On a recent Saturday morning, the gym at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta in Dunwoody felt more like a testing center than a recreational space. Rows of tables were filled with competitors sitting two-by-two, heads down, hands moving quickly but quietly as volunteers paced the aisles. The only sound was the soft shuffle of cardboard pieces clicking together. This was the Georgia Speed Puzzling Championship — and the tension was real.
An electric current charged the air as two puzzlers raced to finish first. The shuffling sound quickened and the puzzlers’ hands sped up. The volunteers and event organizers gathered around the table in anticipation of the big finish. First place went to Matthew Nettlow, who completed the 500-piece puzzle in 43 minutes and 40 seconds, with his tablemate, Jasper Lee, coming in second place at 44 minutes and 31 seconds.
For Lee, a postdoctoral fellow at Emory who lives in Decatur, speed puzzling gave him a competitive outlet when he first tried it in 2023. “I puzzled here and there for pretty much my whole life, so I figured this would be an interesting new way to explore this hobby,” he said.
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
After competing in a regional championship that year, he attended local speed puzzling events at Odd Bird, a gift shop in Decatur, where he was drawn in by the community he found. At that first championship he only competed in the solo puzzling event and at this most recent one he competed in nearly all of them.
“My pairs partner and I have known each other for a couple of years now, I’ve known everyone on my team since around then, too,” said Lee. “We all met each other a couple of years ago and stuck together ever since.”
While jigsaw puzzling has been around since the 1700s, speed puzzling is a newer phenomenon. Hallmark hosted speed puzzling competitions in the ’80s, with more formal competitions and championships sprouting up in the past decade. This particular championship at Marcus Jewish Community Center was organized by speedpuzzling.com, which began as a Facebook group after founder Jonathan Cluff caught the speed puzzling bug and wanted to share the joy.
“I started hosting in early 2020, and then COVID hit, so I took everything on Zoom,” said Cluff. In 2022, he hosted the Texas state championship — now he has organized championships in all 50 states (with a mix of Zoom and in-person). Cluff also helped found the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association which hosts its national championship in Atlanta from March 27-29.
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Most competitions comprise events for solo puzzlers, pairs and teams. The format is always the same: participants are given identical puzzles, revealed that day, and race to complete it as quickly as possible.
For the casual speed puzzlers, there are plenty of events to choose from around Atlanta. Breweries and bookstores have become landing pads for the grandma-inclusive indoor sport. Abbi Diego, owner of the recently opened Prelude Bookstore in Dunwoody, hosted both a “cozy” jigsaw puzzle night (untimed) and a speed puzzling night (timed).
“Our speed puzzle night is quiet and people have their blinders on, they’re getting the job done,” she said. “It is such a shift in vibes.”
Credit: (Courtesy of Red's Beer Garden)
Credit: (Courtesy of Red's Beer Garden)
At Red’s Beer Garden, located in Southwest Atlanta neighborhood Benteen Park, co-owner Kristen Sumpter has been pleasantly surprised by how much of a draw speed puzzling has been. She hosted the restaurant’s first one in November with another two since then and hopes to make it a monthly event.
“I would say there is a lot of anxiety in the room — tense, good anxiety because they want to be there doing it,” said Sumpter. “It’s way more popular than I was expecting.” The events start at 2 p.m., and the teams are usually filled a half hour before kicking off.
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
As to why speed puzzling is so popular, it may be the simple fact that there’s a prize — humans love rewards. “It’s like a rat race,” said Diego. “You’re going for that little bit of cheese and this little bit of acclaim at the end of finishing the puzzle.”
More than that, though, is the fact that adults don’t always have natural outlets for competition. “We’re out of soccer. A lot of people in Dunwoody play tennis, but a lot of people don’t. So this is a way to be competitive without sweating, and you can do it inside,” she added.
Credit: (Courtesy of Red's Beer Garden)
Credit: (Courtesy of Red's Beer Garden)
Back at the Georgia state championship, Sydney Turner had taken the plunge into the competition without ever trying it before. Turner, who lives in Dallas, Georgia, had puzzled with her family but never timed it. After learning about the championship online, she decided to sign up for the casual version of the solo event — that’s a 300-piece puzzle instead of 500 — and ended up placing first.
“I was more stressed than I thought I’d be. When it first started I was kind of shaking and nervous,” said recalled. “I was like, ‘It’s just puzzling, chill out.’”
Despite the nerves, she’d do it again.
For many of the puzzlers, it’s about more than just the competition. Faith Taylor, who lives in East Lake, started puzzling in 2020 and now serves on the board of the USA Jigsaw Association. While she enjoys trying to best her previous times and outdo her friends, to her, speed puzzling is really about community.
“You come here because you have this common hobby and then you’re curious about the speed, but you leave with a whole community of friends,” she said. “And that’s why we all do it.”
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