Puzzle Guzzle #33
32 picnicking puzzlers joined us last night for this feline feast of a puzzle. The latest instalment of "Challenge Chambers" proved to be a thrilling affair with special guest Iryna going piece for piece with Rachael for the longest time before accelerating through the detailed lower section of the puzzle to finish in 38:06 and claim victory in her Guzzle debut! Rachael was of course not far behind and then it was a further 10 minutes before 3rd place could be decided, with Ruby adding to her extensive bronze medal collection with her sub-50 time!
This was also a strong front runner for the Madeley's Maestro prize, not to beaten until Gavin's 1:33:49 time and then finally claimed by Lizzie Knighton, coming in just under the 2 hour time limit to earn the statistician's nod!
Puzzle Guzzle #32
40 budding puzzlers took on this abundance of aromatics last night and with multiple members of puzzling royalty in attendance it was set to be a race for the ages! Both Rachael and Sarah sprang into action and got off to excellent starts but it was a familiar result as Rachael stormed through the final 100 pieces at a frankly disrespectful pace to take home another Guzzle victory in 41:44! Sarah comfortably secured her second 2nd place and 3rd place was harvested by Guzzle guest star Andrea Peng!
The Dashing Debutant prize was a close race also with Charlotte narrowly edging out Rebecca for the glory, and whilst Jonathan set the water mark high early on with his fantastic 4th place performance, Rowan came in with the buzzer-beater in 1:46:28 to sprint home almost 20 minutes ahead of predictions and claim the Madeley's Maestro prize!
Puzzle Guzzle #31
29 of our most durable puzzlers joined us on Sunday to take on The Trialogy, a 3-puzzle gauntlet taking place over 4 hours. Competitors were allowed to choose their own order, which led to slightly more chaos than normal when recording times but it was fan-favourite Eirik and speed-puzzling supremo Michelle who got off to the hottest starts, both tiptoeing through the Chaos on Mothers Day in under 45 minutes! Meanwhile the peaceful Bavarian landscape of Ramsau slowed many puzzlers down, but those who tackled it early on began to make up ground on our front-runners, most notably Shona who after solving Ramsau first then put down the fastest time in the field on Crystal Healing to truly put herself back into contention.
It took a phenomenal 48:49 on Ramsau for Eirik to blaze ahead in the final stretch and claim his second Puzzle Guzzle victory! Shona slowed slightly on the Mothers Day puzzle but held on to second place, whilst Ruby flew through the same puzzle in a field-beating 43:35 to grab 3rd place from the oncoming horde of rampaging puzzlers!
Attentions turned to the prestigious Madeley's Maestro award, and our head statistician learnt to never underestimate the endurance of British puzzlers as multiple participants carved swathes off their predicted times, with the title ultimately going to Scarlett for completing the 3 puzzles in 2:40:08, over 33 minutes ahead of schedule!
And only one person was bold enough to attempt The Trialogy as their first solo event with us, so we were thrilled to award Kate with the Dashing Debutant prize when she finished the 3-puzzle ordeal with time to spare!
Puzzle Guzzle #30
We saw the week out in style last night with a fantastic pairs event! 27 pairs, 1 solo and 1 crochet frog scampered across the beach to assemble this charismatic canine. It was pairs professionals SJ and Dan who blazed ahead of the field with their phenomenal 32:36 giving them yet another pairs Guzzle victory!
It looked like a close run race for 2nd place but Abbie and Beth put their foot down in the final 50 pieces to convincingly take the silver, with Nicky and Pete grabbing bronze. We had several new pairs joining us and it was Amy and Adam who rose above, completing the puzzle in 01:10:54 in their first ever competition!
Puzzle Guzzle #29
It was quite the morning as we held our first "Maestros & Debutants" event, with a field of 8 first-timers and 29 seasoned Guzzle veterans taking on this 300 piece puzzle. The image managed to contain all the 5 Fs of puzzling (Fur, Feathers, Flowers, Foliage and Fun!) so there was something for everyone, but it was SJ who claimed mastery over them all as she blazed through the image in a superb 28:37 for her first solo victory!
But there were no prizes for first place today, instead awarding prizes to the players who most soundly beat their predicted times. SJ's time was 90.75% of predicted and held firm for a while, but eventually fell by the wayside as the rest of the field steamed in, with a surprise (to our spotters) finish from Louise being good for the eventual 3rd place Maestro, a phenomenal effort from fan-favourite Rowan briefly tasting victory before Cassandra snatched it away, coming in over 23 minutes faster than predicted in her 2nd ever Guzzle to take the top of the table!
Meanwhile we eagerly watched our freshmen class of Guzzlers fight against the flowers, with Claire throwing down an impressive 48:58 to decisively win the Debutant division, over 18 minutes ahead of her nearest rival Ashley, with Ellie putting in a strong showing to round out the Debutant podium!
Puzzle Guzzle #28
41 puzzlers joined us on a brisk Tuesday night to gambol around this vintage town scene from the prolific Kevin Walsh. Both of our frontrunners got off to a bustling start, but the mere mention of a close race had Rachael kick into high gear and reach her destination in 37:39 for the win! Eirik's 40:46 was a comfortable 2nd place and Shona continued her recent run of form with a return ticket to the podium!
The aforementioned town was then promptly flooded with finishers, with under 5 minutes separating 5th and 14th place! The time predictions seemed to be unerringly accurate which made it an extremely tight race for the Madeley's Maestro award, but it was fan favourite and certified Kev-head Sophie whose rapid 55:30 finally granted her this highest of honours!
Meanwhile there was plenty of room-specific action to keep us entertained. Drama beset our regular table-based trio as Corrin opened the box to find a completely different puzzle! Despite this she persevered with true Guzzler spirit and managed to beat her tablemates! And there was also a new table in town, and they brought wine, good humour and a Dashing Debutant in the form of Elizabeth with her 1:48:22 time!
Puzzle Guzzle #27
29 pairs and 2 courageous solos joined us this morning for our biggest pairs competition yet! What was meant to be a relaxing evening stroll through Venice turned out to be anything but with the newly formed power pair of Rachael & Sue Chambers sauntering through this city scene in a record-setting 26:20! This was almost a full 6 minutes ahead of pairs titans SJ & Dan (32:09), who were in turn over 6 minutes ahead of a nail-biting race for the 3rd spot! With 2 pairs finishing in the same second (38:33), our judges came out in favour of Eirik & Joseba for the bronze medal, with Jonathan and Vix having to settle for a very respectable 4th place!
The finishes continued to flow in with 13 pairs completing this challenging photograph in less than an hour! As we cheered on the incoming puzzlers and the chatter turned to the topic of the day (pizza toppings of course), Helen declared herself as the big cheese with her time of 01:05:33 being good enough to take the solo crown!
Puzzle Guzzle #26
A full field of 40 puzzlers joined us on Friday to cozy up next to the fire and tackle this serene painted scene. A close race was predicted but one puzzler had other ideas. The mysterious Eirik ran away with the competition, completing this challenging image in just 46:17!! It would then be over 13 minutes later when puzzling luminary SJ hit the buzzer and beat Zak to the silver medal by just one second! This marked personal best solo finishes in The Puzzle Guzzle for all 3 podium places, a feat not seen since our very first competition!
But there were still pieces to place and awards to award and whilst Steve Raine just missed out on a top 10 finish, his impressive 01:10:48 was more than sufficient for us to dub him Dashing Debutant. The high bar for Madeley's Maestro was set early by Eirik, then leapfrogged by Lynn who was then finally foiled by Fiona, who knocked over 14 minutes off her predicted time to claim the prize!
Puzzle Guzzle #25
32 puzzlers joined us last night to take on the gargantuan challenge of our first "large piece" puzzle competition. Rachael Chambers frolicked through the Rainbow Falls in a superb 37:31 to mark her 10th victory in the Puzzle Guzzle! Michelle Kasper, the doyen of online puzzling competitions, scampered through the puzzle in 47:59 to take 2nd place and fan-favourite Ruby Lavender harvested another bronze medal with her 50:49 time.
Meanwhile as the commentary team remarked on blooming flowers and tiny tables, Susan Gay proved to be the most dashing of debutants with an extremely impressive 7th place in her first ever competition and Sarah Craig just edged out an in-form Gavin Easby to capture the elusive Madeley's Maestro award, beating her predicted time by over 18 minutes!
Puzzle Guzzle #24
35 festive fete-goers competing from 5 countries joined us last night for our final competition of 2025! The puzzle picker threw a curveball in the form of the first random cut puzzle in Guzzle history, but that didn't stop our formidable field from putting up some sensational times! Rachael continued her reign of terror over the Guzzle with her 41:10 time beating out Irish phenom Emma Quirke by just 4 seconds, and Swedish sensation Tobias Premier had all pieces placed in just 45:10 to comfortably secure 3rd place!
Meanwhile the random cut proved to be both a feast and a foil for our puzzlers, producing some of the biggest divergences from predictions since records began. Sophie looked to be a strong contender for Madeley's Maestro with her impressive 57:43 time, but mere minutes later Lynn Thompson obliterated her own predicted time by over 30 minutes to leave our head statistician shaking his head and with no choice but to give her the prize! Lauren Sims also managed a very respectable 18th place on her first Guzzle appearance, good enough for the Dashing Debutant award.
Puzzle Guzzle #23
45 puzzlers across 4 divisions joined us on Sunday to match their wits against our selected 1000 piece puzzle. It was "Faith, Trust & Puzzle Dust" who burned the brightest, completing the puzzle in a mere 53:57 to win the 4-player category and the competition overall! Not far behind were 2 terrific trios, with "London Puzzling 1" edging out "Team Chambers" by just 2 minutes!
Meanwhile Ruby & Andrew proved to be a match made in heaven as they triumphed in the pairs division, and whilst we showed off our effortless German team-name pronunciation, the phenomenal Kathi Reiner comfortably carried the solo division with a time of 1:29:14, the fastest solo 1000 in Guzzle history!
Puzzle Guzzle #22
35 trainee toxicologists joined us last night to try and pick the lesser of two evils in our second "Pick Your Poison" competition. It was a runaway victory for the tranquil Burano image (picked by 28/35 participants) and a runaway victory for the tranquil Rachael Chambers, gliding to victory in just 41:57 for her 5th win in a row! Meanwhile Eirik found himself back in his regular 2nd place position and Shona followed up her back-to-back 4th places with her first Guzzle podium!
Sophie Hill stormed on to the scene with 5th place in her Puzzle Guzzle debut whilst Helen MacDougall slashed almost 10 minutes off her predicted time to grasp the elusive Madeley's Maestro award! And a shout out to autumnal adept Hannah Little, the quickest to complete the October puzzle and the only one to do it in under an hour!
Puzzle Guzzle #21
36 topological tourists took a trip round historic Dublin last night for our latest competition. Aptly we had multiple British champions in the field for our first ever Gibsons competition, but it was Rachael who triumphed with her trademark precision, completing the puzzle in a mere 38:43 to make it a record-equalling 4 wins in a row! Hot on her heels was speed-puzzling legend Sarah Mills who made her Puzzle Guzzle debut with 2nd place and a fantastic 45:58 time, and Fruzsi beat out some of the UK's finest to claim the final podium place!
As we discussed the important topics of the day (mainly which brand of cola was most popular amongst competitors) the finishes continued to pour in and although only a few could beat Aaron's ambitious assertions, Gavin finished over 10 minutes ahead of predictions to grab a well-earned Madeley's Maestro award!
Puzzle Guzzle #20
It was a morning of records and firsts as 40 braved the crack of 10:30am to compete with us earlier today. Rachael broke a record that has stood since Puzzle Guzzle #03 and soared majestically through this Italian landscape in just 33:46! It was a little less than 8 minutes later that Eirik added to his record-breaking 2nd place tally, and Abbie put in a phenomenal performance to finish in 47:10 and claim her first solo podium!
But we weren't done yet. We saw evidence of a powerful puzzling dynasty as Sue Chambers cracked the hour in her first Guzzle to claim Dashing Debutant, and master-craftsman Brian shocked the pundits with a magnificent 1:39:29 time for his first Guzzle completion and a well-deserved Madeley's Maestro award!
Puzzle Guzzle #19
52 intrepid astronauts took to the skies yesterday in our latest pairs competition. We watched many formidable pairs battle it out amongst the stars, but it was SJ & Dan who were flying high with their 31:59 time, good enough to win the competition and maintain their unbeaten pairs record!
Not far behind were Eirik & Joseba in 34:36 with James & Kasia rocketed through in 39:42 to plant their flag on the podium. And a special shout out to the 6 brave moonwalkers who elected to take on this puzzle solo, the quickest of which was Rachael with an out of this world time of 42:56!
Puzzle Guzzle #18
It was a Puzzle Guzzle first last night as we debuted our first ever custom puzzle for 33 parched puzzlers. The unseen image shook our competitors into a frenzy, but it was Rachael who gave a stirring performance to claim her 5th Guzzle victory with a 40:40 time! Eirik narrowly beat Ruby to the 2nd place spot in what would be the first of many close finishes. In fact there was just 3 minutes(and 6 seconds) between 5th and 13th place!
The flurry of finishes left our scorekeeper needing a stiff drink, but his job wasn't done as we watched Boo claim Dashing Debutant with a nifty 1:02:30 and Anne smash through her predicted time by over 20 minutes to claim Madeley's Maestro!
Puzzle Guzzle #17
34 Olympians joined us on Sunday to puzzle amongst the gods. It was a sprint not a marathon and an extremely close one at that, with Puzzle Guzzle colossus Rachael Chambers seizing victory in 38:15, beating special guest Mari Black by just 23 seconds! Kirsty Williams completed the podium with her fantastic 44:29 time.
Meanwhile newcomer Merilin announced herself with a phenomenal 6th place finish, good enough for the "Dashing Debutant" award and Emma flew like Hermes to beat her predicted time by 12 minutes and claim "Madeleys Maestro"
Puzzle Guzzle #16
32 puzzlers joined us down at the Crab Shack last night for chill vibes and fast puzzling! It was special guest star Hanna Lehikoinen who followed up her impressive WJPC performance with a hard fought win here, snapping up victory in a fantastic 38:32! Not far behind was Rachael (43:49) and Eirik scuttled over the line in 48:35 to complete our illustrious podium.
Meanwhile we welcomed a bucket of new puzzlers and it was Helen MacDougall who pinched the inaugural "Dashing Debutant" prize in 01:22:02, whilst Sarah Craig smashed her predicted time by over 20 minutes to claim Madeley's Maestro!
Puzzle Guzzle #15
On Sunday afternoon a total of 43 competitors joined us for our first "Dream Team" event, a multi-divisional spectacular where puzzlers could enter as a solo, pair or team to try and conquer a 1000 piece puzzle within the 3 hour time limit.
It was in fact a 3-person team (Jigsauerkraut 3/4) who put in a formidable performance to complete the puzzle in just 50:19, beating out the fastest 4-team (Faith Trust & Puzzle Dust) by over 10 minutes!
It was around another 10 minutes before the first pair finished (SJ & Dan) in 01:10:59, beating out some tough competition in that division and Rachael held the solo trophy high with her time of 01:42:11, the only solo participant to complete the puzzle in sub-2 hours!
Is the leader board confusing? Yes.
Did we have a great time running the competition? Also yes.
Puzzle Guzzle #14
33 hopefuls joined us on Tuesday to take on the Hunter exam. Whilst several struggled with the confusing clothing and beige background, it was Rachael who passed with flying colours, assembling the team in a rapid 42:54! Just under 10 minutes later Jonathan tracked down his second consecutive silver medal and Eirik also added to his podium count with another 3rd place.
Several competitors were vying for the most improved prize but it was Corrin who finished in 01:46:26 to become both Table champion and Madeley's Maestro!
Puzzle Guzzle #13
35 dynamic decision makers joined us last night for our first ever "Pick your Poison" event. Most participants had a sweet tooth with 27 picking Sweet Party Collage, with just 8 willing to take on the fur of Puppies in the Luggage.
"But what was the right choice?!" I hear you cry, the results were ultimately inconclusive but what I can say is that Nia devoured the Sweets puzzle in just 40:42 to take the win! Rachel (Puppies) and Ruby (Sweets) were involved in a thrilling race to ultimately take 2nd and 3rd respectively, with Ruby's 48:18 time being good enough to also take home the coveted Madeley's Maestro award!
Puzzle Guzzle #12
A record-breaking 39 globe-trotters joined Stitch on his holidays last night, with Rachael Chambers following up last weekend's Dice Cup win with another decisive victory in a scorching 40:34! Soon after Jonathan Nash put down a (first attempt) personal best of 44:56 to take 2nd with Nia rounding out the podium.
Meanwhile we watched the multitude of name & location based rivalries play out, and with multiple jet-setters (Jonathan, Hannah L, Pepe, Sammy to name a few) smashing their predicted times, it was Gavin who scored his first Guzzle completion and took home "Madeley's Maestro"!
Puzzle Guzzle #10
36 sightseers took a trip through foggy London town this afternoon. Nia and Rachel, two powerhouses of UK puzzling, took very different approaches to the image but stayed in close contention throughout. In the end it was Nia who placed the last piece a mere 10 seconds before Rachael to take home the win in 41:26! Helen also put down an impressive 52:50 time to claim 3rd place, her best finish to date!
Meanwhile there were missing pieces, extra pieces, and Aaron was in pieces when plucky young upstart Pepe beat his predicted time by over 20 minutes to capture his second Madeley's Maestro prize!
Puzzle Guzzle #11
30 competitors joined us for a stroll through this peaceful country scene last Sunday. As we surreptitiously googled bird species, It will come as no surprise to frequent readers that it was Nia who flew into 1st place with an excellent 37:02 time! 7 minutes later Nordic phenom Eirik took 2nd place and podium regular Charlotte picked up 3rd.
The finishes continued to pile up as we discussed the work ethic of artist Howard Robinson and speculation grew as to the winner of the prestigious "Madeley's Maestro" award, with Claire's impressive 56:45 time eventually securing the title.
Puzzle Guzzle #09
Another sweltering day around the country brought together 27 pairs and 4 solos to attack this beast of a puzzle. We onlookers marveled as flamingos formed, elephants were erected and pandas were put together, but when the puzzle dust settled it was SJ & Dan who narrowly managed to defend their pairs title with a time of 36:06, beating Nia & Justine by just over a minute in our closest race yet! Abigail & Beth snared 3rd place with a time of 44:06 and a shout out to fastest solo competitor Helen whose 57:50 time was good for 8th place in the combined leader-board!
To all the solo competitors, the non-puzzling partners and the mascots looking stoically on, we salute you.
Puzzle Guzzle #08
36 puzzlers sprang into action this Tuesday, some battling against 30c heat to do so! Nia took a running start by completing an EJJ mere seconds before that start of the competition but kept up the pace to win with a time of 00:43:30. The battle for second place was incredibly tight with Charlotte beating out Janey by just 8 seconds!
After the first few finishers rolled in, our attention turned to the mysterious puzzling entity known simply as "The Table", a group of 3 puzzlers competing simultaneously on the same dining table! With just minutes to spare it was newcomer Corrin who ultimately triumphed over The Table and will presumably get to keep the dining table until the next competition. Madeley's Maestro was awarded to young up-and-comer Pepe for his blistering 1:08:59 time!
Puzzle Guzzle #07
A Christmas puzzle in June?! This controversial choice of image raised some eyebrows amongst our 30 competitors, but it was Nia Marvin who proved that 'tis the season to be jolly fast at puzzling with a winning time of 43:23 and a record-breaking winning margin of over 12 minutes! Eirik and Ruby also got into the festive spirit to pick up the other two podium spots (with times of 55:34 and 58:37 respectively) and Zoe Clegg won the "Madeley's Maestro" award for her fantastic 01:15:52 time!!
Puzzle Guzzle #06
What better way to start the new era of Puzzle Guzzles than with this delightfully niche Ravensburger? It was Guzzle debutant Rachael Chambers who flew like Windel through the puzzle in a phenomenal 42:56, beating the field by almost 10 minutes! Nia Marvin continued her run of good form by picking up 2nd place in 52:18 and newcomer Eirik Liane finished in 55:09 to secure 3rd place.
This competition also saw the first "most improved" prize being awarded to Lynn Thompson for her speedy 1:33:22 finish! Finally a special shout out to Charlotte Kirby who joined the call over an hour late and still came incredibly close to finishing within the 2 hour time limit (*unofficial time 1:00:56)
Puzzle Guzzle #05
Our biggest competition yet, with 37 majestic mammals racing to solve this fun yet challenging puzzle! It was a hard fought battle but Nia Marvin was once again "King Cheetah", securing her 3rd individual title with a time of 47:12! The real nail-biter was between Jonathan Nash and Ruby Lavender, where an errant piece under her table cost Ruby valuable seconds and the 2nd place spot, what drama!
Puzzle Guzzle #04
Our first pairs competition saw 22 pairs (and one brave solo competitor) battle it out on the mean streets of Tromsø. The UK's most notorious puzzling duo SJ & Dan carved their way through the ice in an incredible 34:45 to take the win! The Marvins proved that puzzling runs in the family by taking 2nd place and fan-favourites Ruby & Holly completed our podium. Thank you to all who competed, especially those dragged along by a friend or loved one, you are the real heroes.
Puzzle Guzzle #03
A thrilling 3rd instalment of The Puzzle Guzzle saw Nia "The Marvel" Marvin annihilate the competition, clearing the field by almost 8 minutes! Charlotte Kirby leapt an impressive 5 places from her PG#02 appearance to capture 2nd place and SJ Bodell put up a great time to achieve "The most important 3rd place of my career"
Puzzle Guzzle #02
This bright colourful image was a popular choice of puzzle and it was Nicky Thomas who was victorious with a fantastic time of 43:21. Janey Drury made it back-to-back 2nd places and Jonathan Nash made his Puzzle Guzzle debut with an impressive 3rd place finish.
Puzzle Guzzle #01
Nia Marvin made short work of the Moonlight Lighthouse and bested 30 other competitors to become the inaugural Puzzle Guzzle champion! Janey Drury and Ruby Lavender rounded out the podium with great times on this tricky image!
