Our story:
Completing jigsaw puzzles has long been an individual leisure activity, but recent worldwide trends have seen an increase in puzzle-based social gatherings and events.
In 2020, the demand for jigsaw puzzles caused online retailers to quickly sell out their inventory when “safer at home” guidelines were in effect. Jigsaw puzzles are a great way to pass the time until you run out of puzzles to do and stores are sold of out new puzzles.
In late spring of 2020, Lisa Moskowitz founded the South OC Puzzle Exchange Facebook Group where members could find other folks in their area who were interested in swapping puzzles since there were no longer puzzles available to purchase online or in stores. In addition, Lisa started arranging in-person swaps once a month where individuals could safely trade puzzles in open-air parking lots. Those in-person swaps still take place, with between 25-60 people participating depending on their individual availability. Many of the participants enjoy lunch together as a way to build relationships within the local puzzling community.
Separately, Speed Puzzling has been popular in the Midwest since the 1970s, where indoor activities are needed based on the winter weather. Speed Puzzling is also gaining popularity worldwide. The World Jigsaw Puzzle Federation holds an international competition each year in Valladolid, Spain, where puzzlers from around the world compete in Individual, Pairs, and Team competitions. Many countries have organized national puzzle associations with the United States, Germany, and Australia having the highest number of competitors at the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships.
The USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association was established in 2020 as the acting US representative and official liaison with the World Jigsaw Puzzle Federation. They have successfully created a nationwide community for jigsaw puzzlers and have established a framework for competitive jigsaw puzzling events. The USAJPA held their first National Competition in San Diego, CA in October of 2022, where many members of Lisa’s South OC Puzzle Exchange Facebook group attended.
The popularity of this event led to many members of the OC puzzle community asking at one of the post-swap lunch outings if someone could coordinate regional competitions to be held throughout the year in Orange County so they could practice ahead of the next USAJPA National Competition. William Shandling is a regular participant at the in-person swaps and was sitting with Lisa at that lunch when the conversation about regional competitions was being discussed. William had attended the San Diego competition and knew there was a need for regional competitions. William and Lisa agreed to start organizing Orange County speed puzzling events, and the folks at the lunch table were thrilled.
Within a week, Lisa and William formalized a group name, wrote a mission statement, created a group logo, started the Orange County Speed Puzzlers Facebook Group and Instagram page, researched competition venues, and established relationships with puzzle companies as event sponsors. Their first competition took place on February 4, 2023, at GameCraft Brewing in Laguna Hills, CA with 25 pairs of puzzlers completing the same 500-piece puzzle.
Subsequent Orange County Speed Puzzlers events continue to sell out quickly with puzzlers traveling from as far away as San Diego, Santa Clarita, and even Utah to compete with their Orange County puzzle partners. OCSP invites additional “Puzzle Pros” to participate in their events in an Invitational Division, where these world-class puzzlers don’t compete for the regular division prizes but instead play for bragging rights, certificates, and a silly group trophy.
In February of 2025, OCSP hosted the first-in-the-U.S. 24-Hour Puzzle Marathon for 13 teams of 8 puzzlers. Teams were provided 18 puzzles which they would be challenged to complete in the 24-hour time period. This event was also a fundraiser for the City of Hope, and raised an impressive $39,500 for cancer research and patient care! The event was a “who’s who” of U.S. puzzlers with 4 of the 5 USAJPA Board Members in attendance, 7 of the top 10 U.S. puzzlers from the 2024 USA Jigsaw Nationals, and 3 of the 4 members of Busy Birdies who were recently crowned as the fastest puzzling team in the world for 2024. The winning team, “Snacks Allowed” completed 23,265 pieces in the 24-Hour time period!
As of March, 2025, OCSP has more than 1,100 Facebook Group members, and commonly hold their events at the Norman P. Murray Community & Senior Center in Mission Viejo. The future for Orange County Speed Puzzlers is bright with events planned through 2025!