This April, Ravensburger took over a hall in Bradford for the 2026 UK Speed Puzzle Championship and unveiled five brand-new puzzles that nobody outside their Bicester design team had ever seen. Designed in secret with five UK artists, the boxes stayed sealed until 600 competitive puzzlers cracked them open on the start line. All five are now in our shop, alongside Ravensburger's parallel US Puzzle Championships range — eleven competition puzzles for 2026, and the stories behind each one.
The 2026 UK Speed Puzzle Championship
Held on the weekend of 18–19 April 2026, the UK Nationals brought more than 600 competitive puzzlers to Bradford for two days of Solos, Pairs and Teams events. Organised by the United Kingdom Jigsaw Puzzle Association and sponsored by Ravensburger, the format is simple — open the box, race the clock, first picture finished wins — but the artwork is the part that stays sealed. Ravensburger's Bicester team had spent months developing five new puzzles in collaboration with UK artists, and not a single competitor knew what was inside their boxes until the start whistle.
Katy Fletcher, Ravensburger's Head of Marketing and Product Development, put it well in the post-event press: "We're seeing such momentum behind speed puzzling as it brings people together all over the world." Speed puzzling has quietly grown from a niche hobby to a properly international circuit over the last few years — the UK Nationals feed into the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in Valladolid each September — and the championship-tied puzzles are part of how Ravensburger is investing in the scene.
The five UK championship puzzles
Each of the five was painted by a different UK artist — Angela Holland, Jim Moir, Kevin Walsh, Eleanor Tomlinson and Jane Tomlinson — and we've taken them in build-difficulty order, easiest to most absorbing.
Camping Adventures, by Angela Holland, is the most welcoming entry — a busy, sun-warmed campsite with a vintage mint-green caravan parked next to a classic orange VW campervan, tents filling the green, and a big communal picnic at the centre. Children kick a football, a rowboat is pulled up on the grass, swans drift along the river, and bunting flutters through the trees. Folk-art style, 500 pieces, difficulty 3 — a single-afternoon build with loads of small story details to find.
Bird Colour Wheel is painted by Jim Moir — better known to most as the comedian Vic Reeves, who has been a serious bird painter for years and is currently the host of Sky Arts' Painting Birds with Jim & Nancy Moir. The puzzle arranges nearly two hundred small watercolour birds — parakeets, cardinals, finches, robins, kingfishers, budgies — into a full rainbow colour wheel on a white background. A round 500-piece cut, which is unusual, and a quietly beautiful thing to frame once you're done.
The Need for Speed by Kevin Walsh is the petrolhead's puzzle — a 1930s pre-war Grand Prix pit lane painted in a richly atmospheric style. A blue MG number 38 is leaning through the corner with Bugatti-style racers either side, mechanics in white overalls are scrambling, Essolube signs are strung over the track and the grandstand crowd is up on its feet. 500 pieces, difficulty 3, and the warmest sepia palette of the lot.
Jigsaw Puzzle Competition is the meta one — a jigsaw about doing jigsaws. Designed by Eleanor Tomlinson (this is her fourth puzzle for Ravensburger; she works from her studio in rural East Yorkshire), it depicts a village hall in full competitive flow: bunting and balloons, a long table of puzzlers of all ages hunched over their boards under a banner, dogs under the table, pieces on the floor, a teddy bear cheering things on, and a clock showing nearly noon. 500 pieces. The kind of cheerful, self-aware thing that makes a great gift for any puzzle-loving friend.
I wanted to capture the enjoyment of puzzling and how this can be done as a team with friends and family of all ages. In an age of technology at our fingertips, it's a lasting traditional pastime that encourages teamwork and problem-solving. — Eleanor Tomlinson
Old Father Thames by Jane Tomlinson is the only 1000-piece in the UK five. It's a watercolour map of the Thames from its Cotswold source out to the estuary, with Old Father Thames himself appearing along the way alongside Lechlade willows, Oxford punts, Henley regatta, the towers of London and Greenwich clipper sails. Tiny notes on bridges, river length and source make it gently informative as you build. A quietly absorbing puzzle for anyone with a soft spot for British rivers or illustrated maps.
The international counterpart — US Puzzle Championships
Across the Atlantic, Ravensburger ran the same playbook for the 2026 USA Jigsaw Nationals in Atlanta this March. They sponsored the event, provided previously-unreleased puzzles for the 800-plus individual competitors and the team divisions, and then released the puzzles to the wider market shortly afterwards. Six of those puzzles are in our shop now — all 1000 pieces.
The series leans on artists Ravensburger is championing internationally. Charmed Cottage by Nathanael Mortensen is the cosiest entry, all hobbit-style blue door, fireplace and overflowing bookshelves. Indigo Forest by Redina Tili is a vivid forest scene in an almost psychedelic palette. Sacred Lake Tahoe is a clean landscape with snow-capped peaks and pine forests. Book Club by Jena Dellagrottaglia is a whimsical garden tea party with tigers, frogs and butterflies. Ocean Lounge by Dean MacAdam is a deranged underwater party with a shark DJ. And Puzzle Passion is the most ambitious of the six at difficulty 5 — a mixed-media collage anchored by a woman's portrait, surrounded by exotic birds, tropical flowers and zebras.
Which one is right for you?
For a single afternoon: any of the 500-piece UK puzzles — Camping Adventures, The Need for Speed or Jigsaw Puzzle Competition are all difficulty 3 with strong colour blocks to anchor your sort.
For something a little different on the shelf: Bird Colour Wheel, because round puzzles are a treat and the rainbow palette makes for a stunning finished frame.
For a proper weekend: Old Father Thames for British charm, or any of the US Championship range for a 1000-piecer with serious artwork.
For a challenge: Puzzle Passion at difficulty 5 — collage compositions deliberately have no large flat areas to bank on, which is exactly what makes them satisfying to finish.
Browse the full range
The full eleven-puzzle Ravensburger 2026 championship lineup lives in our Ravensburger collection. Whether you fancy the meta thrill of Jigsaw Puzzle Competition, the painterly nostalgia of The Need for Speed, a quietly beautiful round 500-piece like Bird Colour Wheel, or a 1000-piecer from the US Championships range, there's something here for every kind of solver.
Further Reading
- Ravensburger 2026 Winter Releases: Every New Puzzle in the Collection
- New Jigsaw Puzzles: Schmidt, Ravensburger & More | Week of 4-11 May 2026
- New Pre-Orders: Ravensburger's Autumn & Winter Drop
Browse more: Browse all Ravensburger puzzles
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