EJJ Formats
50+ Club Competition (minutes, not age!)
You can enter a 50+ Club competition if you have NOT yet solved six 500 piece puzzles on the FIRST ATTEMPT in less than 50 minutes. This includes first attempts on all 500-piece puzzles, and not just those done during an EJJ competition.
If you have already solved SIX or more 500 piece puzzles on a FIRST ATTEMPT in less than 50 minutes, then you are part of the “sub-50 club” and this competition is not for you. Here we are giving the rising stars of the speed puzzling community the opportunity to compete against each other.
Sub-50 Club Competition (minutes, not age!)
If you have solved SIX or more 500 piece puzzles on a FIRST ATTEMPT in less than 50 minutes, then this competition is for you. For experienced puzzlers only! This includes first attempts on all 500-piece puzzles, and not just those done during an EJJ competition.
When you manage to complete six first attempts under 50 minutes, then you have officially "graduated" from the 50 Club into the Sub-50 Club. You may continue to participate in the 50+ Club for as many puzzles that you have in your possession for this group, however you are not eligible to purchase 50+ Club puzzles at the next launch date.
Double Trouble - Solo
The individual receives 2 x 500 piece puzzles and must decide which one they will solve based on their skills and which puzzle they think will be faster. This format was inspired by the preliminary rounds of the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in 2025, where participants would receive two puzzles to choose from.
Time limit: two hours.
Flex & Live Combi
Some events have the same EJJ # number but are split over two days. This is typically with Unreleased puzzles or an Unboxed event.
For an Unreleased image, those in the 50+ Club can do it as Flex one or two days before the livestream, and then the fastest puzzlers - Sub-50 Club - will solve the puzzle on the livestream.
It is extremely important that no Flex participants share photos or videos of the puzzle until after the Live event, likewise no times for the puzzle should be logged on myspeedpuzzling.com. This is to ensure that the Sub-50 Club participants have a fair chance of a first attempt without any spoilers and no one has the joy of a surprise taken away from them.
For an Unboxed event with a Flex & Live Combi, the unboxed version is reserved for the livestream, while those who do not wish to have the unboxed challenge can do it as a Flex. Everyone who chooses Flex will be able to solve the puzzle using the reference image, whereas with the Unboxed version the puzzle pieces and box image have been packaged separately and the participants will not know the image they are assembling.
As with the Unreleased images, It is extremely important that no Flex participants share photos or videos of the puzzle until after the Live event, likewise no times for the puzzle should be logged on myspeedpuzzling.com until the live event is over.
The time limit for flex and live competitions is two hours.
Pairs Mini-Marathon
Pairs receive 4 x 500 piece puzzles and need to assemble ALL of them. All puzzles will be unwrapped at the beginning and the participants may choose the order in which they solve them. When the images are revealed, there will be a codename given for each puzzle e.g. cat, dog, sunset, flowers.
When the pair finish a puzzle they must write the codename in the chat of the Google Meet, which allows the host to know they are finished with a puzzle and they can be put on-screen during the livestream. Before each pair removes the puzzle from the table - e.g. puzzle pick-up and place on another table, transfer to a puzzle board or crumble the pieces and put back in the box - they need to take a photo of their finished image as a record. Participants may be asked to share their photos with the host in case there is any discrepancy.
When the pair have finished ALL four puzzles they hit the “done” button on the timer website where they have been registered. This will confirm their final time and ranking. Instructions for using the timer website are sent out to the participants a few days before the event.
Party
A party is a special online event where the puzzle competition is secondary! This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the puzzle community and to use your creativity to express yourself!
The themes for the first two parties were “anniversary” (celebrating one year or EJJs) and “Pre-World’s” (looking forward to the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship 2025). Both parties were a blast, full of humour, colour and good vibes.
Prizes are awarded to best dressed, best use of EJJ wrapping paper, best mascot/s, best table or room setup, etc.
Twice as Nice
Participants receive 2 x 500 piece puzzles and need to assemble both of them. The images will be strongly contrasted and require different skills and strategies. Examples are:
Landscape photo + busy illustration
Gradient + comic illustration
Animal photo + city scene
The time limit is 3.5 hours to complete both puzzles e.g. 1 hour and 45 minutes per puzzle.
Unboxed
‘Unboxed’ refers to assembling a puzzle without the box lid or reference image, so doing it ‘blind’ and having to puzzle intuitively rather than checking the box for clues.
For an Unboxed event with a Flex & Live Combi, the unboxed version is reserved for the livestream, while those who do not wish to have the unboxed challenge can do it as a Flex. Everyone who chooses Flex will be able to solve the puzzle using the reference image, whereas with the Unboxed version the puzzle pieces and box image have been packaged separately and the participants will not know the image they are assembling.
As with the Unreleased images, It is extremely important that no Flex participants share photos or videos of the puzzle until after the Live event, likewise no times for the puzzle should be logged on myspeedpuzzling.com.
Unreleased
Unreleased puzzles are new images that have not yet been released to the market and remain a secret. This means they are not visible online or in product catalogues until after the released date. The participants solving these puzzles are the first to see these images and the livestream is the public launch of the image.
After the launch of the Unreleased puzzle during the EJJ Live, the puzzle will then be available to purchase from the Speedpuzzle.eu website.