RavensburgerKrypt Silver 654 Piece Challenge Jigsaw Puzzle for Adults - 12000071 - Handcrafted Tooling, Made in Germany, Every Piece Fits Together PerfectlyThe Forest Stewardship Council

This was without a doubt the best puzzle purchase I have ever made. At first I thought to myself "What have I done" when I opened the box and the reality of a totally blank puzzle hit me. But the more I studied the problem, the more I began to realize that even though there was no picture to go by, the included chart served the same purpose. It just takes a slightly different approach than one would take with a "Normal" jigsaw puzzle. Here is the approach I used to turn the working of this puzzle around from total frustration to total satisfaction and enjoyment.First I separated all the side pieces as most of us normally do, but I just put them aside until later. This removed a lot of bulk and confusion from the process at hand. Next, since there were no colors involved except the nice silver coating of the puzzle pieces, I sorted the pieces by size, making five or six piles ranging from the smallest to the largest pieces. That's because the bulk of the puzzle is made up of a large spiral with the size of the pieces gradually increasing from the center of the spiral to the outer edge. Finally I made an enlarged copy of the included chart. I enlarged it to almost 200% which made the pieces on the diagram nearly the same size as those in the box. Now I was set.Some say that using the chart as a guide is cheating, but that is like saying that looking at the picture on the box top of any other puzzle is cheating, so I say phooey on the cheating comment.With chart in hand, and a few of the smallest pieces on the table, I was set for a couple of days/weeks/months(?) of puzzle working enjoyment at its finest. I wound up completing the puzzle in just over a week. The action seems to really speed up as you approach the outer edges and install the side pieces. Then it is time for a drum roll!Technical comments: Ravensburger at their finest. The quality of this puzzle is supurb. All of the pieces are cleanly cut, and when a piece fits, it fits with a reassuring click into place. There is seldom any guesswork about whether or not you placed the right piece, even when there is no color to go by. Dust in the box was nonexistent. The covering of the pieces is beautifully textured and just spells quality. I would also point out that unlike many jigsaw puzzles on the market today, this one does not have a jungle of bizzare looking shapes to search through for the right piece. Five or six basic puzzle shapes are complemented by just a handfull of odd shaped pieces necessary to make the spiral fit. The pieces go in either vertically or horizontally in relation to each other, rather than looking like something that has been tossed on a wall.Yes I would recommend this puzzle to anyone over the age of 12. Younger than that may have a bit of a time with it.

Ravensburger makes some of the best quality puzzles around, and the Krypt Silver 654 is no exception. The pieces are thick and lock together nicely. I thoroughly enjoyed building the puzzle which I found was easier than the Gold Krypt, but took around the same amount of time (a few days). Overall the puzzle was well worth the money spend. Below are 5 quick hints/observations that you may find useful.1. Ravensburger includes a black and white picture of the finished puzzle that you can use as a key. I recommend using it! I’m not sure if I could of completed it without going crazy without using the key.2. Since there is no picture, I would recommend sorting the pieces by number of holes/tabs, boarders, sizes, etc. as you take them out of the box. This will help reduce the number of possible “trys” you will need to attempt per piece. Sorting the pieces as you take them out of the box also keeps the puzzle dust in the bag instead of all over your work surface.3. If you plan on buying a frame for the puzzle, it measures 19 ¾ x 27 ¾, a 20x28 frame works nicely.4. The puzzle is well made and tight fitted, if you find a piece that works but just a little off, it is not the right piece!. I read some other reviews where people had to trim some pieces, this should not be the case.5. If you intend to use sticky sheets (this is what I use) to keep your puzzle together, I found that it was easy to flip your puzzle over if you build it on a scrap piece of drywall. Use another scrap piece when completed to put on top and then flip it over. Some people recommend sandwiching your puzzle between two pieces of cardboard, but I found that drywall was much easier since cardboard tends to bend and flex.

The reviews of this puzzle are varied in terms of difficulty. Myself, I was able to complete the puzzle over a 4 day span in about 20 hours without opening the cheat sheet or looking at the picture on the back. This was much faster than I was expecting based on the reviews. Regardless, the build is very enjoyable.Read on to gauge how long it will take you to complete. Though, these will almost come as spoilers to the solution...First, the color is irrelevant. I'm not a fan of solid color puzzles as they seem a gimmick for the sake of being difficult. This puzzle, however, the shapes are absolutely the picture in themselves; no color is needed. I'm reminded of the iconic Death Star or a crater on the Moon, if you're groping for a visual of what this looks like.Second, the designers provide very easy to follow hints based on the shapes of the pieces:* The center of the puzzle is a swirl, gaining in width each row from the center* There are oddly angled pieces that connect the swirl to the normal shaped pieces* The corners are 4x4 units with 1x2 pieces attached and forming part of the puzzle edge. The corners are symmetric* There are 1.25x and 1.5x width pieces, also indicated by the edge pieces* Finally, the middle of the sides of the puzzle each contain a 1.75x width piece with two tabs or slots. There are only 12 pieces to put together here, 6 on either side, and these will get you to the edge of the swirlThird, the edge pieces guide the builder as to which type of piece to use. The top and bottom of the swirl begin on the edges. The 1.25x and 1.5x edge pieces also guide you from the edge to the swirl.When you understand how these pieces come together all you need to do is sort the pieces appropriately. Only about 10-20% of the puzzle will fit in each section of the puzzle: corners, swirl edge, the inner half of the swirl, and the outer half of the swirl. This keeps the build pace somewhere between "too easy" and "brute force". Really, a very good balance between the two.I would compare this in difficulty to other Ravensburger puzzles in the 1000 or 1500 piece range. But far more enjoyable and satisfying when completed. This is just a very well designed puzzle. If Ravensburger made another version with a different shape I would definitely puchase it!