We had fun with some puzzles over the weekend when the family and I were visiting relatives. My daughter and her uncle started to argue over who was better at putting together puzzles. My brother in law (the uncle) is never one to back down from a challenge. Neither is my daughter.

So we found a 100pc puzzle (LPF, of course) and had a contest.

Each person started with the puzzle in the box, out of the bag, and with the lid half way up the base. The clock started when the lid came off. Uncle B went first. My daughter was sent to another room so she could not gleam any hints. This uncle is in his 30's and has 2 kids. He has been doing puzzles with his kids recently. When he was finished his time was a rather slow 20 minutes 28 seconds. He got a little side tracked looking for a final edge piece instead of just moving on to the middle. Apparently, he was convinced the key was to do the edge and work his way in.

My daughter went next. She knew the time to beat, so that was a slight advantage. Her strategy involved flipping the pieces right side up and sorting them into groups by color. It took her a little time to get started, but when she finally got the sorting completed, she was off to the races. She posted a blistering time of 12 minutes 8 seconds.

Others in the family gave it a try as well, but no one else came close to the 12 minute mark.

I wonder if any of you have ever had a puzzle race? It was fun and will probably be part of our get togethers in the future.

Send me your best times or other contest suggestions using puzzles. LPF puzzles, of course.

JP