store Puzzle Table, only available from Hammacher Schlemmer, provides a sturdy, convenient solution. This solid wood puzzle table unfolds to create a 30" x 22" center work area for puzzles, flanked by a panel on each side for sorting pieces. The work surface is lined with gray felt that prevents pieces from sliding and it comes with three inserts that keep a puzzle intact when the table is folded.

Scientific research has proven that working a puzzle uses both sides of the brain and improves memory, cognitive function and problem-solving skills. National Puzzle Month is a great time to pledge to work on a puzzle every day for better brain health, not to mention rewarding family time.