What Is a Wasgij Puzzle? How It Works and What the Name Means

Wasgij is "jigsaw" spelt backwards, and that is the whole idea: the picture on the box is not the picture you build. It is pronounced "woz-gidge". The box shows a busy cartoon scene, and the puzzle inside shows a different one that you have to work out from the clues. Made by Jumbo, the first Wasgij came out in 1997.

Our short film: what a Wasgij box is really showing you, in under a minute.

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How does a Wasgij puzzle work?

You look at the box, read the clue printed on it, and imagine the scene you are actually going to build. There is no picture of the finished puzzle to copy, so you sort by colour, faces and edges, and the real scene appears as you go. Most people find them harder than an ordinary puzzle of the same piece count, and funnier.

There are four kinds of Wasgij in the current range, and each one asks you to imagine something different.

Wasgij Original

Pick out the character on the box that the clue points to, and put yourself in their shoes. The puzzle is what that character can see. Usually everyone on the box is staring at something off the edge of the picture: you build the thing they are staring at.

An example: the box of Wasgij Original The Bake Off! shows a baking contest at a village fete. The clue points you to the judge, so the puzzle is the scene from where the judge is standing.

Wasgij Destiny

The time travelling one. The box shows a scene from years ago, and the puzzle shows the same place and the same characters as they would be today.

Wasgij Mystery

The box shows the moment before something happens. The puzzle shows what happens next, a few minutes later.

An example: the box of Wasgij Mystery Efteling, World of Wonders! shows a busy day at the Dutch fairytale theme park: a jester, a rollercoaster and a crowd of families. What you build is whatever happens to them next.

Wasgij Christmas

A festive scene that works like Wasgij Original: you build what the characters on the box are looking at. A new one comes out each year.

The two that are no longer made

Wasgij Imagine asked what the scene on the box would look like if imagination turned into reality. Wasgij Back to worked the opposite way round to Destiny: you built the scene as it would have looked in years gone by.

Where to start

If you have never done one, start with a Wasgij Original: the "what are they looking at?" idea is the easiest to get your head around. Our guide to Wasgij Mystery, Original and Destiny goes through the differences in more detail.

Browse every Wasgij puzzle we stock