A new kind of therapy

Manipulation is essential when selling puzzles—not customer manipulation, but tactical puzzles that boggle the mind—and these days, even the most challenging puzzles reach demographics of players aged four to centurions.

Manipulative puzzles to traditional jigsaws, puzzles haven’t lost their appeal and have more benefits than a fun challenge. More senior retirement homes are stocking up on puzzles to help seniors keep their minds active. Rehabilitation centers are also using puzzles with children and adults with neurological problems to help with hand-eye coordination and other motor and cognitive problems.

Puzzles rouse the mind and can help with therapy of neurological diseases as well as seniors who need some mental stimulation, according to Marshall Gavin, executive vice president of b. dazzle, Redondo Beach, Calif. He tells Playthings that he gets letters from seniors in retirement homes throughout the country in response to the company’s puzzles. Gavin actually recommends that toy and educational retailers put their store’s address sticker on their puzzles and take them into their local retirement centers, senior centers and assisted living facilities, so they can open a new market for their stores.

“I think people like to exercise their mind,” he tells Playthings. “Fine motor skills and eye-to-hand coordination are also reinforced when working on solving puzzles. Medical research has proved that people who keep their brain muscles exercised, maintain their mental acuity, their alertness and memory.”

The b. dazzle Scramble Squares are easy to construct, but don’t be fooled, there’s a challenge within each puzzle. “Seniors are a huge market for our puzzles, because our puzzles are made up of nine pieces, 4” X 4”, that are easy to see and hold,” says Gavin. “Because our puzzles are also challenging, seniors and kids have a good time playing together. It’s a nice way of participating with multi generations of extended family. We are told by geriatric recreational and occupational therapy professionals that Scramble Squares puzzles encourage interaction among seniors, who may otherwise have little incentive to socialize.”

Steven Cuomo, marketing coordinator at ThinkFun Games, Alexandria, Va., says that there’s significant evidence that games and puzzles are therapeutic. “We know that Thinkfun products are used in many occupational therapists offices around the country and recent studies have shown the positive impact of playing strategy games and puzzles,” he says. “While it is difficult to measure direct sales to this market segment, we believe that the inherent social benefits and emerging health benefits of playing puzzles and games is driving increased consumer demand.”

Buffalo Games, Buffalo, N.Y., recently donated 1,000 puzzles to the local United Way chapter, which works with 150 agencies in Western New York. Kevin Renaud, marketing manager says he quickly started getting requests from other health and senior care facilities, as well as from groups like Big Brother, Big Sister, Erie County, N.Y.

“We have seen many of the same studies regarding the benefits that activities such as jigsaw puzzles can have in keeping the mind healthy,” says Renaud. “From the youngest to the oldest, jigsaw puzzles offer something for everyone. Whether done in the spirit of education or recreation; a private escape or a family gathering; to provide peaceful relaxation or to bring on the ultimate challenge...whatever the case may be, there is truly no age group left untouched by the timeless simplicity that the jigsaw puzzle offers,” he tells Playthings.

New 1,000-piece All About…Disney puzzles, designed by Peter Ellenshaw and double-sided Disney collages in the company’s World’s Most Difficult puzzle line will be new Buffalo puzzles coming out later this year.

At the Washington Elk Therapy Program in Seattle, Wash., occupational therapists use puzzles to help children develop motor, cognitive and social skills as well as work with kids with hearing, visual and physical impairments. Rebecca Gibson, an occupational therapist at Elk, tells Playthings that puzzles can help children with physical hand problems. “It’s hard to move in the world if you can’t move your hands,” she says. 'I believe kids learn what they live. Our goal is to work with kids and help them be the best they can be.”

Gibson works with the Good to Grow, Olympia, Wash., a program that encourages specialty stores to stock toys that can be used by parents or occupational therapists with children with special needs. Participating stores can use in-store hanging mobiles to let customers know which sections offer toys and games that can be used for special needs as well as a Good to Grow door cling and product stickers.

Dennis Callaghan’s parents, who are both confined to wheelchairs after suffering strokes always have handy a puzzle from The Treetoys, Taipei, and pass them along to friends. “I think it has a lot to do with keeping their minds active,” says Callaghan, Treetoys managing director. “You need to see shapes and colors and concentrate for a fairly long period of time.”

The Treetoys Puzzle Art line offers black and white puzzles from artists Thomas Barbèy and more colorful ones from Kinuko Crafts, the artists behind Celestial Seasonings tea boxes designs. The puzzles offer something for all ages and are artistically striking enough for retailers’ displays. Callaghan says that some of the specialty stores in Australia are using half cut jigsaws in their window displays.

John Leclair, owner of Puzzle Me This, Provincetown, Mass., has been in business for 15 years and says that puzzles are always a consistent seller. “Jigsaws still hold their appeal with 1,000-1,500 [pieces] being the most popular,” he says. “Good quality jigsaw, people are always looking for that.”

Leclair mentions that metal disentanglement puzzles and anything by ThinkFun Games, Alexandria, Va., are steady, consistent sellers all year. He also says that some of the licensed puzzles are steady sellers, but licensing as a whole does not have much of an affect on puzzle sales and popularity.

Gavin says that licensing doesn’t really benefit most puzzles. The challenge is the manipulative character of the game that ultimately sells a puzzle, not the character on the box, Gavin tells Playthings.

“Our goal is to still produce domestically and still keep our price under $10 retail, so we don’t have a lot of room in there to pay licensing fees,” he says. “Characters that you’re licensing create instant popularity for the product. But people get absolutely committed to proving to themselves that they can do it. they love to take on the challenge and they love to prove to themselves that they can take on the challenge.” 