Puzzles Make Cool Gifts Now
Haven’t you heard? COVID lockdown turned us all into puzzlers (or at least a handful of celebrities) and now we’ve been blessed with a new puzzle boom. New, cool puzzle brands like Jiggy, Magic Puzzle Company, and Kinstler, alongside collaborators like Seth Rogen’s Houseplant, A24, and a little magazine called New York, are peddling puzzles that any giftee would be happy to display on their coffee table.
Houseplant x Le Puzz Bundle
Le Puzz and Houseplant are, ahem, a match made in heaven. The huge puzzle featuring a table full of vintage-y matchbooks is being offered in a bundle alongside Houseplant’s Pebble Match Strike, a Vulture-approved gift by itself. Best enjoyed while smoking a blunt, naturally. —Emily Palmer Heller
New York x Piecework Puzzle
I have so many Piecework puzzles that I’ve been banned from bringing new ones into my apartment, but I surely can make an exception for a collaboration with my own magazine? The company is known for its puzzles of intricate, kitschy photographs and for this collaboration with New York brought that sensibility to an iconic city institution: a greasy-spoon diner. It’s a perfect gift for your favorite New Yorker, who also has enough table space in their apartment for a 1,000-piece puzzle. —EPH
Lego Minifigure Faces Puzzle
Lego and puzzles have a lot in common — a hobby with lots of tiny pieces that are super satisfying to click together — so it’s only fitting that they’d team up. There are several Lego puzzles to choose from, but my favorite (because I’m a masochist) is this mass of mini-figure faces. Good luck sorting through this sea of yellow! —EPH
Risky Business Vuzzle
I got this puzzle from a roommate who asked to help me find a good home for it, and to say I found the best place would be an understatement. It’s the perfect gift for a friend who loves ’80s movies and doing puzzles while watching said ’80s movies. Pieces throughout the puzzle are movie-themed like popcorn, film cameras, etc. Plus, the container itself is a VHS case, so it can fit snuggly next to your movie collection. I shipped the puzzle off to my friend Tyler as an early holiday gift and received updates on his delights while working on it and inspiration to buy more VHS box puzzles for his own gift shopping list. —Alejandra Gularte
Bodega Cat Puzzle
Famous art is classic puzzle fare, but new company Kinstler aims to put up-and-coming artists into that spotlight with its line of puzzles featuring contemporary works. (Each box even includes a Q&A with the artist.) My personal favorite is the Bodega Cat puzzle by artist Simone Johnson, who’s made it her mission to document these staples of New York City life. The only question is whether to frame the finished puzzle or take it apart so you can complete it over and over again. —EPH
Tears of the Kingdom Puzzle
There are a lot of ugly, busy video game puzzles on the market, but this 1,000-piece re-creation of some Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom promotional art is just gorgeous. Buy it for your loved one who is jonesing for the satisfying builds in TotK but can’t justify spending any more hours in Hyrule. —EPH
Magic Puzzle Company Puzzles
Originally launched on Kickstarter, Magic Puzzle Company’s puzzles have a neat little gimmick. Once completed, the puzzle reveals a “secret.” No spoilers, but suffice it to say that you’ll want to keep the enclosed manila envelope handy. If you shake it, you’ll notice that it’s filled with more pieces. A puzzle and a mystery all in one, these puzzles make a great gift for your friend who wouldn’t stop talking about Poker Face. —EPH
Jiggy x Purple Rising Puzzle
Cool-girl puzzle brand Jiggy collaborated with none other than Oprah Winfrey on this gorgeous watercolor puzzle celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Color Purple — just in time for the new movie. —EPH
VHS Clamshell Puzzle
Puzzle boxes: They’re large and unweildly and annoying to store! Physical media: We miss it! A 500-piece movie poster puzzle that comes in a retro Blockbuster rental VHS clamshell: Genius! These puzzles come in an array of nostalgic options like The Breakfast Club, Jaws, Back to the Future, Titanic, Beetlejuice, The Big Lebowski, The Little Mermaid, and Clueless. —Rebecca Alter
Lady Bird’s Cast Mini-Puzzle
In one of the most iconic mom-daughter fights in cinematic history, Lady Bird launches herself from a moving car and breaks her arm. The moment can now exist in perpetuity, in the form of a tiny puzzle, which can be broken and reassembled over and over and over again, into the very best version of itself that it can be. —Anusha Praturu