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Christie jigsaws

Monkfish 21 Nov 09 at 6:17 p.m. GMT

I stumbled on some Christie jigsaws while wandering round the shops. 'Poirot's Christmas', 'Death on the Nile', and 'The Veiled Lady'. I bought the lot (they're only a fiver each at The Works). They're 1000 pieces each, and you don't get a picture of the completed puzzle, just  a short story to read, and you're supposed to figure out whodunnit using the story plus the completed puzzle. I already know that anyway, but never mind..........

Nearly finished 'Poirot's Christmas', and it's been a right struggle. I'm a newcomer to jigsaws, and maybe this wasn't the right one to start off with, lol. I am enjoying it, though. A few glasses of wine, and some background music, and the time doesn't half fly. Just hope there are no pieces missing!

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12 replies

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NightRayDuck 06 Jun 11 at 6:35 p.m. GMT

here, also, mada12 posted a copy of a very early reply in this thread, and then a link. spam?

Monkfish 07 Dec 09 at 6:47 p.m. GMT

Cheers, GK. Doesn't sound promising........

I think I might try one of the 2000 piece non-Christie puzzles next. That should keep me going for a while.

GKCfan 06 Dec 09 at 7:58 p.m. GMT

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In America, there were several 1,000 piece puzzles (Double Clue, Incredible Theft, Murder in the Mews, Theft of the Royal Ruby, and The Underdog).  I did not do any of these.  There were also four 323 piece puzzles (Case of the Caretaker, How Does Your Garden Grow, Plymouth Express, and Million Dollar Bond Robbery).  Million Dollar was also made into a 600 piece version.  Each of the 323 piece puzzles contained a short booklet with the entire short story, and a warning towards the end telling the reader to stop and assemble the puzzle.  There was also a "bonus" story in the pamphlet, complete and unabridged.  I did Garden and Plymouth, and it's nearly impossible to solve the puzzle if you don't know the answer.  In Garden, the stylized artwork makes it difficult to tell the vital clue– the oyster shells in the garden look like some bizarre form of cabbage.  As for Plymouth, about the only clue is an oversized copy of magazine with a woman in a blue dress on the cover.  

Most of these puzzles were released in the late 1990's and I think they're out of print.  You might be able to order some online from specialty stores or secondhand.

Monkfish 06 Dec 09 at 10:06 a.m. GMT

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You're absolutely right! If I had no prior knowledge of these mysteries, and only had the pamphlets included with the jigsaws for clues, I wouldn't have much chance of figuring it all out. I can imagine these jigsaws being bought as Christmas presents for kids, and their brains will explode or something!

I re-read 'The Veiled Lady' last night. Not much of a story, is it? The only real clue Poirot has are the cheap shoes she's wearing. This puzzle should be very interesting!

Not sure which jigsaws I'll buy next. I've thrown myself in at the proverbial deep end with these three (no picture of the completed puzzle for guidance).

Btw, which short stories were adapted to jigsaw form in the USA? I wonder if I might be able to buy them here in the UK.........

GKCfan 06 Dec 09 at 12:45 a.m. GMT

Thanks for your response!  It should be easier to abridge "Veiled Lady" into eight pages.  From what I remember of the story though, it's hard for me to think of what they'll put in the finished picture.  In the 300-piece puzzles based on short stories,they had some pretty painted pictures, but you had to be practically psychic to draw the solution from them if you didn't already know the culprit.

Monkfish 05 Dec 09 at 8:05 p.m. GMT

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It's supposed to be Sugden, and you're supposed to notice a similarity between him and the photo of Simeon when he was younger. I think the purple object is supposed to be the deflated balloon. It doesn't actually explain any of this in the mirror type solution, though.

As for Death on the Nile, I haven't read any of the booklet included with it. It's supposed to be the salon, though. You can see the bullet hole near the bottom of the picture (ie The bullet that was supposed to be in his leg), and the small bottle of nail varnish or whatever it was that he used to fake the wound. There's the open window he flung the gun out of, too. Not really very satisfactory is it?!

Now I only have 'The Veiled Lady' left to assemble. I'll have to re-read that story, because I can't remember anything about it. It's only eight pages, though.

Despite their shortcomings, I hope Paul Lamond Games produce some more of these Christie puzzles.

GKCfan 05 Dec 09 at 7:46 p.m. GMT

Nice job on those puzzles!  Is the man on the right of the Christmas picture supposed to be Poirot or Sugden?  As for the Nile puzzle, is the picture supposed to be of the salon where Simon was shot, or of Linnet's cabin?  Did the heavy abridgment cut out the two later murders and most of the suspects?

Monkfish 05 Dec 09 at 12:35 p.m. GMT

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Here's the completed Death on the Nile jigsaw

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/8827/dotn40.jpg

It was much easier to complete than the previous one, but I don't think it looks as good.

Monkfish 23 Nov 09 at 10:09 a.m. GMT

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Here's a pic. of the completed puzzle, anyway...........

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/2706/poirotsxmas240.jpg

The large dark sections took some finishing off.

GKCfan 22 Nov 09 at 7:30 p.m. GMT

Thanks for answering my question!  I didn't think that they'd include the whole book, but I didn't think they'd condense it THAT much!

Monkfish 22 Nov 09 at 10:08 a.m. GMT

Hello, Chesterton fan. Poirot's Christmas is basically a summary of the novel, consisting of only four pages. The solution is also provided, in mirror type. I'm not bothered about that, though. I just wanted the jigsaw itself. I've completed it now. I could post a picture, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone else!

GKCfan 21 Nov 09 at 7:37 p.m. GMT

Does the jigsaw come with the entire book or just an abridged version?  In America, four short stories were turned into little puzzles as well, and they came with little booklets containing the entire short story (marked where the reader should stop) and one bonus story.