Minnesota Speed Puzzling Championship

Living in St. Louis has its perks, but one thing that’s a bit disappointing is that Missouri isn’t one of the 12 states that host in-person state championships for SpeedPuzzling.com. Thankfully, Minnesota is! So in October, my husband and I took a trip to Brooklyn Park, just outside of the Twin Cities, to participate in this exciting event.

As a regular competitor in virtual competitions, this was a fantastic opportunity to puzzle in person alongside some of the best in the sport. While my score would contribute to my JPAR ranking, I wasn't eligible for the chance to win a free spot at the USA Jigsaw National Championship since I’m not a resident of Minnesota. However, one major highlight of the event was the puzzle swap table, where I happily traded 12 old puzzles I had completed for some fresh ones.

The competition kicked off with the Adult Solo Division. We were in a large hall with about 200 people. I was thrilled to find that the puzzle we had to tackle was Peanuts Graffiti, honoring the legendary Charles M. Schulz.

I have to admit that the puzzle proved to be quite challenging for me that day. I struggled to find my rhythm, but I persevered and managed to finish with a time of 1:54:27. While I came in 79th out of 108 competitors—definitely not my best showing—it was an unforgettable experience filled with fun and camaraderie. The full results are here.

Although my husband may not share my speed puzzling skills, he graciously volunteered to join me in the pairs competition. I was thrilled to have him by my side, and we managed to finish 77th out of 110 teams, clocking in at 1:06:46. You can check out the full results here.

But that wasn’t all! We also participated in the first-ever pairs relay competition. This unique challenge required us to each tackle an under-300 piece puzzle. The twist? Every five minutes, a buzzer would sound, signaling us to swap puzzles. This proved to be much tougher than we anticipated, especially with all the distractions around us. It was hard to settle into a rhythm and really focus on our puzzles. As a result, we finished 52nd out of 60 teams. You can find the complete results here. Sadly, since we were both participating in these competitions, we didn't get any photos.

Overall, participating in this event was a great reminder of why I love the puzzling community so much. Can’t wait for the next opportunity to connect with fellow puzzlers!