3rd Annual Artifact Puzzles USA Speed-Puzzling Contest

REGISTRATION CLOSED: This contest happened in April 2023, see the winners!

This is the 3rd annual Artifact Puzzles USA National Speed-Puzzling Contest that you can participate in from the comfort of your living room!

Individuals/Pair Categories: You pick if you’d like to complete in the solo (Individuals: Adults or Under-18) or in a team of 2 (Pairs) by purchasing the right variant of this product.  The puzzles will be different, so you can compete in both. 

Which Puzzle? Everyone will do the same totally secret, never-before-seen Artifact wood jigsaw puzzle at the same time. You keep your contest puzzle after the contest.    

• The Individuals puzzle will have 262 pieces, and be average hard, with a whimsical irregular edge. 
• The Pairs puzzle will have 350-425 pieces, and be average hard, with a decorative irregular edge. 
• There will be a small picture on the box like usual for Artifact Puzzles.

When: 

• Contest happens Saturday April 22 on Zoom:
• 11:00 am CDT for Individuals ( = 9am West Coast, noon East Coast)
• 1:30 pm CDT for Pairs  ( = 11:30am West Coast, 2:30pm East Coast)
• We will ship the puzzle and directions by April 15 by USPS Priority shipping (usually takes 2-4 days to get to you).  The box will say do NOT open on it! 

• Everyone opens up their shipping boxes at the same time on the Zoom video-conference, and starts puzzling at the same time.  

Where: Your living room! The contest will be run on Zoom (by computer) by Jonathon Cluff of SpeedPuzzling.com. If you’ve never used Zoom before, we can set-up a practice zoom call with you. 

Cost: 

• Individuals Contest: $70 (you keep the puzzle) 
• Pairs Contest: $100 (one of you keeps the puzzle)

Prizes: Yes! For each of Individuals, Individuals-Under-18, and Pairs, we are giving 3 prizes (so 9 prizes total): 

• First Place: your choice of any puzzle we make except Nueve, or a 1 year membership to the Hoefnagel Puzzle Club
• Second Place: your choice of any puzzle we make 600 pieces or less or a 6 month membership to the Hoefnagel Puzzle Club
• Third Place: your choice of any puzzle we make 400 pieces or less or a 3 month membership to the Hoefnagel Puzzle Club

How Do I Register?:  Purchase this product and make sure to fill in your email, phone number, and shipping address when you check-out.

How Many Contestants Will There Be?: We are limited to 125 entrants each for the Individual contest and 100 entrants for the Pairs contests.

USA Only:  To make sure we can get everyone their secret contest puzzle by April 22, we can accept only USA entrants. 

More Details: 

• We’ll ship you the puzzle April 15th by USPS Priority shipping.  
• We’ll email contestants a link by April 20th before to join the Zoom meeting on April 22nd.
• The judges will check each contestant’s camera setup and that they have not opened the shipping box guarding the puzzle.
• There will be brief instructions given, and everyone will open their shipping box and remove the wrapping LIVE, on camera.
• Then we will start the timer, and everyone will puzzle simultaneously.
• While only the fastest puzzlers will get prizes, everyone is encouraged to finish the puzzle and clock-in their fastest time, that is the event will run a full two hours, not just until the first three people finish. 
• After the contest is over, and all entries have been verified, we will the blog the completion times and names of the fastest puzzlers. 
• You CAN participate in both contests if you want.
• Puzzling Tools: Sorting trays and box top holders are allowed. Other tools
  (spatulas, magnifying glasses, cell phone cameras) are NOT.

• Each puzzle is a new Artifact Puzzle that is not listed on our website. 

• Each puzzle is average hard as our puzzles go, but on the trickier side of average hard as they will have irregular edges (no straight edge pieces).

• We expect the fastest puzzlers to be able to complete the Individuals puzzle in around 45 minutes, but it might take casual puzzlers 2-3 hours.
• We expect the fastest puzzlers to be able to complete the Pairs puzzle in around 1 hour, but it might take casual puzzlers 2-4 hours.
• The picture of the puzzle will be on-the-box, and it may help you go faster if you use the picture effectively. 
• To qualify for the Under 18 category, you must email [email protected] before April 22 with a photo of you and your student ID card (or if you are don’t have an ID card, have a parent or guardian attest you are under 18). 
• There is not a separate category for Under-18 for the Pairs contest. 

Tips: check out our post on “how the fastest puzzlers do it.”