Alison Jacobs is one of 12 New Zealanders competing at the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship, this year held in Valladolid, Spain.
Speed puzzlers race to put together a jigsaw faster than their competition — a standard size is a 500-piece puzzle or for a team of four, a 1000-piece puzzle.
Ms Jacobs said it was her first time competing at the event, and the best part was meeting others who also loved puzzles.
"Everyone is so friendly and puzzles are our common language connecting us all.
"There was a puzzle party event where we were mixed into groups of 10 and moved tables every 10 minutes as we worked together on puzzles — a bit like speed dating but for new puzzle friends."
She was competing in the individual, pair and team events. Her favourite was the pairs, she said.
Her pairs partner, Donnalouise Watts, is also from Dunedin.
Staying calm and focused was key — headphones also helped block out distractions, Ms Jacobs said.
Puzzle images varied a lot and it was important to have a range of strategies handy.
"Some people are surprised to hear that it's not always faster to assemble the border first," Ms Jacobs said.
"Sometimes sorting is key, other times, if the image is very busy, people might use a ‘pick and place' method where you locate each piece using the image on the box and place them one by one until it comes together."
The event website says 3626 participants from 72 countries took part in the championship.
The event finished overnight (NZT).
