Cheers for National Puzzle Day, fellow puzzle lovers! Puzzles are the perfect activity year-round, but once a year, you can really let your puzzle flag fly and shout it from the rooftops: I LOVE PUZZLES! This is also a fun holiday to celebrate amongst your partner if you both enjoy doing puzzles together, with the kiddos, friends, or even volunteering at a retirement home.
We’re not here just to tell you when National Puzzle Day is (January 29th) but also to give you some awesome National Puzzle Day activities, playlists, facts, quotes, and puzzle fun.
Let’s take away the labels of puzzles being strictly an ‘elderly’ activity and say it once and for all: puzzles are for everyone!
Want to make your year one to remember? Mark your calendar with even more obscure holidays!
In this article
What Day is National Puzzle Day?
National Puzzle Day is celebrated annually on January 29th; a nice cool day to stay in, get cozy and busy with your favorite puzzle.
Of course, any time of year is a good time to curl up with a book of puzzles or challenge yourself with that jigsaw puzzle that’s been sitting on the top shelf of your closet and has been waiting for you to give it a whirl.
Rain or shine, snow or a crisp breeze, there’s always an occasion for puzzles. So why have a National Puzzle Day? Well, there’s a bit of a history behind that. So, let’s take a closer look at the section below.
What is the History of National Puzzle Day?
The big question is who founded National Puzzle Day, and what is the history of National Puzzle Day?
All of us puzzle lovers owe a big round of applause to Jodi Jill, who is not only a professional puzzle maker but also a writer, speaker, and syndicated columnist, according to Jodi Jill’s website.
Jodi Jill founded National Puzzle Day in 2002, and her heart behind it was sharing the love of puzzles in every medium and also observing and spreading information about how they can assist in stimulating our minds and keep us from spending too much time in front of our screens.
Use #puzzleday this National Puzzle Day to share with Jodi Jill that you’re continuing this awesome holiday tradition!
Do you know who invented jigsaw puzzles?
According to the Los Angeles Public Library, it is said to believe that John Spilsbury, in 1760, created a makeshift puzzle in which a map’s individual pieces were glued to wood. Spilsbury was a cartographer and engraver in London.
A big thank you to Mr. Spilsbury!
Puzzle Types
Puzzled by how many Puzzle types there are? No worries! Let’s list them out, and you can dive into all the puzzle fun you want this National Puzzle Day!
- Word Search
- Jigsaw Puzzles
- Sudoku
- Crossword
- Kakuro
- Maze Puzzles
- Cryptogram
- Rebus Puzzles
- Tower of Hanoi
- Rubik’s Cube
Psstt, I wanna tell you something!
When I’m not writing for our wonderful CardSayings.net, I’m writing books! Fiction to puzzle books and one of them is linked below! A Cat Person’s Favorite Word Search Book. Full of 55 unique, funny, adorable, and informational Cat-themed word search puzzles. Not interested in cats? Try my A Hiker’s Favorite Word Search Book!
National Puzzle Day Activities
It’s time to get those creative juices flowing and think outside the box this National Puzzle Day season. And we’ve got just the list to help you out! Check out our list of fun and simple National Puzzle Day activities that are perfect for all ages.
- Thrifted Puzzles: We love the idea of repurposing and reusing items instead of buying new ones. Although there’s the risk of the cliche scenario of a piece of the puzzle being missing, we’d like to think most puzzle lovers who donate a puzzle would make sure that all the pieces are there. So, why not make National Puzzle Day a great reason to go thrifting for some new-to-you puzzles?
- Volunteer at a Retirement Home: We don’t like the stigma that puzzles are “boring” and “only for the elderly” because puzzles are for everyone! But you can make a lovely tradition on National Puzzle Day to take time out of your schedule to go and volunteer at Retirement Home and socialize/do some puzzles with seasoned puzzlers!
- Print Off Free Word Searches: Who doesn’t love free stuff that’s actually really good? We’ve got some totally free, no email required, downloadable Word Searches that are 100% made by us! We’ve listed all of our Word Searches in the section below.
- Try A New Type of Puzzle: There’s a large variety of puzzles aside from jigsaw puzzles and word searches; try your clever hand at a new type of puzzle this National Puzzle Day. It’ll be a great challenge for you.
- Jigsaw Party: Whoop whoop, tell all your puzzle-loving pals to get on over to your place with their favorite puzzles and get ready to puzzle it up this National Puzzle Day! Did you know there are Puzzle Making Playlists on Spotify? This National Puzzle Day party just got even BETTER!
- Escape Room Adventure: Maybe you didn’t think of an Escape Room as a puzzle right away, but it most certainly is! Grab a partner and mosey on over to your closest Escape Room operation and see how fast you can solve the puzzle! This is also a fun way to support small businesses on National Puzzle Day.
- Watch “The Speed Cubers” Documentary: A heartwarming and fascinating documentary created in 2020, “The Speed Cubers” follows the paths of two world champion Rubik’s Cube solvers, Max Park and Feliks Zemdegs, and also what the Rubik’s Cube competitions are like. Watch this doc on Netflix!
- Make Your Own Jigsaw Puzzle: Do this with the kiddos or some friends and draw a picture, cut it into fun shapes, and swap! See who can solve each other’s National Puzzle Day DIY puzzles first!
- Large Puzzle Piece Picture Collage Craft: Still on that craft train of thought? Gather some of your favorite pictures and create a collage in the shape of a giant puzzle piece! We’ve included a personal example photo below.
Free Word Search Printables
Did you know here at CardSayings.net, we provide Free Word Search Printables? That’s right!
No email or funny business is required. We want to share the love of time off of screens and stimulating our minds, and what a perfect time to celebrate that on National Puzzle Day!
Here we have a complete list of our current free word search printables. Simply click on the desired link and download the free PDF word search puzzle book you want to take a wack at!
They’re high quality, easy to print, and 100% original. Enjoy!
Free Printable Wordsearch for Adults (272 Words!)
Free Word Search Puzzles for Bookworms (+174 words!)
Playful Valentines Day Word Search: Over 200 Words!
Word Search for Adults: 304 Cute Cozy Hygge Words
24 Unique & Free Word Search Printable for Adults!
Puzzle Quotes
Holidays are even more fun when you’ve got some clever quotes to go along with them. Get into the National Puzzle Day spirit by reading these quotes that center around puzzles or the word puzzle!
- “I don’t mean to brag, but I put together a puzzle in 1 day, and the box said 2-4 years.” – Anonymous
- “Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.” – Lewis Carroll
- “Like pieces of a puzzle, we fit like one. My beginning is your end. More than lovers, more than friends. When I found you, I knew I was home.” – Frankie Crabtree
- “Be patient. Just like a puzzle, it takes time for all the pieces of your life to come together.” – Unknown
- “Great things are done by a series of small things that are brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh
- “It’s always the small pieces that make the big picture.” – Anonymous
- “I love puzzles. Trickery is just my native tongue.” – Leigh Bardugo
- “You are a part of a puzzle in someone’s life. You may never know where you fit. But, someone’s life may never be complete without you in it.” – Anonymous
- “The mind is a puzzle waiting to be unraveled. A maze set to be traveled.” – Vance Rideb
- “You and I fit together like missing puzzle pieces.” – Anonymous
- “Each of us is a piece of the puzzle, and each of us helps to set in place other important pieces.” – Neil L. Andersen
- “Even the hardest puzzles have a solution.” – Unknown
- “When asked “What do we need to learn this for?” any high-school teacher can confidently answer that, regardless of the subject, the knowledge will come in handy once the student hits middle age and starts working crossword puzzles in order to stave off the terrible loneliness.” – David Sedaris
- “We’re all pieces of the big puzzle. Just be the piece you are so you’re doing your part to complete the picture.” – Kathryin
- “People are complicated puzzles, always trying to piece together a complete picture, but sometimes we get it wrong and sometimes we’re left unfinished. Sometimes that’s for the best. Some pieces can’t be forced into a puzzle, or at least they shouldn’t be, because they won’t make sense.” – Adam Silvera
- “Eventually, all the pieces fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moment, and know that everything happens for a reason.” – Albert Schweitzer
Once again, we want to wish you a relaxing and fun National Puzzle Day! Thank you for stopping by to explore this fun holiday with us here at CardSayings.net. And be sure to check out our other Obscure Holidays, like Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Happy National Puzzle Day!