Why "Puzzling Together" is Perfect for Social Distancing

With the call to cancel large group gatherings and to practice "social distancing" as a precautionary measure against the spread of Covid-19, we thought this was the perfect time to highlight a fantastic puzzle group on Facebook - Puzzling Together!

Puzzling Together is a virtual group with hundreds of puzzlers who puzzle together, as the name implies! It's different than many other public and private puzzle groups in that there are focused theme weeks, artist events, brand of the month, step up challenges, catch up weeks, and the host, Julie Smith, has even put on a special event group for Cobble Hill's Rainbow Collection and the Elements Collection.  This is a great group if you have a stash of puzzles that you want to get through and are motivated by doing the same puzzle or something in a similar theme with other puzzlers.  It's also the perfect puzzling group for those who crave connection and focus during this challenging season. And this group also participates together in other events, so activities can extend beyond the group if you choose to join in, like World Puzzle Day.  Since it is a private group, you are required to click "Join Group" on the Facebook page and an administrator will approve your request upon review.

Click "Join Group" and Julie or one of the administrators will approve your request.

You can be confident when joining the group that you're in company with a host who is a dedicated puzzler. Julie really puts her heart into creating a fun place for puzzlers to connect.  Another fun fact about Julie - she is a "Milky Way" star when it comes to the World Puzzle Day (WPD) event hosted by Gunther Simetsburger (we'll have to highlight Gunther and WPD in another blog because he is quite impressive too)! But, what does Milky Way mean?  It means she is "out of this galaxy" with having completed an amazing 224,357 pieces since WPD 2013. She rocks the number three spot at the top of the overall player level list (which is a list of over 1000 people) and she is the ONLY player from the USA on the top 20 list. It's impressive. I assure you. And for the 2020 rankings, she took fourth place in the single player event with 74,276 pieces assembled (that was 70 puzzles in 60 days) and is the current record holder for 2020 in the USA! I'm exhausted thinking about it!

Julie Smith in 3rd place with 224,357 puzzle pieces assembled for combined World Puzzle Day events

Also, many of her group members joined her in the WPD event for 2020, which Cobble Hill sponsored (and we are 2021 sponsors too).  Julie's Puzzling Together Facebook Group was the number one Fun Group!  Her team of avid puzzlers assembled a staggering 1,164,942 pieces. They are the only team to have broken 1 million pieces with their team of 56 players. Before you start thinking, "Of course they were first, look how many players they had" -  when Gunther broke down the numbers for Fun Groups by pieces sorted by players, her group still came in at number seven!

However, to side step here for a minute - we have to give applause to two other Fun Groups because the individuals on these teams ranked #1 and #2 for single players with untouchable numbers! So major hand claps to Dutch Power created by 1st place WPD winner Erica Duijker (Netherlands) who alone assembled 138,511 pieces, which is a new record for herself. The other applause goes to 2nd place WPD winner Emma Gonzalez who assembled 110,582 pieces and also manages a puzzle Facebook group too, Rompecabezas Mexico. These two women were in a league of their own when it came to assembled pieces! Bravo to all the players and the groups!

So, if you are not a member of any puzzle groups, we recommend joining one if you're interested in sharing your assembled puzzles and seeing what others are doing too!  We assure you that Puzzling Together is not some clique group where you feel shut out - they do not tolerate bullies or putting people down.  There are some wonderful administrators and moderators who are seasoned puzzlers and they are very on top of conversations. Because it's a private group, we can't share other examples except this recent post from Julie, but we hope it ensures you this group is very approachable.  It's a safe space for your puzzling adventures!

Join Puzzling Together now!