Your space issue reminds me of the tower of 500-piece-ravensburgers from karen puzzles. If you know what I'm talking about, there you have it: you don't have to find space in/on your shelves to buy more puzzles :)

The lions and the zebras just look brutal to me. I honestly would not do them in my free time.

Let us know how you store your extra puzzles that do not fit on your shelves? I am just interested in how you will be displaying your beautiful puzzle collection. Love your videos!

Well done finishing a challenging puzzle! While matte is my preference I don’t mind glossy if the image isn’t too dark. I did my first eeBoo this month and loved it despite the glossy finish. I have a 550 Vermont Christmas Company Halloween puzzle to do in October. Very dark. Will see how I like it.

Hi Johnie, I like that Halloween puzzle. I like the matte as well. We are always learning and in my opinion it’s not because you’re puzzling in the daylight. But if you have the sun beating in and hitting your puzzle you will have a bit of glare. Some puzzles are too glossy and will have glare. That puzzle did look too hard, and that’s why I didn’t buy it! Well bravo to you for doing it. TFS &👍😊my friend.

Ah, glossy puzzles are ones that I avoid. That's why I don't do Eboo puzzles as they are too glossy for me. The puzzle you did had rather a lot of dark areas which wouldn't have helped. Well done for getting there in the end. Your next puzzle should be better as there is more in the way of light coloured areas. Look forward to seeing that one.

Have you considered using a puzzle board? I use the Ravensburger Stand and Go (for 1000 piece puzzles) and it lifts the puzzle maybe 15 degrees. It cuts the glare significantly. I'm not sure how it will look on camera, but it should definitely ease some of your frustrations. There are other alternative boards out there, but the Stand and Go is one of the more budget-friendly ones.

eeBoo puzzles are extremely glossy, but images are just beautiful. I have very bad lightning in my livingroom, and eeBoos are almost impossible to do in winter. I have 10 eeBoos in my collection, including a Christmas puzzle which I'd like to do in the Holidays. Wish me luck. 😁 Your puzzle has a stunning image, but it really seems hard to do. Dark pieces with glossy finish is just soooo difficult. But you can be happy you didn't give up. 👍

I’m doing a similar puzzle at moment. It’s an Art Puzzle puzzle, very shiny and lots of black and dark areas. I am not a lover of shiny puzzles, but some images I just need to do. Art Puzzle has some beautiful images so when I start one I don’t time (even out of interest) and I set out knowing it’ll be on the board for a week or two and that’s fine. I take my time and enjoy, some sittings I might only put in 10 pieces. I like a slow leisurely challenge every now and then but always follow it up with a 500 piece 😂

I would say the difficulty is more from the mass of dark pieces than from the glossy cover - I've done many shiny puzzles and never have any problem - I just reposition my lamp so it works for me. Easy peasy! But, dark puzzles... well, that's difficult for sure! I've tried and struggled, so now I just stick to bright and colorful or light - so much easier to see what's on the pieces.

I’m not a fan of shiny puzzles either Johnie. I have a much harder time doing them at night with artificial lighting, so If I’m doing one I try to do it during the day. The window in the room where I do my puzzles does have a sheer curtain over it so I think that helps diffuse the sunlight and lessens the glare. Jacarou and Eeboo brands both have quite a bit of shine, but I do them anyway because I love the colorful images enough to make it worth it. Thanks for the great video!

Oh man that combo glossy and dark would be brutal. Glossy can make a real fun puzzle a chore to get through the glare really does make a difference in the experience. Cool image though! Glad you stuck with it, looks great!

I cannot do dark colors due to eyes now that I am in my 70's. If you add the glare factor definitely not a puzzle I could do. I have done lighter brighter colors in gloss finish but still hard on my eyes. I actually have a puzzle room with dimable lights and I do tone them a bit if needed. Plus I also have a white curtain on the window so light comes in but not direct sunlight. Good job as always with your strategy talk and analysis of that brand as I have never heard of it. Thanks for the entertainment!!

I like random cut puzzles. The older Springbok puzzles are my favorite.

U should mark ur date n time completion inside box tops. Then you can see if you improve on another try. Lol Good job though. 🎉

I just did a Vermont Puzzle Company Halloween puzzle called Fright Night. I was so thrilled with the image, but it was shiny and the pieces were crumbly. I did not use natural light, but I did bounce a lamp off the wall to put a soft “glow” on the puzzle. This worked very well for all that shine. I understand how that would drive you crazy!!!!

That really looks like a hard one, but the way is target, as we say over here. Congratulations on finishing it, and i loved the finished image😊

Did you watch the Worlds competitions?

I did an easy Halloween puzzle by Mudpuppy. 500 pieces.

Eeboo puzzles have glossy pieces. However, I love doing them. Most of the puzzles are very colorful and bright. I have not had any problems putting them together.

Dark glossy puzzle random cut this harmony would be completed by misfitting and make you to throw it out 😂😂😂

I just sold 2 puzzles I just bought of a new to me brand from Amazon “Pickforu” brand. Opened the box and I was horrified to find out I spend $60 on the 2 and they were super glossy. I had read somewhere they were matte. Nope! I find most of the new brands now are matte because they listen to the utube channels like yours on what we want in a puzzle. So thanks for that. I mostly puzzle at night. I use overhead task lighting, it also has a magnifying glass if needed. Works great.

I'm happy you stuck with it too, it looks great finished. I agree on the glossy finished, it's horrible to do. Think daylight is the best, no other tips. I try my best to void them as well. For me this Halloween, it will be Friday the 13th from OP games, I've done it once and it took a very long time. Will have to start next week and hope it doesn't take forever.

Other glossy puzzle brands in my experience: Clementoni, Dowdle. I improve my glare by puzzling with my back to the window (puzzle in front of me). All the artificial light that I use is angled so the light reflects off the puzzle away from me (no light from directly overhead). I use white foam boards for sorting/holding pieces (your black sorting trays likely made this puzzle more difficult). Congrats on finishing this very difficult puzzle!

Puzzle people 2:46 understand your addiction 😂🧩🧩🧩😂

Nice! I don't always do this but want to recommend... if puzzle piece size matters and makes the puzzle more or less enjoyable, you can check the dimensions of the finished puzzle. Sometimes that will give a clue to the piece size if it's not shown on the box. Happy puzzling!

I had the pink krypt and gave up after completing the frame. I was not having a good time at all, and I puzzle to have fun and relax. It wasn’t hard because you are a beginner believe me. I’ve been puzzling for 12 years now and gave up on it. I’ve pasted it on now, but I was thinking afterwards that it might have been easier to start in the middle. I have had the gradient krypt, for about 2 years now but haven’t been able to convince myself to try it, should be easier but…

Fun puzzle! I find table space management tricky with the Cobble Hill 500 pc as they are all the larger piece size. I find the puzzle trays or more sorting helps me manage my space, especially if practicing in the more restricted space of a speed competition. Are you going to the Regional regional speed puzzle competition in October in Repentigny, Quebec?

I love watching your videos!

Roberta. Puzzles. 1000

Amen. Yes. Love. Okay.

I love that Cobble Hill has different shaped pieces! I've been trying to buy more of that brand because they're Canadian!

Love doing Cobble Hill puzzles along with White Mountain and Springbok because they are random cut. We find them more challenging than the ribbon cut. Johnie we enjoy all your videos. Thanks for sharing. ❤️

This too was my first Cobble Hill speed puzzle as I had thought that the image would be "easy" but boy was I wrong! I was constantly looking at the box. It did prepare me for my first in person speed puzzling event a few days later, where I happened to get my 2nd 500 piece Cobble Hill called Seed Packets - whose image was way easier to puzzle and would be a good "spring" puzzle to do if you can get your hands on it!

Wow I'm in montreal and 100% have to drive out to that store one day! Did you find the prices to be about the same as online or were they overpriced? Thanks for the info!

Your Halloween Cobble Hill candy 500 pc puzzle should have come with a poster as this puzzle is a new release in 2023. Cobble Hill has a puzzle warranty if the original owner of the puzzle experiences a puzzle issue.

I'm loving these Halloween puzzles!! You chose well. Love Cobble Hill. Vermont Christmas Co is another good brand. I love random cut puzzles

I have done 100's of Springbok as I prefer random cuts over standard all one shapes. I will keep my eyes peeled at thrift store for now for Cobble Hills. I don't know how you did the pieces in the box. That drives me crazy. I HAVE to have all the pieces on the table. Even if I am working with a small space I just make piles of the colors when sorting. Then as soon as I have conquered enough piles and can spread the rest out, I do. Love seeing how other people strategize so thanks for doing a detailed explanation of yours! Are you going to watch any of the World Speed Puzzling this week?? I will watch them mostly delayed and not live as due to time zones some rounds are at 3 a.m. local time. YIKES!! But anyway, Thanks for the entertainment!!

Hey Johnie, It’s a fun one with all the candies. A lot going on lol. Yes lots of orange. Great job puzzle friend.TFS 👍😊I can’t wait for the new one.

I love Cobble Hill puzzles but hate Springbok. The Springbok has such poorly cut pieces, even looking at the comparison of the pieces you had there, you can see how rough the edges are. I love that Halloween puzzle you done, it’s so colourful.

Great video! I love that you are doing Halloween puzzles. I have a 500 piece Cobble Hill puzzle that I have done like 4 times. I absolutely love how you are putting your videos together with the voice over. I am looking forward to you putting together the next puzzle.

On the front of the box of your puzzle is a picture of a puzzle piece. I may be mistaken but I believe that tells you the size of the pieces inside.

Excellent review. So glad you talked about the disadvantage of having a tight-fighting puzzle, how it takes more effort to disassemble. We always talk about the "pick up" factor of a puzzle, but it's really just a fun thing to do and maybe gives us a little satisfaction. It is certainly not what determines the quality of a puzzle. Great artwork on the Game of Thrones!