JIGSAW PUZZLE COMPETITION SAVE THE DATE

Date: Jan 24 - Jan 25, 2026

Time: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Location(s):

Union Depot

Category(s):

Indoor Events

Family Activities

Puzzles By

Register ON OCTOBER

Sign up early as this event sells out!
When: Saturday, February 6 & Sunday, February 7, 2027
Location: Saint Paul Union Depot
Mark your calendar: Registration opens Saturday, October 4th at 10:00AM CST

Do you love jigsaw puzzles? Then this is the event for you!
The Saint Paul Winter Carnival is home to the largest annual jigsaw puzzle competition in the country! This is your opportunity to puzzle with hundreds of other puzzle enthusiasts from around the country! The event is open to all puzzlers - competitive and casual alike. Grab your friends and family for two days of lively puzzle fun!
The Union Depot has plenty of parking and is located on the light rail Green line for easy access. (link to parking map here?)
For teams visiting from out of town, the Hyatt Place Hotel is right next door (see information on the Hotels tab for a special Winter Carnival room rate).

NEW Registration Date!
We heard you! We are grateful for all the feedback that was shared following the 2025 competition. We know how much you cherish this competition and we want to continue to make this a great experience for our wonderful puzzlers!
Some of the changes implemented for this year include: registration moved to the first Saturday in October (we know that being able to register at 10am on a weekday was difficult), an all new registration platform, more grab and go food options, expanded Casual Puzzle Area and more!

Event Format
The event format for 2026 will be the same as 2025 with three 500 Piece Team contests, a 1000 piece Team contest, a 500 piece Pairs contest, and a 500 piece Solo / Family contest. Participants are welcome to join for a single contest or all four different contests!

Our puzzle sponsor, PuzzleTwist, will again be supplying FOUR new puzzles, releasing two new puzzles each day of the competition! Three different 500 piece puzzles and a 1000 piece puzzle! Each contest time will feature a different puzzle with the exception of the Open 500 piece teams which will use the same puzzle as the Challenge division. The Solo and Family contests will be using the same puzzle concurrently.
Prizes! The top teams in each category will get great prizes including gift cards from Games by James! In addition, there will be many new opportunities for every team to win many wonderful door prizes!

Casual Puzzling and Puzzle Swap
The popular Casual Puzzling Area is back, bigger and brighter! This area is FREE to attend for all: contestants and spectators alike. A place to mingle with fellow puzzle enthusiasts while assembling more puzzles just for fun or to warm up for your contest. Leslie Mallery, organizer of the Longest Day for Alzheimer’s puzzle event, is again hosting the free casual puzzling area conducting fun puzzle games such as sprints and puzzle chess for prizes.
Puzzle swap! The Casual Puzzle area will include a huge puzzle swap! Bring your gently used COMPLETE puzzles to swap for new-to-you puzzles. We request that your puzzles include the original box and that pieces be placed in a ziplock bag to avoid missing pieces.

Important Registration Info
We have an ALL NEW registration process! Please read the following information to help your registration go smoothly. Instead of having to purchase each contest individually, you will now be able to put all of your selections in your shopping cart and pay all at once. No more entering your payment info over and over, you’ll just have to do that once!

VERY IMPORTANT! This year registration will require that you fill in information on each of your team members. Be prepared with your team name, team captain name, email, cell phone and home city/state/province, and every team member's name, email and home city/state. If you are purchasing multiple pairs and/or solos for your team, you MUST put in their info including the cell phone number of the Pairs captain or solo participant.

NO NEED TO RUSH YOUR REGISTRATION! Don’t worry about having to rush through while you enter this info! Unlike previous years, no one else can take that slot once you put it in your cart, even if you haven’t paid yet. You’ll have up to 60 minutes to enter all of the information.

What can I sign up for?
To simplify the registration process, a team captain may register their team for ONE 500 Piece Team event (Challenge, Open #1 or Open #2), ONE 1000 Piece Team event, TWO 500 Piece Pairs events, and up to FOUR 500 Piece solo events. You MUST provide the information for each team member in their respective registrations (Name, Email, City/State) - you may NOT use your own information for multiple Pair / Solo registrations. If your team members prefer to do their own Pairs & Solo registrations themselves instead, that is perfectly fine.

NOTE: Registration will allow you to sign up for only one of the three 500 Piece 4-Person Teams contest because they will all use the same puzzle. We have more than one section of this contest to give as many people as possible an opportunity to participate. No duplicate contestants are allowed, even if there is only one repeat person on your team and the other three are new to the puzzle.

Competition Schedule

SATURDAY 1/24 COMPETITION SCHEDULE:
9am-10:30am: 500 Piece Teams Challenge Contest – This contest is for those who want to compete with the fastest puzzlers or challenge themselves to complete the puzzle in under 90 minutes. Four person teams will have 90 minutes to assemble a new commemorative Winter Carnival PuzzleTwist puzzle. $60+Fees/team

11:15am-2:15pm: 1000 Piece Teams Contest – This contest is for anyone wishing for another challenge or wanting a longer puzzle experience. Four person teams will have 3 hours to complete a new commemorative Winter Carnival PuzzleTwist puzzle. $60+Fees/team

3pm-5pm: 500 Piece Teams Open Contest #1 – This contest is for those who want the more traditional 2 hour time to complete the puzzle. Four person teams will assemble the same puzzle used for the Challenge division. $60+Fees/team

SUNDAY 1/25 COMPETITION SCHEDULE:
9:30am-11:30am: 500 Piece Pairs Contest – Pair up with a pal for more fun! (or split your 4 person team!) Two person teams will have 2 hours to complete a new commemorative Winter Carnival PuzzleTwist 500 piece puzzle. Pairs will choose to compete in the regular or Senior (55+) category. This event is open to all. Two person teams will have 2 hours to complete a new 500 piece puzzle. $50+Fees/pair

12:15pm-2:15pm: Individual Solo 500 Piece Contest – A fun Winter Carnival challenge! Individual puzzlers will have 2 hours to complete a new 500 piece puzzle from PuzzleTwist. Solos will choose to compete in the regular or Senior (55+) category. Note: you can’t do both Family and Solo contest since they run at the same time using the same puzzle. $40+Fees/person

12:15pm-2:15pm: Family Teams Contest – This contest is for four person teams which include at least one member under 16 years of age. (this is a lower age than in previous years) Four person teams will have 2 hours to complete a 500 piece puzzle from PuzzleTwist. Note: you can’t do both Family and Solo since they run at the same time using the same puzzle. $60+Fees/team

3pm-5pm: 500 Piece Teams Open Contest #2 – This contest is for those who want the more traditional 2 hour time to complete the puzzle. Four person teams will assemble the same puzzle used for the Challenge division Open Contest #1 on Saturday. $60+Fees/team

JIGSAW PUZZLE COMPETITION SAVE THE DATE

Puzzles By

Register ON OCTOBER

Event Location: Union Depot, Saint Paul, MN

Solo Contest Sanctioned by

Some Prizes Provided By: