Category: Puzzle Art

by: Playing Grounded

post image: Red Dragonfly in Otaki by NOEYEBROW

No Artificial Ingredients

So what do we mean by no artificial ingredients? Since when does a jigsaw puzzle have artificial ingredients? That’s a good question. To better understand this rather absurd claim, let’s look at the absurd world we live in.

AI vs Human

When I was a kid, I remember watching “The Original” Planet of the Apes movies on Saturday afternoon TV. I wasn’t alone in this, because all my friends did too. So the next time we got outside to play with our pistols, rifles and Tommy guns, we had a whole new world to explore. Our backyards and neighborhood became post apocalyptic planets, and we became the fugitives of these hostile and unstable environments.

Funny thing though, even as we were make-believing about being chased by otherworldly mutants, we were cognizant enough to know the difference between the world we lived in and the fantasy worlds that we created.

I never would have imaged that I would be living in a world where people would prefer to live a virtual existence and use artificial intelligence over having real life experiences and using their own cognitive abilities. But yet, here we are, and it seems anything goes and all options are on the drafting table. Since the world of SMART technology has invaded our space we have only become less aware, less motivated and, as a result, less reliable.

If my opinion was worth more than two cents, I’m sure the vast majority would feel I’m being over paid. But I’ll share it regardless. In the next ten years, machines will create their own reality, apart from our reality, and we will give them the keys to our existence every step of the way. Why? Because it’s easier to have someone or, in this case, something think for us, than to figure things out for ourselves.

The people who created this technology knew this when they developed it, the problem is they didn’t care what the end results would be. You can just as easily progress down a garden road as off a cliff. Both are progress, but both have distinctly different outcomes.

So that’s my two cents worth of opinion.

Playing Grounded® offers you puzzle art with no artificial ingredients. Nothing but raw, organic, human, artistic talent and creativity. Come see for yourself. AI may be here to stay, but nothing says we have to choose it!

#2. What do we look for when choosing art for our puzzles?

by: Playing Grounded

post image: A Late Breakfast by Imoman

Rated E for Everyone

What do we mean by family friendly?

We mean art that is tasteful, nothing that would be considered lewd, vulgar, profane or suggestive. Trust me, that can lead me to many hours of nauseating research. It’s plenty painful having to wade through all the muck that’s out there, but the reward of finding the genuine gems worth keeping among a bunch of worthless rocks is priceless.

Being with the ones you’re with

We’re about togetherness. That means family and/or friends coming together. That doesn’t mean inclusiveness. If that is your thing so be it. We’re not about to pass judgment on those who like to remain naïve and simple about such issues.

Getting away from it all

Playing Grounded® puzzles is here to provide you, “the experiencer”, with an escape from the world at large and all its troubles. We’d much rather immerse you in beautifully illustrated environments, envisioned by those terrifically talented humans that created them. See post #1. for a better explanation of what me mean by “human artists”.

So, if you’re looking for puzzles that bring everyone to the table, picnic or playground, look no further, you found them. You might not like our opinions, but chances are you’ll love our puzzles.

#3. What do we look for when choosing art for our puzzles?

by: Playing Grounded

post image: Surfer Girls by Apapico

Wish They All could be Anime Surfer Girls

Family friendly? What’s with all those anime girls then? Aren’t we being a little bit hypocritical? See #2 What do we look for when choosing art for our puzzles.

Let’s face it, most all anime illustrated fantasy art features girls. From gals with impossible proportions, to loli dollies. This is mostly what you’ll find if you go searching for anime art. We try to find the happy mediums when it comes to choosing anime art for our puzzles. Yes, we have our share of anime girl art, and we’re darn happy to have it. After all, we wouldn’t be where we are without it.

But, if you’ll notice, it’s not just about the girl, we always look for breathtaking backgrounds to associate them with. Beauty is the schema of the natural world. Where would we be without it? Even though the definition of beauty seems to change with the tide, true beauty really never changes. Nature knows the difference and that is why it has survived for millennia. Do you think a few pesky weeds can change the course of the landscape forever? Hardly.

Yes, we’ll always have girls, girls, girls, and thank God for that! They’re the flowers in the field and the lilies of the valley, and they make up a large portion about what we love when it come to producing our puzzles. But you’ll always find these blossoms to be tasteful, alluring without being overly provocative and bursting with a colorful energy that only accentuates these sirens in their surroundings.

Trying to be Unique floating in a Sea of the Same

Pressing our point further, we also have other types of anime style art that’s fun and refreshing, but not typically associated with the anime art style genre. We look specifically for art that tells a story, and all of these tales come with happy endings—at least, that is the intent. There are no words, but the pictures speak loud and clear for themselves.

Come see for yourself. This is the practice with all of our puzzles. From what we have now, to those we’ll have in the future.

#4. What do we look for when choosing art for our puzzles?

by: Playing Grounded

post image: World Tree by Jun Okabe

Grab your ticket and climb aboard!

Playing Grounded® has a variety of delightful destinations for your enjoyment; a splendid selection of incredibly illustrated works by clever and creative humans.

When we first started making puzzles, our whole focus was to create a place of escape, like a mini vacation that would open windows to extraordinary worlds outside the confines of reality.

It is said that a picture can be worth a thousand words and what better way to express that than fairy tale like settings that capture the essence of the moment.

For every piece you place, a new paragraph unfolds as the story comes together. But that story will be different for everyone, and everyone’s journey will be a unique experience and will create their own memorable moments associated with it.

The art of the tale

Speaking of fairy tales, we’ve fabricated our own fable as the focus of the next feature of our series, #5 What do we look for when choosing art for our puzzles. A short story about a little girl who gets lost in the woods and finds herself climbing the tallest tree that she can find to try to navigate her way home.

Not one for spoilers? We don’t want ruin any of the suspenseful situations that await her. We hope you will enjoy this spirited mini tale of adventure.

Goldi-chan and the Three Puzzles

by: Playing Grounded

post image: The Gargoyle Keeper by Scott Gustafson

Goldi-chan and the Three Puzzles

A Playing Grounded® short story about a little girl who gets lost in the woods and finds herself climbing the tallest tree that she can find to try to navigate her way home.

Take me to the story.

by: Playing Grounded

post image: Spring in Sakuragaoka by AYMRC

Puzzles not for puzzlers!

Now that’s a puzzling statement. What do I mean by that? How can a puzzle be for someone who doesn’t do puzzles?

• Answer: That’s a good question, and one that we have found out by our experience from the years we’ve spent trying to market our puzzles. One of the first responses we see from those in social media is, “I’ve never seen this brand before.” Well, guess what? We’re not new. Playing Grounded® has been around for about 7 years.

Why haven’t you ever seen Playing Grounded® puzzles before?

Answer: For a short time retailers such as Puzzle Warehouse (which I know you’re all familiar with) did carry our brand, but, as it turns out, our puzzles were more expensive than what the average puzzler wanted to pay—unless they’re wood, which they feel has more value.

Don’t misunderstand me, we do have some everyday puzzlers who have taken the plunge and have come to become loyal members of our little following after experiencing our brand first hand.

Who buys our puzzles?

• Answer: anime art enthusiasts, board gamers, collectors, crowd funders, fans of the artists, geeks and lovers of all things interesting, point of purchasers (they stumbled upon them) and, lastly, people who learned about our brand by word of mouth.

What makes us different and why would you buy our brand when other puzzles are cheaper?

• Answer: Time is money and your time is valuable. Am I right? Since we spend most of our time working, fulfilling our daily requirements, and fondling our phones, we want to make the most out of the time that is left over. There isn’t much and we want to savor as much as we can of it. So, whether it’s games, gardening, golf, or in this case, piecing a puzzle, we need to derive some sort of satisfaction from our endeavors (i.e. a dopamine brain boost that makes us feel all warm and gushy).

1. That is the niche that we were looking to fill.
2. That is the grail of our business model.
3. That is why we see our puzzles as more of an investment than a purchase.

What you see is what you get and what you get is what you pay for.

Here is what you get on the return of your investment:

• Our art selections are truly unique and the love of finding these treasures and sharing them with those who can appreciate their worth is the rocket fuel that propels us forward.
• Only 500 of each title are ever produced (with rare exceptions). When they’re gone they’re gone, which makes them special and often valuable to collectors of the art.
• We only choose art that has the crispest, clearest resolution. We will never use blurry, fuzzy or pixelated images for our puzzles.
• We are extremely persnickety when it comes to puzzles, so we work with one of the best puzzle manufactures in the industry to meet those standards.
• We use the finest materials available, from vivid offset printing, to 2 mil puzzle blue board and a textured-linen mate laminated finish.
• The die blades are always super sharp and leave each piece with the cleanest cuts.

In Conclusion:

Our puzzles cost us much more to produce than you might think, but we feel that the investment we make is worth the difference. It gives us the satisfaction of making something that people really look forward to seeing on their coffee and kitchen tables and often adorning their walls.

From the moment you hold a Playing Grounded® puzzle box in your hands you’ll feel the difference. From the high quality of our boxes, to the perfect fit of our pieces, we want your investment in our puzzles to leave you with an overall uplifting experience!

#7. What do we look for when choosing art for our puzzles?