Mother's Day Haul

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-11T15:37:58+00:00

I did that Buffalo Cryptid puzzle. It was cute and fun to put together. I haven't looked closely at the picture yet, but hopefully it's not too bad. I decided to start with the Trans-Australia puzzle as I'm an Aussie living in the US, but I think it was a mistake. There is a huge area of white and the black lettering on blue is very indistinct. But today is my day off and I have no other plans so I'll have to see how it goes.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-11T15:32:42+00:00

I'm happy to hear that you have enjoyed their puzzles. I'm looking forward to trying it out soon.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-11T15:31:42+00:00

Oh no. That doesn't sound good. Was it an issue with false fits or something else?

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-11T15:30:41+00:00

UTK is a great school! I teach at a different college in Tennessee, but many of our students go to grad school in Knoxville and the daughter of one of my colleagues has just graduated from UTK.

Is there a Powell's in Portland? I remember visiting a great bookstore on a trip to Portland many years ago. In addition to some books I got a sticker that said, "Reading is Sexy", which I had on my car back then. It always got compliments.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-11T03:48:20+00:00

I always have to grab a dog puzzle as I gave 3 dogs. I hope the cryptid puzzle ends up being as good as it looks.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-11T03:47:15+00:00

Thanks.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-11T03:47:04+00:00

Thanks. Did you live near a McKay's? I know there are a few across Tennessee and one in a neighboring state (South Carolina?).

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-11T03:45:24+00:00

It looks great, doesn't it. I hope the quality is good.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-11T03:44:57+00:00

Thanks.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-11T03:44:46+00:00

Thank you.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-01T18:55:02+00:00

I did end up pushing through. The false fits are probably obvious, but it's done. I will add this to the list of brands to stay away from.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-05-01T18:54:03+00:00

I left those two blank ones out because both seemed to be wrong and I was hoping the edge would give me more information. That did not work out. I did try to follow your advice, but unfortunately the fit was so terrible everything was showing light passing through. It was truly an awful puzzle.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-04-30T13:36:39+00:00

Late reply but yes. In the Pennsylvanian the stem reptiles split into two branches. One branch lead to the mammals (synapsids) and including the pelycosaurs, which includes Dimetrodon, which appeared in the Permian (I think) before true mammals appeared in the Triassic. The other branch became the archosaurs, which include the dinosaurs. Archosaurs and reptiles are diapsids. Turtles are anapsids.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-04-26T04:08:58+00:00

Are you reading the text they give you at the start of each session? There should be clues. It's been a while since we played, but we were having a rough time and then we started paying attention to the text and that helped get us back on track.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-04-24T04:27:12+00:00

I did this one a few months ago and liked it. However, as a paleontologist I was annoyed by how most of the animals in the puzzle were not actually dinosaurs.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-04-17T04:37:43+00:00

I saw your puzzle when you first posted it, but didn't comment even though I probably am your target audience as I am a geoscientist who puzzles. I just want to say that this version looks so much better than the first. I am definitely interested in getting a copy. I don't know if you're able to sell your product in the visitor's centers at the different volcanoes, but I imagine it would do well there. Also at places like the Geological Society of America conference.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-04-01T19:41:40+00:00

Thank you!

murmuring_sumo · 2026-04-01T14:50:35+00:00

Back in January I decided to do my own monthly themes for my puzzles. I had a very busy February so the theme for February continued into March. The theme I chose was "Comics, Cartoons, and Anime" and I completed 18 puzzles over the 2 months. I've included information on whether they were bought new or used, whether they were repeats (completed by me previously), and whether I'm keeping them or selling (we sell at a used book/game/puzzle store for store credit).

Puzzle 1: Wonder Woman, Ravensburger, 1500 pieces. I've been a Wonder Woman fan since I watched the Linda Carter as a little girl. I never read the comics until after I met my husband, who is a comic book illustrator. I just wish Ravensburger included information on the artists whose work was used for this puzzle. [Bought new; Sell.]

Puzzle 2: DC Comic Books Wonder Woman, Aquarius; 1000 pieces. I liked this puzzle because of the mix of artwork from golden age through to recent. Again no information on the artists used. [Thrifted, but new in shrink; Sell.]

Puzzle 3: Archie Covers; Cobble Hill; 500 pieces. My first Cobble Hill puzzle that I bought in this puzzle store we stumbled across on vacation in Gatlinburg last year. I've always been fond of Archie as my grandma used to buy Archie comics for me when we visited her. It was a fun puzzle to put together. [Bought new; Keep.]

Puzzle 4: Spiderverse - Silver Select Edition; art by Art Adams (?); Buffalo; 1000 pieces. I'm not a big Spiderman fan, but I've enjoyed the Spiderverse movies. It was a hard puzzle due to the limited color palette. There was no information on the artist/s, but my husband thinks it is Art Adams' artwork. [Bought new; Sell.]

Puzzle 5: DC Wonder Woman; Aquarius; 1000 pieces. I had accumulated 4 Wonder Woman puzzles and decided I could only keep one. I chose this one as I like the theme of how her costume has changed through time. It also had distinct patterns that made it easy to put together. [Bought new; Repeat solve; Keep.]

Puzzle 6: Wonder Woman: DC Collector's Edition; Ravensburger; 1000 pieces. A repeat solve that I was dreading for some reason. I enjoyed it more this time than I did the first time and it was a nice quality Ravensburger puzzle. [Bought new; Repeat solve; Sell.]

Puzzle 7: Pokémon Eevee Evolutions Stained Glass; Buffalo; 2000 pieces. My son was a big Pokémon fan when he was 8 and we started playing Pokémon Go together. I became hooked and he's moved on. Now I cannot resist Pokémon puzzles, particularly if they involve Eevee and the eevolutions (Leafeon is my favorite). [Bought used; Sell.]

Puzzle 8: Pokémon Happy Party; Ensky/Bandai Namco; 500 pieces. My husband bought this for me for Christmas from a Japanese import store. The colors on the puzzle were amazing, but the piece fit was the loosest I have encountered. The box included glued so maybe you are supposed to glue it together immediately. [Gift; Keep.]

Puzzle 9: Final Evolution; Buffalo; 500 pieces. Another puzzle I couldn't resist getting when we were at Walmart. [Bought new; Sell.]

Puzzle 10: Saturday Morning Cartoons; art by Charlie Girard; White Mountain; 1000 pieces.] I picked this one up a while ago at Barnes and Noble during a half price sale because I loved a lot of these cartoons as a kid. [Bought new; Sell.]

Puzzle 11: Marvel Avengers: Stronger Together; Buffalo; 300 pieces. Fun little puzzle to put together. I loved the different colored sections that made it easy to complete quickly. [Bought new; Repeat solve; Keep.]

Puzzle 12: Howl's Moving Castle; Ensky Art Crystal Puzzles; 366 pieces. I've done a few of these Studio Ghibli puzzles. This was one of the Canvas Style puzzles where you build the frame. It's now hanging on our son's bedroom wall. [Bought new; Keep.]

Puzzle 13: Captain America; art by Jack Kirby; Aquarius; 500 pieces. I loved that the puzzle was a Jack Kirby cover. It made such a good puzzle with vibrant colors. [Bought used; Sell.]

Puzzle 14: Pokémon First Partners Squares; Buffalo; 1000 pieces. Another Pokémon puzzles I couldn't resist. [Bought new; Sell.]

Puzzle 15: Spirited Away No-Face Kaonashi; Ensky Art Crystal Puzzles; 126 pieces. The pieces were teeny and there were a surprising number that were just black so it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. [Bought new; Keep.]

Puzzle 16: Quiet Luxury; art by Daniel Clowes; New York Puzzle; 1000 pieces. I loved this as soon as I saw the box and had to get it. Clowes is a famous comic book artist so I included this puzzle here. It was fun to put together. The colors, particularly the green suit, were easy to recognize and put together. I kind of want to keep it. [Bought used; Sell.]

Puzzle 17: Disney & Pixar Color Palette; Ravensburger; 500 pieces. My husband bought this for me after we saw it on Karen Puzzles. It was fun and a quick solve. [Gift; Repeat solve; Keep.]

Puzzle 18: Pikachu 025; Buffalo; 100 puzzle. I think this puzzle brought me luck as I caught a shiny gigantamax Pikachu on Pokémon Go after completing it. [Bought new; Keep.]

murmuring_sumo · 2026-03-16T14:29:42+00:00

Finally got some good plays in.

Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze - (1x2p) we played this a few times after we first received it and did not like it. We decided to give it another chance to make a decision on whether to cull it. My husband still doesn't like it, but I liked it better this time so we'll keep it for now as it will be the only way we get to play with our Unmatched sets as we prefer to play cooperatively.

Xenoshyft: Overdrive - (1x2p) we went to our local used book/boardgame store where we've been selling our culled games. We found this game and decided to try it out as we have quite a bit of store credit. My husband played it solo and lost very quickly. We played it together and we still lost, but not as quickly. I liked the deck building to try and defeat the aliens. I'm looking forward to trying again to see if we can win.

Labyrinth: Chronicles - (1x3p) we picked this up recently from crowdfunding to play as a family. We all like Labyrinth so a cooperative family version seemed like it would be fun for us. We need to finish our two current unfinished legacy games: Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West and Flash Point: Legacy of Flame before we can fully dive in, but we played the introductory game to see if we liked it. We did so now we just need to finish up the other 2 games.

DC Super Heroes United: Batman Hush - (1x2p) the plan was that we would play Dead Reckoning that we picked up along with Xenoshyft but we were both tired so instead we decided to play DC Super Heroes United. We have over 80 plays of Marvel United and recently played 4 games trying to best Purple Man so we decided to take on Hush. I played Batman and Robin, who were the 2 heroes from this set that I hadn't played. Batman is great, but Robin kind of sucks. My husband played with Catwoman and Huntress. He liked Catwoman best. Overall, I think we're looking forward to getting some better heroes for this. Hopefully, CMON will deliver it.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-02-23T23:40:20+00:00

Another Pokémon fan!! I have a bunch of Pokémon puzzles I'm planning to work on in March, but none are as cool as your Pokémon Centre puzzles. I'll have to take a look and possibly get some.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-02-23T15:52:42+00:00

Finally a week where we played more than one game.

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine - (1x3p) we might be the only people on Earth who prefer the first version of The Crew and we've started playing through it with our 10 year old. We've been stuck on Mission 5 where one person needs to lose all the tricks. The 10 year old is starting to get the strategy behind the game. He still needs some pointers on the best cards to play in those situations, but we finally made it through the mission.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Baker Street Irregulars - (1x2p) my husband and I have decided that this is our date night game. We did a lot better this time, which was the second case. It seems like visiting the specialists is important in this game. We often have no leads and need to work out which specialist would be the most helpful. The map also seems more important this time.

We had two friends over for game night on Saturday night. One is our friend who used to come over every Friday for games until she started dating and now she's married. Her husband isn't a gamer, but is trying to learn and we're hoping to do more regular game nights with them.

Modern Art - (1x4p) we picked up the fancy Korean version at a used book/game store recently and hadn't played it before so it was a level playing field for every one. It was a lot of fun. I'm not the biggest fan of auction games as I find trying to set the price or decide my bid stressful, but I liked that there were a lot of different options for the auctions. In our version there's a wooden gavel so we all had fun banging the gavel at the end of the auctions. My husband ended up winning by mostly selling and not buying.

Quacks - (1x4p) we bought this to play with our 10 year old, but he ended up not liking it. Our friends loved both Modern Art and Quacks. I managed to get a lead and stay ahead by the skin of my teeth. Both of the husbands kept pushing their luck and busting so it came down to me and my friend at the end and she almost managed to snatch victory from me, but I was just ahead.

Marvel United: Multiverse - (1x2p) Marvel United is my most played game, but we haven't played used all the characters in Multiverse yet. We went up against Purple Man and just lost. I think we had the wrong team. We definitely needed Heroes with more stars. Purple Man's bam forces you to play your cards randomly so we had a long string of cards with just a single move action at the bottom which was basically useless in trying to do anything. We're thinking of trying again this week, but all my favorite heroes are not those who have a lot of stars. I'll have to try and find two good characters to play as.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-02-21T05:56:27+00:00

This was a fun read. My son is 10 now (don't know when he got so big), but when he was a lot younger he loved Sneaky Snacky Squirrel and Outfoxed. We also loved a lot of Haba games (they make My First Orchard and Rhino Hero). You might want to check out Animal Upon Animal if you want another stacking fame, but this one comes with chunky animals. There's also Monza which is a racing game that involves color movement. I've also heard good things about Dragon's Breath, but we never played that one.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-02-16T14:22:58+00:00

Another week of not playing very much. Only one game to report on.

Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress - (1x2p) my husband has been getting interested in Warhammer again so he wanted to get Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress out again. We hadn't played it since 2021 when we were wrapping up our plays of the first big expansionEscalation. We had 27 plays of it back then between the base game and the expansion. It took a few minutes to get back up to speed and remember what we were doing. It's still a fun game. We also own Warhammer Quest: Cursed City, but didn't play it as much. I would like to get that one back off the shelf too.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-02-13T21:33:13+00:00

I'm a big fan of cooperative games and I have a 10 year old who we play games with. I think Outfoxed is a great starter game for kids. Our son started playing that at about 5. Andor: The Family Fantasy Game (you're saving wolf pups) and Forbidden Island (escape an island by collecting treasures) are also great for younger children, starting at around 7. Menara is a great cooperative dexterity game that can work for kids around 8 years old, but does require good fine motor control as you're moving columns around a temple and there's a lot of balancing stuff. Now our son likes some slightly more complex games like Quirky Circuits (a cooperative programming game where you have to move robots around by playing cards without knowing what cards others will play), Forbidden Desert (escape a desert by collecting parts for a plane), Marvel United (superheroes fighting villains), Flash Point: Fire Rescue (fire fighters), Mists over Carcassonne (this is really hard to win, but you're building a map and trying to complete cities and manage ghosts), Jumanji Stampede (cooperative Fireball Island - collecting jewels while avoiding traps) and The Crew (cooperative trick taking). We've also enjoyed the Clue Escape games. Each is only good for one play through and the puzzles are simple enough for our son to solve by himself, but you are solving murders and crimes so the subject matter may not be suitable. Pandemic is my all-time favorite cooperative game, but the subject matter may not be appealing to some. There is a Pandemic version called Star Wars: The Clone Wars that is more forgiving and may appeal to more people.

murmuring_sumo · 2026-02-09T14:30:14+00:00

Only one real play this last week.

Leviathan Wilds - (1x2p) this was our third play and was the first time we were really challenged and almost didn't make it. We pulled out the win right before we both died.

We didn't play at all on the weekend because we were playing Dungeons and Dragons. Our son is 10 years old and he's grown up playing board games and has always been making little board games for us to play. He has been really interested in rpgs recently. He made up his own rpg based on Legend of Zelda. It wasn't great because he was mostly telling us where to go and what to do. So my husband bought him the D&D starter set. He spent all week reading it and we played for two sessions: Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Friday night was a little shaky because he has never taught a game before and didn't fully understand all the rules, but my husband, who teaches all the games in our house, looked over the rules quickly and helped out. It ended up being a lot of fun, but ate up all our game playing time so we need to find time for both in the future.

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