Following the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in September we wanted to know what participants have thought of the event. The results are in and we have run the data received from 286 responses. In a series of 4 articles you can also find out what an experience WJPC 2025 was. This is Part 1.
The Survey Itself
In the aftermath of a puzzle event of such magnitude, we at SPN were interested in how the participants have experienced the competition. The best way to collect this information was to conduct our own survey, so that we can get all ends of the spectrum. The survey was divided into specific parts correlating with parts of the event.
We wanted to know some basic information about the participants of the survey, including where they live, in what categories they participated and if they took an active part in the event as volunteers. We were interested in what people thought of the puzzles used in the competition and the new rules that the championship used. We also wanted to get a picture of how people found the location and venue of WJPC along with what they thought of how the event was carried out. We also wanted to know what people thought of their performance, how they found the atmosphere of the event, and finally if they would attend the event again.
In part one of the series you can find out about the participants and volunteering at the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship. It is important to point out, that some of the answers we have quoted have been edited for grammar and comprehension. Our aim with the quotes is to show a whole spectrum of opinions we have received.
Note: Most of the questions in the survey were not mandatory so not everyone who partook in the survey has answered every question.
Who answered the survey
The WJPC Participant survey has received a total of 285 responses, providing quantitative and qualitative insights into people’s experiences during the week of the puzzle event. Of the survey participants, a total of 139 (48,8%) were first-timers, 92 (32,3%) were there for the second year and 54 (18,9%) have participated multiple time.
Almost 3/4 of the responders, 71,1% (202) had traveled to the event from Europe, while 28,9% were from another continent. 1.4% from Asia, 0.4% from Africa, 19.7% from North America, 0,7% from Central America, 3,2% from South America and 3,5% from Australia and Oceania. This proportion has likely affected answers to later questions as well.
An overwhelming majority took part in at least two competition categories. 239 (83,9%) of the 285 survey participants competed in all individual, pairs and teams categories. 33 (11,6%) participated in at least two categories. Only 13 (4,6%) competed in just one category – 8 in only individual, 2 in only pairs and 3 in only teams.
Volunteering at Worlds 2025
The organizers of any puzzle competition including the world championship heavily relay on the presence and help of volunteer, especially judges, to make sure the event runs smoothly. The work of judges and other volunteers is indispensable for the success of a competition and a good experience for the competitors. To acknowledge that work, we asked if survey participants had volunteered and if they had, what their experiences as volunteers were like.
25 (8,8%) of our survey participants volunteered during the WJPC. These 25 volunteers were also active competitors as all but one of them had competed in all three categories.
Out of the 25 volunteers who participated in the survey, 5 said WJPC 2025 was their first time volunteering. 18 volunteers had previous volunteering experience from either previous Worlds, other speed puzzling competitions or both.
For most of the volunteers that answered the survey, the overall volunteering experience was a positive one with 16 out of 23 responders rating it 4 or 5 out of 5. Four remained neutral and only three had a bad experience.
Here are few comments about the volunteering experience from the survey:
“On the good side, the volunteering group was very friendly, supportive and fun.”
“I registered before the event to be a volunteer and got one e-mail with my schedule for the first day. After that there were several calls for volunteers but I didn’t get any mail with schedules for the whole week.”
“Volunteering itself was stressful but very fun! I will definitely do it again!”
While the overall volunteering experience was mostly positive amongst the survey participants, the volunteers were less happy with some aspects of the volunteering process. Majority of them (14 our of 23) said it was not easy to find out about volunteering and only 5 of the responders found it relatively or very easy.
“Regarding volunteering I think they should promote it more, since they really need more people and its was not clear to me that anyone could participate.”
“I volunteered because others volunteered for me and I happily wanted to return that gesture. But it was poorly organized, there was only a schedule for the first two days and the written instructions were vague.”
When we asked the volunteers about the instructions they received, the opinions were fairly mixed. Only one (out of 25) volunteer considered them very good but also 8 others considered them somewhat good. On the other hand 10 volunteers rated them either not very good or not good at all. Six volunteers considered the instructions neither good or bad.
In the open comments the volunteers did share their frustration about the quality of the instructions:
“We got info about the rules and our role as volunteer judges, but not really anything about when or where to meet up, what other tasks they needed help with or specifics like hailing camera crew, changes in rules etc.”
“There is no clear structure within the organization nor definition of who has the authority to give orders or make decisions, which in many cases leads to confusion or even generates extra work.”
What did competitors think about the volunteers
We included in the survey a question about the experience participants had with the volunteers. Many survey responders also wrote about volunteers in their open comments.
The feedback and comments about volunteers were mostly positive. 170 of our 284 responders (59,9%) considered their experience with the volunteers very good and another 77 (27,1%) had relatively good experience. Only 4 responders (1,4%) said they had had somewhat bad experience with the volunteer and no-one had had a very bad experience. The average rating of the experience with volunteers was 4,5/5, which was the second highest of the whole survey.
Many shared thoughts about the volunteers also in their open comments. People were very appreciative of the time and effort volunteers put into the competition and wanted to share that. However, there were also some negative comments related to volunteers. These comments were mainly focused on the fact there weren’t enough volunteers in many round, how late the organizers started asking for volunteers, and situations that seem to be result of inconsistent or insufficient instructions given to the volunteers. So while participants appreciated and valued the work the volunteers were doing, they also recognized that there were issues in how volunteering was run at the event.
Here are some highlights or the open comments regarding volunteers:
“The volunteers were all absolutely fantastic and are the stars of the event in my eyes…”
“The volunteers themselves were great, no notes. But the finding, scheduling and briefing of the volunteers should have happened at least one month ahead of the event so everything would go more smoothly behind the scenes”
“I gave my experience with the volunteers only a 3 because of how badly it was organized. To make clear: I loved everyone that was helping out as a volunteer they did great. But there sometimes were not enough judges to write down times and the rules were not clear.”
“I was surprised to have not seen requests for volunteers before the event, especially as there were so many things that clearly needed to be done that were not.”
“The volunteers were so kind and doing their best but the environment was brutal and they were understaffed.”
Coming up in Part 2
For Part 2 of the WJPC2025 survey we look into the responses about the puzzles used in the competition and about the puzzle choice rule that was introduced this year. Stay tuned next week and subscribe to our newsletter to not miss out on our future articles!