Note: Please be aware that this post contains SPOILERS for Crystal Caves and Magic Puzzle Co puzzles in general. If you have never worked on a Magic Puzzle Co. puzzle and would like to remain in the dark about their main gimmick, you might want to skip this post.

The Magic Puzzle Company has been around for a while now, but I finally managed to get a hold of one of their puzzles when I was thrifting a few weeks ago. I was very excited to have found a copy so cheaply (just $5!) and that the previous owner had repackaged it so I could experience it as though it was purchased new. Not only that, but it was the exact design I wanted to do the most: The Crystal Caves!

Given that Magic Puzzle Co. (MPC) puzzles have been around for a few years and that I’m active on Instagram and within the Puzzlegram community, I was pretty sure I already knew what the magic gimmick was. When I looked at the box as I was leaving the thrift store, a small section of text kind of confirmed it for me. I’m pleased to say that while I was right in some aspects, the overall feature was larger and more complex than I had initially guessed.

Packaging

The puzzle is packaged in a nice, sturdy, and beautiful box. The main image of the puzzle is wrapped fully around the box, so you only see a portion of the puzzle on the outside. The gorgeous colors and nice illustration make for a pretty package overall. Inside, the puzzle come packaged within two envelopes. The first and larger of the two envelopes contains the main portion of the puzzle and is the part that you are to work on first. The second envelope has writing on it stating that you should only open the second envelope once the pieces of the first envelope have been assembled. It also comes with two large glossy prints of the puzzle design. They include two so that if you work on it with another person, they have a copy to look at as well. In addition, there is a small card listing over 50 things to keep an eye out for—an ‘I spy’, if you will.

Just a reminder that this post contains SPOILERS for Magic Puzzle Company puzzles. Please do not continue reading if you don’t want to know what the gimmick is.

Initial thoughts

I started this puzzle on a Friday when my husband was home, and I have to say, initially, I was a little overwhelmed. If you’ve worked on an MPC puzzle before, you’ll know that there are a lot of edges and the artwork is quite busy. I’m the type that likes to complete the edges first, and when I work on puzzles for my videos, I like to fully sort them before I begin. Normally, I sort out the edges first and then by color or texture, which is how I initially started sorting. Within minutes, I realized just how many edge pieces there were, and since the illustration style is so busy and the colors repeat over many different parts of the puzzle, sorting was a mess. I quickly gave up sorting by edge and just tried to sort by color as best I could. My husband started with the blues right away while I was organizing the pieces.

As we started building and sorting, we had fun pointing out the different features we discovered. Some pieces were cut into special shapes to highlight small parts of the illustration. I loved how there were mushroom-shaped pieces among the part of the image that had mushroom houses, and some of the gem people were on pieces shaped like gems. Early on in the puzzle, we were a little overwhelmed by just how many edge pieces there were. I had already suspected this was the main gimmick, so this didn’t surprise me too much, but it felt like there were more edge pieces than you would need. It made me wonder if we were making lots of little sections that fit together, instead of my initial thought of three main pieces. My initial thought did end up being correct, but it didn’t feel that way as we started.

You do end up making three different sections of the puzzle: one larger piece on the top of the puzzle and then two additional pieces that are split vertically on the bottom. These sections are neat in that they aren’t just rectangular sections but almost triangular. While the edges are smooth, there are some peaks in the middle section. It was actually those peaks that made me think we might be building far more sections than the four that it ended up being.

If I could do it again, I would definitely finish sorting by edge and complete those sections first. The Crystal Caves is one of the busier illustrations that MPC uses on their puzzles, so I think sorting by color would be easier with some of their other puzzle designs. Given that this was our first time and we didn’t know what to expect, we just kind of jumped in, but now that I’m familiar with the primary gimmick, I think future puzzles by MPC will be easier to build.

After that first day, my husband left for a conference, so I was left to complete the puzzle on my own. I’m happy to say that it only took me a single afternoon to finish up that first part of the puzzle, but I did leave the final envelope and the reveal of the magic to the next day.

Quality

In terms of quality, I was initially really pleased with the feel of the pieces and the smooth, almost matte finish. The piece material is paper-based, and it is actually not as thin as a lot of paper-based puzzles tend to be. Every once in a while, a piece would be a little difficult to pick up, but for the most part, the pieces were nice to handle. The artwork is stunningly sharp and vibrant. The colors are really quite beautiful, especially when the pieces are all mixed up and you can see the blue of the backer. The backing has a repeating pattern with the company logo.

My main issue with the quality is the loose fit. The pieces just would not stay together if you picked up small (or large) sections. Given that the main gimmick is moving sections of the puzzle, I would expect them to prioritize a piece fit that would stay together when moved. If you want the pieces to stay together, you need to slide them along in sections. This could be a real issue for people who are building on a puzzle mat or on a surface that is not completely smooth. As an example, I’m thinking of my upstairs coffee table, which routinely catches the edge of pieces when we try to move them. This would have been a nightmare to build on that table.

Artwork

Let’s talk about the art and how it relates to the quality. I want to preface this by saying that I think the artwork is brilliant. Zero issues with the art. The artwork is incredibly clever in that the artist draws the image so that once the sections move, the art will line up perfectly in the new location to create a new scene. This is a brilliant aspect of the puzzle, but it means that if you do not build the edge first (like my husband and myself) and you don’t look at the image (again, like us), you are very likely to line up some sections wrong initially and need to move them into the correct place later. This led to us being rather frustrated when we had to move a collection of pieces from one side of the puzzle to the other, as we found that they would fall apart when picked up, and sliding them across a busy piece-covered table was a pain. Is it enough of a frustration that it would stop me from doing one again? Absolutely not. I’m just surprised that a company has a product whose main feature is something that the product actually can’t do all that well. I’m pleased at least that the end result is so good that it makes one look past the issues with the piece fit.

Speaking of the artwork, the artist Odsanyu did an incredible job. This particular puzzle was really fun to look at. The scene comprises a side view of mostly underground caves and a network of tunnels. The caves are filled with different scenes of living spaces, pools, mythical and weird creatures, and the dwellings of a few unique species (gem people, mushroom people, and, for lack of a better description, tiny little gnome like humanoids). As you look upon the scene, you begin to realize that there is a conflict of some sort between the different species. In one cavern, the gem people have imprisoned a mushroom person, and they have posted signs indicating they don’t want mushroom people around. It’s super fun to look at and wonderfully detailed. Every time I look at it, I see something new that I never noticed before. It’s fantastically colorful, including the areas surrounding the caves and caverns which creates a gorgeous rainbow gradient of bright pinks, greens, purples and yellows. The whole puzzle was stunning to look at and put together.

The *Magic* Ending

I can’t write about this puzzle without telling you about the magic ending. When you finish putting together all of the pieces from the first envelope, you get to open a second envelope. This envelope actually contains another envelope which has printing on it that informs you that you really do need to have completed the first part in order to continue. After opening this envelope…you have another envelope and a card. The card has a pictogram showing you how to rearrange the large puzzle segments, essentially switching the location of the two lower sections. Once switched, an empty diamond-shaped gap is left directly in the middle of the puzzle. Upon opening the final envelope, you gain access to the final puzzle pieces, which, when put together, form a secret scene. Looking at the now completed puzzle, you will realize that the final section shows a coming together between the mushroom people and the gem people as they occupy the same cavern, which is filled with gems, treasure, and beautiful pools of water. Further examination shows that by switching the two main sections, the animosity in some of the caverns has been altered so that the general vibe of the entire puzzle is more friendly in nature. I was thoroughly charmed by this magic and how well they executed it.

Completing the Crystal Caves puzzle was a fantastic journey from start to finish. The blend of beautiful artwork and the innovative final reveal kept me engaged and excited throughout the process. While the fit of the pieces could be improved, it didn’t diminish the overall enjoyment. If you’re looking for a puzzle with a twist, I highly recommend giving Magic Puzzle Co. a try. What are your thoughts on puzzles with gimmicks? Share your experiences below!

Details & Links

Note: I am an Amazon associate and some of the links below will provide me a commission if you purchase after clicking them.

Want to put together this puzzle?

Buy The Crystal Caves Here

Additional puzzles by The Magic Puzzle Co.

The Mystic Maze
The Secret Soup
The Puzzled Patron
The Gnomes Homes
Big Rock City

Brand: Magic Puzzle Co.
Title: The Crystal Caves
Pieces: 1000
Artist: ODSANYU