Speed ​​challenges and giant format, puzzles are popular in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

Since the pandemic, the craze for puzzles has continued to grow in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. While speed competitions took place Saturday and Sunday, a woman from La Baie has just completed a 24,000-piece puzzle.

The latter, Guylaine Desbiens, describes herself quite simply as a puzzle lover. The one she has just completed is more than 4 m long and sits in her basement. I had to take three tablesshe confides, smiling.

Ms. Desbiens explains that the giant puzzle took her nearly 900 hours of work. However, although close to the goal, she found that she was missing five pieces, which she plans to make.

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Guylaine Desbiens dreams of an even more colossal challenge, a puzzle of 42,000 pieces that would be 7 m long. I might need a church basement.she notes.

Elsewhere in the region, other puzzle enthusiasts gathered at the Game over Saguenay board and video game festival.

The speed competition organized during the event by the Galerie dutoy store was sold out this year, according to the store’s weekend manager, Raphaëlle Tremblay.

Every year, we have more people who want to participate. In Jonquière, we had 40 tables, then we ran out of tables. People were disappointedshe says.

The manager of the store located in Chicoutimi indicates that the puzzles are also popular with customers.

“More and more people are coming, both younger and older. It’s really beautiful and the fun to see so many people who are passionate about puzzles,” she emphasizes.

Cognitive benefits

According to neuropsychologist Mathieu M. Blanchet, putting together a puzzle is good exercise for the brain, since the activity uses eight different cognitive functions.

The pieces when you put them in, they are placed upside down, they are not in the right corners, you have to use strategy, there is something about judgmenthe explains.

It’s really good for the brain.

However, to improve cognitive functions like training a muscle, the neuropsychologist notes that you must be patient.

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With information from Alexandra Duchaine