The Global Puzzle

by JENNY R on 2009-09-18
We are a family that LOVES puzzles, so this was just another fun challenge for the 4 of us. My 9yo enjoyed it, but my 7yo was a bit bored after he finished putting South America together. As parents, we learnt a whole lot about Georaphy, I'll admit! It was tricky keeping the non-interlocking country bits together, while we figured out where the ocean pieces fitted in. We played the Geography songs CD in the background while building. It was quite addictive and we finished it in 2 sittings. Much enjoyed.

by ROBIN E. W on 2009-08-25
We just did the for the first time this morning, spending about 2 or 3 hours straight on it to complete it. I had originally purchased it 3 years ago, but it was too hard for us then. The dexterity needed made it a good project for my 12 year old, 10 year old, and me working together. It was somewhat fun, and would be much more fun for a family the loves puzzles (we think they are okay). I'm glad we finally got around to putting it together, and we'll do it again I'm sure, but I know of better ways to learn world geography.

by KERRY H on 2009-06-19
I was a bit disappointed. I thought the entire puzzle would be bigger and that each country would have its own piece. Some pieces are incredibly small. I find the facts on the ocean pieces way too busy and useless banter. Due to countries not interlocking, the areas you've already put together move around a lot. They recommend you put the ocean together first, however there is so much ocean - realistic yes, but if pieces of ocean were bigger, you could get to the meat of the puzzle faster..the countries! My 10 year old is not interested in helping with it. Improvements could be made. This company also makes continent puzzles. I would hope the pieces would be bigger, more visible in those. Good idea, needs improvement.

by ANNE-MARIE G on 2008-10-02
Pros: You do learn a lot of names and places from doing this puzzle (I discovered that a country I thought was in Asia is actually in South America!). The country facts in the ocean save you from endless expanses of plain blue. Neutral: Some very small countries share a puzzle piece and some large countries are spread across more than one piece. This doesn't bother me. Con: Because the country pieces follow national borders, they don't interlock. This makes it very hard to keep the pieces in place once you have fitted them. The problem is exacerbated by the little shards created at the corners of some pieces by the cutting process; they snag on adjacent pieces and displace them. Not only do you have to keep readjusting the pieces, but the shape of the remaining space is often wrong. My 12yo finds it extremely frustrating and my 9yo wouldn't even attempt it. Overall: Pleasingly educational, but not as much fun as anticipated. Not recommended for young children or the impatient.

by STEPHANIE R on 2008-09-08
Every country does not have its own puzzle piece, (sometimes more than one country is on a piece) in spite of how the description is written. It's a good puzzle, just not as good as it sounds.