Piece Talks

Kelly Walter swept the 2025 US Nationals. In this episode we talk her experiences at the major competitions, and how her approach has evolved over time, including a change in her mindset (and playlist) at the start of an event.

In this MEGA episode, I talk about the 2025 US Nationals with:

EB Caron

Conner DeLaat, Kimberly DeLaat, and Josh Trauger

Alice Rowe

Zak Hill

Faith Taylor and Valerie Coit

Speed puzzler extraordinaire EB Caron joins me to run down the individuals, pairs, and teams you should be looking out for (and why) at the 2025 US Nationals competition.

What makes a great speed puzzling image? Nathanael Mortensen, illustrator of five Ravensburger puzzles—including two unveiled at US Nationals—helps pull back the curtain on the art of puzzle design. We explore how he got into digital painting, what goes into crafting an engaging puzzle, and whether the artist or publisher shapes the final concept. Plus, what’s it like watching your artwork get dumped onto a table in pieces?

You may know that Chiara Dellantonio is a world-class speed puzzler who has finished 11th or higher in the individuals at every one of the last three years at the World Championships.

But you may not know that she’s also an avid marathon puzzler.

In this episode, we’ll talk about her journey through speed puzzling, but also how she got involved in puzzle marathons, and what even is a puzzle marathon?

Twin sisters Jeanne and Cathy Roiter had been quietly kicking around the competitive jigsaw scene for a couple of decades until they won the first US Nationals Pairs competition by over 6 minutes in 2022.

Most recently, they teamed up with Andrea Peng and Becca Taylor in the 2024 World Championships to become the first US team to take first place.

Chances are that you’ve heard of Valerie Coit. A competitive puzzler since 1999, she is a member of the iconic puzzling team Wicker Kittens (and a standout personality in the movie of the same name), was a founding member of the USA JPA, and is currently Vice President of the World Jigsaw Puzzle Federation.

And if none of that seems familiar, she announces the live streams at both the US Nationals and Worlds competitions.

She did it! Kristin Thuv is the 2024 World Jigsaw Puzzle Champion!

After coming in second place in both 2022 and 2023, Kristin was determined to take home the gold this year. In this episode of Piece Talks, Kristin shares how she transformed her approach from casual to performance-driven. She talks about what was going on in her head during pivotal moments, how her family is an active component of her success, and how sometimes even world champions make mistakes (and learn from them).

In this episode, Jessa Douglas talks about her journey into the world of speed puzzling, and takes me on a journey into the world of puzzle chess!

Kathi Reiner joins host Rob Shields and and returning guest EB Caron about Kathi's journey from the 2023 World Jigsaw Championship to the 2024 Worlds, including how she practiced for Worlds, and the self doubt that she battled along the way.

Kathi also brings some analysis she did on this year's worlds, and EB and Rob decide who won their prediction contest (spoiler: it was EB).