(5.0) "La Vicaria": Progress No. 12: Completed
Hooray!! Completed in 68 hrs., 55 mins. with no box reference. 85.22% freehand. 49.6 secs./piece. Difficulty rating: 5.0/10.
I am at a loss for words at this point: both relieved and deflated at having this beast out of my life. Of course I love the art work and feel privileged to have had a crack at such a rare puzzle. But it wasn't an easy road .. the combination of an irregular cut, similar knob shapes, dark features throughout, a somewhat light and dull print and many shadowy details which I was having to put together with no clear map, made this one of my toughest challenges yet.
The "85.22% freehand" stat refers to how far into the puzzle I got before switching over to a shape-based approach in which a specific piece is searched for a specific spot. Most of the puzzles I have completed, even the huge ones, have been completed without using this method. It depends on how many monotonous colored pieces there are at the end, how dark those pieces are, how difficult the cut is, how hurried I am feeling, etc. To some degree it's a short cut, I think, but not really cheating. Maybe a compromise would be the best word for it. My thoughts on this method will continue to evolve.
I want to thank Piecefull for helping me acquire this puzzle. She was hiking though northern England with a group when, stopping in a village in the Lake District, she happened upon a shop called Barney's Newsbox, which was jam-packed with puzzles. She spotted this one among the crowd, but didn't have time to inquire further. She instead shared her find with me, encouraging me to chase after it. After some trial and error in contacting the staff I managed to link up and the rest, as they say, is puzzle history. It's extra special to acquire a rare puzzle like this one with the help of a friend.
(5.0) "La Vicaria": Progress No. 12: Completed
Hooray!! Completed in 68 hrs., 55 mins. with no box reference. 85.22% freehand. 49.6 secs./piece. Difficulty rating: 5.0/10.
I am at a loss for words at this point: both relieved and deflated at having this beast out of my life. Of course I love the art work and feel privileged to have had a crack at such a rare puzzle. But it wasn't an easy road .. the combination of an irregular cut, similar knob shapes, dark features throughout, a somewhat light and dull print and many shadowy details which I was having to put together with no clear map, made this one of my toughest challenges yet.
The "85.22% freehand" stat refers to how far into the puzzle I got before switching over to a shape-based approach in which a specific piece is searched for a specific spot. Most of the puzzles I have completed, even the huge ones, have been completed without using this method. It depends on how many monotonous colored pieces there are at the end, how dark those pieces are, how difficult the cut is, how hurried I am feeling, etc. To some degree it's a short cut, I think, but not really cheating. Maybe a compromise would be the best word for it. My thoughts on this method will continue to evolve.
I want to thank Piecefull for helping me acquire this puzzle. She was hiking though northern England with a group when, stopping in a village in the Lake District, she happened upon a shop called Barney's Newsbox, which was jam-packed with puzzles. She spotted this one among the crowd, but didn't have time to inquire further. She instead shared her find with me, encouraging me to chase after it. After some trial and error in contacting the staff I managed to link up and the rest, as they say, is puzzle history. It's extra special to acquire a rare puzzle like this one with the help of a friend.