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Speed puzzling competition series launches in Orange County

April 2, 2023

Lea Harper, left of Claremont and teammate, Paige Omokawa of Glendora are one of the thirty teams of two people competing in the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. The teams worked on putting a 500 piece puzzle together. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

One of the thirty teams of two people compete putting a 500 piece puzzle together as the Orange County Speed Puzzlers holds a competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Emily Knell of Rossmoor, left, and Morgan Nuchols of Torrance, work on the puzzle during the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The socks worn by Luke and Jessica Chaney of Los Angeles during the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. The team finished in sixth place. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

As Orange County Speed Puzzlers co-founder William Shandling, center, looks on, Trisha Siedlecki, left, of Roland Heights and teammate Allyson Longo, right, of Anaheim, celebrate as they win first place during the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. Their time putting the 500 piece puzzle together was 34 minutes, 57 seconds. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Orange County Speed Puzzlers co-founder William Shandling watches the teams during the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. The first place team put the 500 piece puzzle together in 34 minutes, 57 seconds. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Allyson Longo, left, of Anaheim and Trisha Siedlecki of Roland Heights work on the puzzle during the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. The team won first place, putting the 500 piece puzzle together in 34 minutes, 57 seconds. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The 500 piece puzzle used during the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition held at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. Thirty teams of two people each gathered to compete. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

As their moves are recorded, a team works on the 500-piece puzzle during the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Thirty teams of two people each compete putting a 500 piece puzzle together as the Orange County Speed Puzzlers holds a competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A team works on the 500-piece puzzle during the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Trisha Siedlecki of Roland Heights works on the puzzle during the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. Siedlecki and her teammate, Allyson Longo of Anaheim won first place, putting a 500 piece puzzle together in 34 minutes, 57 seconds. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Jessica and Luke Chaney of Los Angeles work on the 500-piece puzzle during the Orange County Speed Puzzlers competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. The team finished in sixth place. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Thirty teams of two people each gather to compete putting a 500 piece puzzle together as the Orange County Speed Puzzlers holds a competition at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills on Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Decisions have to be made fast: What’s the plan for sorting? By color? By texture? Pull out all the edges?

This is speed puzzling, and teams have to decide quickly what is their best bet for turning the 500 tiny pieces they just dumped out of a box into the picture on the cover — in minutes, not hours.

On Saturday, the relatively new Orange County Speed Puzzlers hosted its third competition. The winning time was 34 minutes 57 seconds, completed by Trisha Siedlecki of Roland Heights and Allyson Longo of Anaheim.

When the coronavirus arrived three years ago and people suddenly found themselves at home with a lot of time on their hands, many dusted off puzzle boxes that had been stashed away.

And when it got hard because of the shutdowns to buy more puzzles, they started trading with others to refresh their supply.

“There is a really great puzzle swap community in Orange County,” said William Shandling of Anaheim, who is a co-founder of Orange County Speed Puzzlers with Lisa Moskowitz.

Several from the local swap community attended the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association’s speed puzzling nationals in San Diego in October, Shandling said, and were interested in a regular competition closer to home.

So Moskowitz and Shandling teamed up and the first was held in February.

For Saturday’s competition, they got sponsorship from Ravensburger, a German toy company that has numerous puzzle lines.

But the company didn’t just pull 30 boxes of the same puzzle off a warehouse shelf, Shandling said. It surprised the organizers by offering to design a new puzzle for the competition, he said.

“It’s a really important step in the process, picking the puzzle for the competition,” he said. Along with being something that can be finished within time, it has to be fun for the puzzlers.

“We don’t want any diabolical puzzles where people are going to be frustrated,” Shandling said.

The organizers decided on a graphic arts motif, with a little April Fool’s twist here and there, he said, in honor of the competition’s date. The image included all the trappings of a puzzle competition, including name tags, a tiny version of the puzzle and a first place certificate.

Saturday’s competition drew 30 teams of two to GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills. Each played at their own table with spectators watching from an outside perimeter.

Competitions start with a lot of frenetic energy. Teams quickly sort the pieces into piles based on how they most likely will come together — maybe all the pieces that look like they would fit a building in the background or a grassy area.

Then they get to piecing things together.

“Our top puzzle pros, they won’t say more than 10 sentences to each other the entire game,” Shandling said.

Sometimes if a teammate gets stuck on a part of the scene they are working on, the pair might swap chairs or push piles around, Shandling said. “Just to give ourselves a fresh perspective.”

The winning team Saturday received two newly released 1,000-piece puzzles from Ravensburger. Second place received 700 piece puzzles and third place 550 piece puzzles.

June 4 will be the group’s next competition at GameCraft. Find them at Instagram.com/orange_county_speed_puzzlers or search on Facebook.

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