Jigsaw puzzles can do one of two things: provide hours of soothing entertainment when you’re fatigued from too much screen-time, or slowly but surely drive you mad as you spend hours searching for that one vital piece. Since we’ve all been advised to stay indoors to slow the spread of Covid-19 coronavirus, it’s unsurprising that people have dug their old jigsaw puzzles out of the cupboard – and immediately been reminded of how time-consuming they can be.
As if it wasn’t hard enough to put hundreds of fragmented pieces of a picture together, Japanese toy maker Beverly is churning out puzzles perfect for masochists in search of a maddeningly difficult challenge.
With a fitting name that translates as 'Pure White Hell', this jigsaw puzzle is entirely white and has 2,000 pieces. That's right – no sorting the pieces by shade to gauge which ones belong where, the best you can do is identify the outer edges first before descending into a diabolical labyrinth of so many almost identical pieces.
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If you’ve never felt properly challenged by a puzzle, this monochrome atrocity, priced at ¥3,300 (including tax), could be just the thing to keep you busy while you’re self-isolating. Not ready to take the 2,000-piece plunge? Beverly also makes the same puzzle with 1,000 and 300 pieces. The latter actually makes for a fun customisable gift as the pieces are big enough to draw or write messages on. Alternatively, you could spare yourself the stress altogether and opt for something more conventional, like this sushi puzzle – it looks lovely, and it (probably) won't drive you round the twist.
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