Become Holdson's next jigsaw puzzle designer!

All you illustrators, photographers, and painters out there, here is your chance to have your pieces of art turned into 1000 piece puzzles by Holdson, NZ's no 1 jigsaw manufacturer. Entries are now open for Holdson's first ever jigsaw puzzle design competition. If you want to become Holdson's Next Jigsaw Puzzle Designer you have until Friday 5 May 2012. Entrants who submit a design have the chance to win their original artwork produced into a new set of 1000pc puzzles and sold nationwide. See the Terms and Conmditions here

What makes a great jigsaw puzzle design I hear you say - Lots of shapes and features Not too cluttered, but interesting to look at A large focal point image - eg: main object or character If possible, good foreground, middleground and background detail Bright and a spectrum of colours over the whole design - it should not be dominated by a single colour Fun to do - if possible include humour or tell a story in your drawing Vital parts of the picture should remain within 2cm of the edge... just in case of minor cropping. and Pathway Puzzles knows from experience we can't get enough jigsaws of Kiwiana - famous landmarks, pohutikawa, kowhai, even Marmite!! What an amazing opportunity! Remember, entries close Friday 5 May.

Ravensburger's 3 D jigsaws

When was the last time someone rewarded you for completing a puzzle? At the 2012 Toy Fair Ravensburger displayed their new interactive jigsaws. The most interactive was the aquarium scene. Entitled "Colorful Underwater World," This puzzle contains a fun look-and-find game. You just have to assemble the 1,000 piece puzzle in order to play it. Once you've finished the puzzle, you can view the aquarium scene through your smart phone, or Ipad,

and the game will begin. The AR app places animated fish in front of the camera's image, challenging you to find the matching fish in the puzzle's artwork and tap the screen where it is shown. As long as you can keep matching and tapping fish, you continue to rack up points. Read more about this new dimension in jigsaws here