I solved the long lost mystery puzzle

[@KarenPuzzles]

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[@KarenPuzzles]

Thank you everyone for watching my videos all year! I’ll be taking a little time off for the holidays, but I have so many plans for puzzles and videos to work on in the new year. I hope you all have a great holiday filled with lots of puzzling!

[@jeancarroccino8574]

Happy holidays all🎉🎉

[@eosrose6126]

Happy holidays 🎉

[@KimSimful]

Have a great holiday! We’ll be waiting! ❤️🌲

[@KitD2365]

Happy holidays! Have a wonderful break! You've earned it!

[@xtina1610]

Enjoy your break, Karen!! I hope to make it to a Puzzle competition this year thanks to you!! Merry Christmas! (Or happy holidays!) ❤💚❤️💚❤️

[@KarenPuzzles]

MORE INFO (Please upvote) - I forgot to check Reddit while doing the research for the video, and a few people messaged me about their copies after I posted the teaser video. So we can start filling out the list- 1: Cathedral (Challenger Series) 18: Wildlife Portraits 19: The Wave of the Future 28: Santa Claus is Coming to Town I also got a message about one with the Nordevco puzzle “Numbers” but the sticker was pulled off the box. If any of you have found another one, I’d love to know which puzzle you got and what number it was!

[@RuthBhmand]

I strongly suspect your number is not 28 but 2.8 So series 2 random puzzle 8. (It makes sense to me as a math geek)

[@Hanaconda_Aquaponics]

​@@RuthBhmand I was thinking the same thing.

[@aartadventure]

Someone in your shorts video said they had one with ducks (maybe the wildlife portrait?)

[@greg.murphy]

That the first 5 puzzles are a single digit makes me think it's 28.

[@itslukemott]

I mentioned that in another comment, but I don't think yours is number 28,but that it's an old price tag for someone selling the puzzle for 2.8 $ The other numbers were in yellow circles and as others pointed out it looks more like "2.8" than 28. I have seen a lot of old prices indicated like that especially on self made / reselling price tags. So I would try looking under the sticker if there is another number hiding there

[@ynes6658]

It was probably also a good way for them to get rid of puzzles that didn't sell as much as they had hoped.

[@K775-v5r]

My thought was the same. They probably decided after Christmas was over they wanted to get rid of all their left over Christmas stock.

[@fugithegreat]

Doesn't everyone have a "mystery puzzle" in their house, where the box was completely destroyed but a ziploc bag of puzzle pieces still clings to life? Just my family?

[@KarenPuzzles]

Good point, I’ve definitely had a few of those over the years 😂

[@dhpbear2]

Those are my FAVORITE! (see above!)

[@Chowdeer]

You certainly deserve a break. The world championship videos were next level and you have done an amazing job showing how exciting something as simple as doing puzzles can be.

[@TheNutsoCharles]

A photograph of you, in your filming area, with a dog you don't recognize, and he's bringing you a newspaper with a date visible over the fold -- and it's from next week!

[@KarenPuzzles]

Maybe if I was inside a Black Mirror episode 😂

[@seriliaykilel]

I freaking loved the tournament series but also excited to get back to regular programing! Thanks for another wonderful year of videos!! Happy holidays!

[@Serenity_Dee]

7:51 Convex. I remember which is which because conCAVE means the curve makes a little CAVE. Otherwise I would have to think a lot more about it and make that same mistake anyway.

[@catouniverse]

I usually do my puzzles without looking at the reference image, so I would LOVE a mystery puzzle! I'm going to rope my mom into doing what you said and buying a puzzle and just giving me the bag and don't let me see the box until I'm done! It's such a great idea!

[@SprongBobbles]

the coincidence that this puzzle was christmas themed is so funny 🤣 happy to have watched you all year, Karen, and i can’t wait for more next year! looking forward to the next giant puzzle 😉

[@Sandra.p.]

I started watching your videos a few months ago and started puzzling again after not having done it for years. And now my husband and I puzzle together for a couple of hours every night after dinner, mainly Jan Van Haasteren and a few Wasgij puzzles. It's my favorite time of the day and it's all because I started watching your video 😊 Merry Christmas 🎅 from Sweden!

[@mo-ellen]

Springbok offered a mystery puzzle option on their website around Christmas a few years ago. It just came as the bag of pieces, no puzzle box. It was one of the regular puzzles so I assume there was a variety of puzzles that got shipped out from it. It was really fun to do a puzzle with no knowledge of what the picture would be.

[@highpath4776]

In the UK we had / have day and half day coach trips out, often from or to holiday destinations. They would be advertised on boards - eg in Central Devon one could go , depending on day of week to Minehead, Plymouth, Brixham, Padstow . There would also be "mystery tour" where the destination was not revealed until you arrived - normally at a place with a tea room and so on. One couple were on holiday for a week and decided to try the mystery tour - It went to Western-Super-Mare. the town they normally lived in !

[@Zatnicatel]

Schrödinger's puzzle!

[@williamnathanael412]

It's square and circle in a superposition!

[@highpath4776]

@@williamnathanael412 or random puzzle of cat, one alive, one dead ?

[@blkrainbow1075]

Happy holidays to Karen and to all!!!

[@greetjeb7030]

What a great puzzle! In the Netherlands we have whats called "Wasgij" puzzles and they are a kind of mysterie puzzles. The image you puzzle is different then what you see on the box. I really love those. Happy Holidays.

[@KarenPuzzles]

I’ve done a few of those! I really like them too 😊

[@Sandra.p.]

I literally came here to talk about the wasgij puzzles, I like them to! 😊

[@TwinkTwinkle]

Happy holidays Karen! Thanks for so many fun videos this year

[@slytheringingerwitch]

Merry Puzzlemas puzzlers. Hope you and your family have a great Christmas.

[@theoneandonlymagnum]

Thank you for the professional quality worlds footage and the high quality videos you keep putting out! Happy holidays and a good new year without missing pieces! 😊

[@jandaddamio8624]

When my husband bought me puzzles, he would always hide the box and just give me the bag of pieces so I have done many puzzles this way. Good job on the World's videos!

[@MaggieFolkers]

Yes I have done a mystery puzzle. I was at a trade show where New York puzzles had a booth. They handed out just a bag of puzzle pieces. So fun. Just like you said. So easy to do with a friend, just give them a bag of pieces.

[@wendyeskelin8765]

You did a great job with the World's video's. I also love the tip for doing a mystery puzzle of your own with a friend. I am not a good enough puzzler to want to take on a puzzle with no photo. :)

[@justsandy5062]

I loved the synergy of this video! I received a mystery wooden puzzle for my birthday this year and it was so much fun to put together and figure out :)

[@meeprific]

So fun that it ended up being Christmas themed!

[@teresapalomar3746]

Although I have an idea of the image I'm working on at any one time, I usually hide the lid while I'm working on any puzzle. One of the few exceptions to that habit is with Van Gogh's "A Starry Night." Way too many blue pieces!

[@ilianakokkori2178]

The perfect cozy video to watch on the afternoon of my birthday hehe✨ happy holidays!

[@toramenor]

Happy holidays and... happy birthday! 🎉

[@ajlorentz]

Happy Birthday!!

[@TheShadowlight85]

My sister gave me 2 thousand-piece puzzles as mystery puzzles for Christmas last year. She kept the packaging and put the bags with the pieces in a pretty box under the Christmas tree. I had a lot of fun with the puzzles!

[@alecralph6667]

Thank you for a wonderful year of puzzles, puzzling and competions. All the very best for Christmas and the New Year to you and your family, and not forgetting the 300,00+ subscribers.

[@dhpbear2]

20:49 - I do the same thing with the puzzle-of-the-month *Completing the Puzzle* puzzles. I carefully pull out the bag of pieces and the return label, leaving the poster in the mailer, unseen.

[@melissawingfield8666]

Merry Christmas Karen ... you deserve the 2-week rest!

[@danish_puzzler]

My guess on IG was umbrellas. I haven't exactly done this type of mystery puzzle, but I did buy a thrift store puzzle and quickly realized it wasn't the image on the box. That was fun! Both box and puzzle were Springbok so I found it in the database after it was complete and turned out to be the jellybean puzzle.

[@jillmartin8255]

I definitely prefer to have an image. I only started puzzling because one of your videos randomly popped as a suggestion and you got me hooked, so I am very much a beginner. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and all your family.

[@rebapuck5061]

We might all have different levels of interest in puzzles. Different styles we like. Different sizes we prefer. But I hope we all agree on one thing. That final hand swipe across is universal.

[@jenemica]

I find puzzling without looking at the box more relaxing. Well as long as the puzzle image is fairly simple 😊 we have a little puzzle club at work and we have had few mystery puzzles - someone has brought just the pieces. Those have been 500 piece puzzles with distinctive pictures and everyone has loved those! So I highly recommend trying that 😊

[@taralovesdiamondart]

Happy Holidays, Karen!

[@lju5001]

I did Alfred Hitchcock mystery puzzle with no picture. Didn’t think I would ever finish it but I did. However I could not solve the mystery! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! C u next year and now I can catch up on all your older videos.

[@catharinebrider7501]

I don't use the image when I do a jigsaw. I usually know basically what I am doing, just don't look at the box while I'm doing it. So I am happy to have a mystery puzzle. Some of my parents old puzzles don't have a box anymore so you don't always know what the image is!

[@mothersuperior6751]

I am the opposite. I use the lid, scan the image until I find the exact spot to put it in. Then I am familiar with the fine details of the puzzle.

[@palatina6626]

I love that they have printed the inches and Zentimeters at the box. This shows that they have thought outside the box.

[@michaelclarkj]

I’m guessing a portrait of a cat and a dog side by side, indoors, the cat is wearing sunglasses. They’re sitting in front of a table with fruits in a bowl.

[@cassandragough]

I thought 'puppies or kittens' but you really thought your mental image through!😂

[@michaelclarkj]

@ I figure if I’m gonna be way off…. (Or rather, what if I was right? No one would believe me!)

[@ImCassy]

Happy Holidays Karen - You brought me into the world of Puzzling and I will be forever grateful

[@elle-xu3ep]

Hi everyone... I did a wooden 750 maybe thousand pcs "mystery" no picture ravensburger puzzle 25 yrs and I think it was vintage even then. Loved it!

[@toramenor]

Happy holidays to you, and I'm glad this year you had a better puzzling experience than putting together that Christmas tree lol

[@rpennybrown]

What a surprise, those convex edge pieces! (...concave being a bend that shows being sunken down, not bubbled upward). 7:54

[@sambeawesome]

Okay but that's genuinely a fun way to do a puzzle. Seeing this at Worlds would be hilarious and WILD xD I love that it coincidentally turned out to be Christmas themed! I hope you enjoy your break :D Thank you for another wonderful year of puzzling!

[@markthompson1769]

my guess is a landscape, with a lake with houses around it, and mountains in the distance

[@eilishf6005]

I loved the world puzzle competition series. However, I would be ok if you wanted to break them up further. You could even add a sitcom element to it. With "Previously on... " or "To be continued..." There was a moment between two of the competitions I thought you were going to do a "next time on...." That way, you can get more content & videos out of the world series. As it is so close to vlogmess time of year, you could add a vlogmess element to it. Enjoy your break!

[@stacimyer-klein5387]

I once got a puzzle box that advertise 7 national Park puzzles, but none of the bags were labled. So it was a mystery bin the beginning

[@AZPapillion2000]

It depends on my mood. Sometimes I use a reference image, sometimes no! Happy Holidays Karen and enjoy your time with your family!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

This reminds me of that Murder Mystery Puzzle. Also, we love a fun mystery. 1:17 My guess is landscape with many tiny details.

[@Botruc]

I love the accidental timing of this video!

[@dhpbear2]

This is how I solve *ALL* puzzles! I try to NEVER look at the poster or box!

[@justinmaxwell4140]

I wonder how often mystery puzzles are/were used for overruns or puzzles they otherwise had left over or had been sent back. It would be an easy way to move stock they otherwise might be stuck with. Especially in this case as it looks like there was a date on the Christmas puzzle, so if it doesn’t sell in that year, you can take it back, and just put it into a cheap and easy to print mystery puzzle box and ship it back out. Would be a good way to manage their inventory.

[@Msmaria84]

Does a Wasgij mystery puzzel count? Merry Christmas Karen! And thank you for all those great videos this year!

[@noshinskoala]

happy holidays karen! the worlds videos were masterfully put together and edited. they were definitely worth the wait. but I also love to watch your “easier” videos to do like this. I love and appreciate how much care and passion you put into your videos! enjoy your well-deserved break!

[@Balint-sm6sc]

Can you tell me how to build the inside of a puzzle? Like i always build tge edges in minutes but the inside us soooo hard for me

[@mediumjohnsilver]

I once worked in an office in which we would bring in jigsaw puzzles to work on during downtime - a few pieces before a meeting, while waiting for feedback, or after work. One time we had a bag of pieces with no box, so no image to reference. It was a Christmas puzzle with about a third of the pieces missing, but we solved what there was, enough to locate the full image online. Merry Christmas, Karen. 🎄

[@jewelxiat]

[Spoiler for the video] I can't believe how well this worked in your favor 😂 What a great way to end off such an excellent year of puzzling! I'm so excited to see what next year brings! I guessed the mystery puzzle would be forest themed. Maybe a tiger. I was very wrong LOL

[@Puppet_Doctor]

I think the image will be scenery at a lake with people having picnics. Thank you, Karen for the amazing Worlds content and I am looking forward to regular content again. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[@remybaker7831]

My guess was a train in a winter landscape, so in the neighborhood at least. Also the poinsettia gives me hope for future Lego content, Lego sets are a kind of puzzle 😸

[@justinmaxwell4140]

@karenpuzzles at around 8 minute mark you say you need to go look for concave pieces, but you need to find convex, which would bow out, and can ignore the concave, which would bow in.

[@therealninjess]

My friend is a librarian and brought me a cute cat puzzle from their collection. As I sorted the pieces, it looked like human hair, not fur... And there was a lot of wicker and lace. And then I found the creepy doll eyes. It turned out it was Springbok's Dolls' Tea Party that had somehow ended up in the wrong box. I managed to get the border and some of the larger details assembled before I googled and found a picture of the cover, which I used to position the floating faces and figure out which lace pattern went with which doll. So I did ~50% as a complete mystery, and the rest looking at a miniscule, low-res pic on my phone.

[@makingthingswithstring]

Happy Holidays, Karen! And thank you for all the hard work you put into those worlds videos - they were so enjoyable to watch. I have done a 'mystery' puzzle before, but it was more like your suggested do-it-yourself version - a friend of mine lent me a puzzle of theirs that didn't have the box or a photo anymore, so I didn't know what the image was! It was an interesting change from the usual. :)

[@solamano7239]

Merry Christmas Karen! Hope you have a nice break! Thank you for providing us with so much entertainment!! 🎄🎀🎄🎀

[@munson0523]

There's a casual puzzling group where I live, and some people regularly avoid looking at the boxes when they puzzle. To them it feels like cheating!

[@cassandragough]

That is a lovely picture; I am a child of the 80s so its old fashioned vibe appeals. I was thinking puppies or kittens though when we were challenged to guess.

[@barbieshatky5682]

❤️💚❤️💚❤️ Merry Christmas! 🎄🥰

[@elizabethashley2313]

Enjoy your holiday break! ❤ I'll be doing a puzzle or two for my Disney princess Thomas Kincade puzzle collection. They're the primary wall decor for my little girls' rooms, and now that my youngest is two she gets to upgrade from her nursery decor. 😁

[@therealninjess]

I'm guessing a summer landscape with a dog on a lawn.

[@LindseyO]

My guess was a generic green landscape with trees and a river, but it was a fun surprise to see the Christmas theme! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Karen!🎄🥂 Enjoy the break, you deserve it! ❤️

[@maryvallas772]

Merry Christmas, Karen, and a Very Happy New Year! 🎉

[@ImCassy]

I stand by Cats playing poker ..

[@LizSchmidt-w7g]

I'm guessing it will be a round puzzle of a close-up picture of the inside of a sliced orange.

[@GailMcCormick]

I found an 80s mystery puzzle from Bits & Pieces at the thrift store. (The box just says "secrets" on it!) The image was not at all what I expected! 🤣

[@itslukemott]

I may be wrong about it, but I don't think the puzzle is number 28. It looks more like "2.8" to me and my guess it's a price tag (not necessarily the original selling price, but maybe an old reselling sticker). All the other boxes on the image had their number in a yellow circle while yours is in a green rectangle - ofc they might've changed that at some point, but it does really look like 2.5.. I know you probably don't want to harm the box, but I would still recommend trying to look underneath the sticker to see if another number is hiding there.

[@krystalcotriss]

I've done a few mystery puzzles - one was a vintage Stave puzzle, which was AMAZING! Very cool how this puzzle ended up being Christmas themed ❤🎄

[@autumn7143]

Hi. I have done a mystery puzzle before. I like both ways, but every once in a while a mystery is nice.

[@KodyKobalt]

I’m so happy about this video

[@teresapalomar3746]

For some strange reason, I'm picturing a rustic village street, but it'll probably turn out to be something completely different.

[@williamsavage6301]

Merry Christmas

[@GreenVenus]

Happy holidays! I got an advent calendar with a mini puzzle in each day, and I'm gonna take it into work today and give one to each of the kids 😊

[@andreacarter9545]

I love the research you do for all of your videos. And what a fun challenge to not have an image to work from. Happy holiday puzzling! 🧩❤

[@ethansloan]

This seems like a very clever, and very cheap, way to get rid of some unsold backstock.

[@CesarGrossmann]

My guess: Polar bear in a snowy landscape.

[@justjane2070]

Merry Christmas and a happy new year 😀

[@staceyknoell6339]

Enjoy your break and happy holidays (whatever holidays you celebrate!)

[@SuperMatyoO]

If Kristin is the puzzle goddess, you're the puzzling content creator goddess....

[@Leonie1125]

Maybe a color mix like a gradient

[@inessantos3077]

First I thought a kitty, then I thought something hypnotic maybe it was the meme's suggestion :D

[@diannadarling699]

That was fun. Love a vintage Christmas vibe… I used to do puzzles (mostly) without the image, as practice, based on competition info from Rompecabezas movie* Now I try to use the image for practice… *which I believe was re-edited because I watched it again recently (streaming) and it seemed quite altered 🤷‍♀️

[@davidsix4553]

I like to see the whole puzzle image. The only time I haven’t had the full image was a dark Yoda on dagobah image where the poster insert was missing, and the cover had a very small partial image of the puzzle. It took me weeks to finish the 1000 piece puzzle. No mystery puzzles for me.

[@peggybgood]

I think it will be a farm house with fields and some animals.

[@N8TheGr8001]

My guess.....it is exactly what the box top shows. White with black lettering and a big black question mark. Just a big LOL from the 80s!

[@24mumblybrat]

I think my friend and I will do a puzzle swap but mystery style.

[@victor_hernandez_g]

See you next year and happy holidays!

[@anniemax239]

My guess is kittens? on a chair eather a big squishy arm chair with a blanket or a wooden kitchen chair with flowers.

[@pollockm3]

I am guessing a landscape mountain view with a cabin.

[@tracybowling1156]

I'm hoping for a squirrel bc they are my very fav! But it's probably some landscape. I'll be back after we find out what the puzzle is. Well, I was wrong. But what a pleasant surprise!

[@phaustho]

I'm guessing it's going to be some sort of psychedelic composition with dated objects and strong contrast between colour hues.

[@dfw-k6z]

Guess: some sort of sherlock-style detective character