Check your local libraries. One here lends out puzzles on the honor system, no time limit, and accepts donations too.

I like Ravensburger puzzles best. GFs like Wysocki images but some are too easy for my taste. I like complex images that keep my interest up. Such as Merlin's Lab...

For extra fun, try a wasgij puzzle...the image on the box is similar but not the same as the completed puzzle. The last one I did, the image on the box was the couple getting engaged...

The image on the puzzle was celebrating their anniversary with their grandkids...

Springbok also makes good puzzles.

Rather than paper plates, you might use cookie sheets with rims or gift boxes like shirt boxes where you can use both tops and bottoms as a tray. Also, if you put a section together and then go to lift it into the puzzle, a spatula is helpful.

I'm a fan on the Wasgij? puzzles, too. I think 1000 pc. is right for me, takes long enough so I get optimum bang for my buck. And I like the other cartoon puzzles under the Jumbo brand. The artist Jan van Haasteren is fun. Try Puzzle Warehouse, good selection and service.

https://www.puzzlewarehouse.com/jigsaw-puzzles/?aid=147,363507&cid=0&sort=mostPopular&show=48&stock=0&store=0

I have a 1500 pc van Haasteren puzzle of the Great British Baking show tent, but I think it's too big for my table.

As for sorting trays, use rimmed baker's 1/2 sheet pans. I use two for a 1000 pc puzzle. I got some new ones on sale at Target before Christmas. You can never have too many of those. https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Natural-Aluminum-Commercial/dp/B0049C2S32/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=half+sheet+pan&qid=1615735915&sr=8-2

Old Springbok, the new puzzle don't have the unusual piece shapes or paper quality.

I do a lot of puzzles. Mine are mostly difficult and/or funny and are 3000-5000 pieces. I put three 2ft X 4ft peg boards zip tied together on top of a desk to fit them. I also use gallon Ziploc bags to sort.

My husband tries to stump me with new ones every year. He has found great ones from Heye and Educa.

I like 1,000 pce puzzles. Ravensberger, Cobble Hill, Springbook are all good quality.

Another votre for vintage Springbok. Those are my all-time faves. You can find some on ebay. I have a lot from thrift stores, but haven't been thrifting for over a year now.

Ravensberger puzzles are pretty good too.

500 pieces or more are what I like.

I prefer photos to paintings, and objects/interests to landscapes/scenes.

P.S. I could never understand why some people like to glue their finished puzzles together - to me that's like gluing a book shut after you've finished reading it. I break them down and put all the edges in a baggie so I or someone else can do them again in the future.

I also like Ravensberger.

Carol, you made me laugh about gluing a book shut. Horrors!

We’re partial to the 1,000 piece Charlie Harper puzzles by Pomegranate. We’ve done 8 or so in the past year. At annie’s suggestion we bought a Wasgij one. It’s a bit more challenging.

Since I have cats I have to make do with online puzzles. I do Magic Jigsaw Puzzles. If your screen is large enough you can have up to 1,200 pieces but I tend to only do two 280s in the evening.

I did two puzzles at the beginning of the pandemic. You know, back when we all had to stay in for two weeks. I did glue my Rudolph puzzle and used it as a Christmas decoration. The other one was disassembled and went back in the box. I think I’m done with puzzles.

Wow - that Charles Harper puzzle looks fabulous!

And I have a great game app called 'Jigsaws Galore' on my desktop computer. You can use your own images and customize the shape, size, and number of pieces, among other things. Mine's from BigFishGames.com. They have free 1 hour demos.

I do love how it's impossible to lose a piece and the pieces lock into place, even when not connected.

I swear, I've even had a piece go missing from a brand new unwrapped puzzle, which drives me bananas.

Worst problem I ever had was a duplicate piece. One extra piece. Carol, maybe that was your? (With a die cut machine, that could happen easily, on piece gets stuck, not released, so why doesn't it happen more often? )

Socks, it was me that sent puzzles to my sister-in-law who lived about 100 miles from me. Sadly she passed away a year ago. I ordered from catalogs and had them sent directly to her. Then after she finished them I would do a day trip for a visit and bring the puzzles home with me. When done with them I passed them to a neighbor who did them, passed them to her sister who passed them to a brother who when done with them took them to the local VA hospital.

I can't sit for long periods at a table to work a puzzle. I sit in a glide rocker with my feet up on a matching glide foot stool. A styrofoam board rests nicely on the arms of the chair and that is great for doing my puzzles. It does limit size to about a max of 18 x 24. I did mostly 500 piece when they mostly came in the 16 x 20 size. I liked the piece size, but that size is hard to find now. I am finding 700 piece puzzles now in the 18 x 24 size. I really like that size and piece count. I do like the trays but space requirements at my rocker limit me to just one or 2 at a time.

About a month ago I bought a 38 inch square spinner top for on my 40" round table, trying to get my DH to take an interest in puzzling. He will sometimes sit a short time, but hasn't gotten the interest I had hoped he would. I have a 1000 piece started, but I don't like the felt surface on the spinner. It is a fight to get the pieces firmly in place. There is no sliding on that surface the way I do on my styrofoam board.

I do a lot of puzzles, usually 3 or 4 a month, and don't have a favorite brand. It is the picture that attracts me. I am drawn to busy scenes with a lot going on or ones like this.

or this

And then there are the 9 piece puzzles from B Dazzle Scramble Squares. Not an easy solve. Try 'em, you will love 'em.

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My husband and I like to puzzle together. We limit ourselves to one a month because it can get expensive to buy all the puzzles. He doesn’t trust that used puzzles will have all the pieces, so they have to be new.

We used to like to do these puzzles called Proverbidioms, based of the artwork of T.E. Breitenbach. It was like lots of little visual word puzzles inside the large jigsaw. Unfortunately, we‘ve done all the ones that were ever published already. I don’t like to do puzzles a second time.

1000 to 1500 is a good number of pieces. Less and the puzzle goes by too soon, more and it starts to feel a bit of a slog. This weekend we are puzzling a Painting by Charles White of the Mary McLeod Bethune Mural. What a beautiful puzzle. Sorry only having a link. I can’t find a good image to include.

lgmd, sorry about your SIL. Sharing the puzzles is a happy memory for you. I even remember you used to order some from Bits 'n' Pieces. I like some of their puzzles but not all of the images. Their piece shapes are different from most.

I worked so many puzzles that I got tired of them and took a year's break. I'm doing an old Bits 'n' Pieces now to see if I'm back in the mood for puzzles. I've kept busy the last year but suffering a little boredom now so started puzzling again.

I buy them from Bits or puzzlewarehouse or Amazon as a last resort. I don't keep them all but donate to the library or favorite thrift shop.

I did order a lot from Bits and Pieces, but they have mostly gone to the 18 x 24 size for the 500 pieces. I liked the 500 piece in the 16 x 20 much better.

Since my elderly neighbors eyesight is failing, and her sister got a cat and her brother is now in a nursing home, I was donating my puzzles to the local Humane Society, but with covid, the every weekend flea market where they have a booth has not been open. I have about 2 dozen puzzles looking for a new home.

In case you were wondering, here's how Ravensberger makes their puzzles:

I've always like the Wysocki puzzles. I put the pieces face up on a tray. I use a foam board under my puzzle and I like the 300 piece puzzles the best

The problem I've had with the new puzzle is they are laid out on a grid, like the ones I see above. I find that boring, I prefer interesting piece shapes.

Igmd_gaz, I have a love/hate fixation on the 9 piece puzzles. Have about 6.

Raye, Bits and Pieces are different shapes and not on a grid. Not much variety in the style of images.

Is there some sort of thickness gauge I should be looking for on a box? I ended up with super thin puzzle pieces. Would I have been able to tell if I knew how to read a box better? Not that the puzzle didn't keep me entertained.

I quit buying from Bits and Pieces (the retailer) a long time ago because the puzzles they made under their own label got too thin and very poorly made. Peeling and folding. Yuck. Maybe they have changed?

I have never had that trouble with anything from Puzzle Warehouse. I don't think I have ever seen thickness measures on a box for any brand. Don't think that exists.

Ohhhh, look what I found! A comparison of brands. Wow.

https://jigsawjunkies.com/puzzle-brand-comparison/

We love the wooden puzzles from Liberty Puzzles - they're spendy but they're so worth it.

I don't think Bits & Pieces is the best quality puzzle, but they usually give a free one with purchase, so they might be a little more economical than others. I'm working one now. I'm not crazy about their images, but I think they have some nice shaped puzzles. One thing about B&P is that a few pieces in each puzzle don't lock in, just but up against their proper position.

I agree with Sushipup, puzzlewarehouse carries good quality. Thanks for the link to jigsawjunkies.

Will check out Liberty Puzzles. Thanks, wiscokid.

Rob, I don't think the thickness of the pieces is listed on the box, but if you stick with the better brands (puzzlewarehouse), you should feel happier with the pieces. If you check out jigsawjunkies, they have a brand comparison and one of the items they evaluate is piece thickness. There is a chart. Pretty colors in your puzzle. I could not do that one!!!

No favorite brand, but I prefer interlocking pieces. I often use baking sheets for sorted pieces.

I have absolutely no patience for them

I like puzzlewarehouse too, but will check out some other recommendations. I especially like the idea of the picture on the box NOT exactly matching the puzzle -- fun!

Warning when you open a brand new puzzle. Before you discard its bag, make sure you've gotten all the pieces out. The last puzzle I did, I swore a piece was missing. I looked one more time, carefully extracting the bag from the trash can, and found the 'missing' piece plus two others! (I always store puzzles in bags in their box. Some brands are packed in bags too small to re-seal, that's what happened here.)

in sushipup's link to puzzle comparison by brand, I did not see 'Dowdle' mentioned. I have done a couple of that brand and found them very good to excellent in all categories. Bought them at Walmart 2 years ago, but have not seen them there since. Check their website.

There is no comparison of cardboard puzzles to the wooden puzzles. They are pricey, but a dream to work. The fit of the pieces is amazing. Wentworth is another brand. There is a third brand that I have done, but can't think of the name now. Daughter and I have exchanged wooden puzzles as special occasion gifts.

Just finished this one, a freebie from bits and pieces. Not one I would’ve ever chosen, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

First puzzle I’ve done in a year!