Puzzles, in general, can be either a therapeutic or stressful endeavor as players aim to solve a mystery image by looking at the pint-sized pieces that make up the whole solution. Eeboo adds to that challenge with a series of round puzzles.
Eeboo, a woman-owned company, uses 90% recycled gray boards and vegetable-based inks to create the eco-friendly, sustainable puzzles. Each illustrated puzzle tackles a different theme, such as unicorns, biodiversity, birds, flowers, goddesses, words, and for the progressive AF folk — fierce “Women March!” and “Votes for Women” puzzles. These round puzzles come with either 500 or 1,000 pieces to be fit together into a rather artistic masterpiece once completed. Because the puzzle is circular, it’s predictably more challenging to fit together; the middle pieces are so similar.
The 500-piece “Women March!” puzzle, based upon the women’s marches up and down this country since the 2016 presidential election, presents a fierce-AF scene. Once it’s completed, the puzzle shows faces of all different women, some of the most iconic and important protest signs, the U.S. Capitol building, and is surrounded by an impactful quote from Gloria Steinem. The quote, making up the border of the puzzle, reads:
“We are linked. We are not ranked and this is a day that will change us forever because we are together. Each of us individually and collectively will never be the same again.”
As you read the phrase on the box and start piecing together her famous words, it’s a simple reminder to be strong, fierce, and bold. And I’m obsessed.
The puzzle pieces are easy to match up and slide together quite easily. When piecing the puzzle together, it’s easy to find and complete the words first since the letters of the Steinem quote are written in large, easy-to-read block letters on a plain background. The next-easiest parts to complete are the Capitol building and the protest signs since it’s pretty simple to identify and put together an iconic building or familiar words.
The box also includes a sheet of paper with the completed work that you can use to compare your progress — or as artwork to display on your wall. Since the puzzle itself is a circle, some of the pieces are shaped pretty oddly, which can make it slightly easier to identify where things go according to the shapes of edges. For example, with the border pieces, you can tell where along the outside edge it is located based on the degree of curvature.
To make things slightly more difficult, some of the pieces definitely belong next to each other (i.e., to complete a word); however, they don’t all have adjoining pieces that connect. So, be careful to keep them in place until you search for the missing link that will secure those pieces.
During assembling, the puzzle does become a bit of a brainteaser as you work backward or upside down on the border pieces to fit together the Steinem quote in the large circle. Now, if I’m completely honest, I’m not typically a puzzle person because I’m not the greatest at seeing the split-up details and how they relate as a whole; however, this is doable and even fun to put together. I’m not overly stressed to solve the puzzle or struggle to get the pieces completed, but rather, as a language person, can string together the words, which also holds strong meanings to keep going and try your hardest to get it done.
Then, what do you do once you finish the puzzle? After all that time, energy, and dedication you put into it, you definitely need to display your masterpiece. Luckily, these puzzles are too darn cute not to show off. With a little bit of Mod Podge, puzzlers can shellac the pieces in place, get it framed — and voila! You have an empowering and beautiful piece of artwork to hang in your home. Besides, who wouldn’t want to look at this fierce-AF reminder every day?
Photo: eeboo
