Something Is Taking Over Breweries Across The Twin Cities

And why it’s what you would least expect

By Gabriel Matias Castilho

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “brewery”? Beer? Friends? What about speed puzzling?

Since February, select breweries around the Twin Cities have hosted the Jigsaw Puzzle Competition, where groups of two or four people challenge other groups on who can complete a jigsaw puzzle the fastest. The event is held by none other than Sarah Schuler—nicknamed as Sarah Does Puzzles—who is currently ranked number 13 nationally in speed puzzling. At least once every week Sarah hosts a casual speed puzzling competition, and they almost always get sold out immediately.

But there is nothing casual about this event, as teams employ complex techniques in the struggle to finish first. On March 3, the day I visited the event, Julia Salzman and Laura West, two middle-aged moms who met through their daughters, finished their puzzle first. They separated the 300-piece puzzle into separate little “projects”. Other competitors employed different techniques, such as using sorting trays to separate the pieces by color. Amanda Rice and Sarah Thor, who competed together for the second time on that day, employed this technique, ending in third place.

Techniques aside, this event is a real deep dive into the world of speed puzzling. As for myself, I have always had a history with jigsaw puzzles—my uncle has a collection of more than five 3000-piece puzzles hanging on the walls of his house. As a result, I knew I was super excited to visit the event, but I had no idea that there was a competitive world of speed puzzling, or even an association that backs it like the Jigsaw Puzzle Association. I was so lucky to have learned about it from the association’s number-one herself, Lauren Sheridan, who was there and was helping Sarah with the event.

Hopefully more people can discover more about this sport that Sarah loves so much; it will make completing puzzles a less puzzling idea!

To get to know more about the event, scan the QR code below!