Out of all the tried-and-true, time-tested toy categories, puzzles and brainteasers may well have one of the largest fan clubs. There's something for everyone when it comes to puzzles, typically at a very affordable price points, which is more important than ever in today's current economic climate. Fortunately, as toy retailers are struggling to attract customers, established puzzle companies (and a few upstarts) are responding with a slate of new products that are keeping veteran puzzlers happy—and drawing in new ones every day.

"Retailers are telling us that, despite the economy, the puzzle category seems to be holding up well, with some upward growth," JP Clauson, president of Indiana' Lafayette Puzzle Factory, tells Playthings. "Puzzles are seen as having outstanding value during times of economic uncertainty. For under $10, the puzzle provides hours of enjoyment and family time. And once it is completed, it can be shared with others."

Alexandra Deegan, director of product development at Newton, N.H.-based Ravensburger, agrees. "According to representative consumer panel data, the puzzle category is up 13 percent in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the first quarter of 2008," she tells Playthings. "In comparison, the market for traditional toys (all categories) was down 4 percent." She also notes that Ravensburger itself, as one of the top five puzzle manufacturers in terms of U.S. sales, has grown 35 percent during the same period. "There is no recession in puzzles!" Deegan says. "In fact, puzzles are the perfect product category during tough economic times. [They] are the only traditional toy category that is seeing substantial retail growth right now."

Adds Outset Media Games' Paul Albhouse, "Jigsaw puzzles have shown steady growth and an exceptionally loyal customer following over the past five years that [Outset has] been in the category. Avid puzzle consumers buy puzzles—a lot of puzzles—over and over and over again. Part of the appeal ... is that they provide a feeling of accomplishment. They offer a relaxing, quiet activity combined with a personal challenge that is both measurable and achievable."

And this fervor isn't limited to jigsaws, according to Lynn Araujo at the Creative Whack Company, the brainteaser firm based in Stamford, Conn. "Interactive puzzles seem to be consistently strong sellers even when other toys and games are in a slump," she says. "Perhaps because these kinds of toys provide more than just the fun factor ... buyers want to know they are getting something of real value for their money. So a puzzle that challenges and stimulates the mind has an advantage over a more passive toy."

Puzzles and brainteasers are also appealing because "They are significantly less seasonal than almost all other toy categories," according to Ravensburger's Deegan. "They are a year-round proposition, perfect as an activity to do with family and friends, on your own, or to give as a gift."

That's a sentiment shared by Jason Schneider, product development and marketing manager for Newton, Mass.-based puzzle maker Ceaco. "One of the great things about puzzles is that they never go out of season," he says. "They're great in the winter as a cure for cabin fever and they're a terrific take-along family activity for summer vacation," he says. Schneider also credits new and ongoing interest in the puzzle category to recent research and news reports about the positive effect of 'brain training' as well as the trend nowadays for families to take 'staycations' to save money.

For Ceaco, that all translates to strong sales for its offerings of 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles, which remain one of its most popular product lines, Schneider says, adding, "We've also seen huge interest in our recently launched line of Magna Puzzles, which feature lenticular images on a magnetic square surface." Licensed properties also play a big role, both for Ceaco and for the category, Schneider says. "People tend to buy puzzles first and foremost on image, so it's always helpful to have a known property as a partner. Ceaco's been fortunate in that regard, partnering with some of the most well-known and loved artists on the market."

The same holds true for other established companies in the category—like Ravensburger and The Great American Puzzle Factory (GAPF), now a division of Indianapolis' Fundex Games—who supply puzzle titles to both specialty as well as some larger chains.

"Thomas & Friends has and still does play a big role in the children's puzzle assortment. Mass market is more license-driven than specialty stores," Ravensburger's Deegan says. "We just signed a puzzle license for Hello Kitty and will introduce product this fall."

Says GAPF's puzzle product manager Tracey Jackson, "Licenses play a substantial role, especially in the juvenile puzzle segment. When you have a license on the puzzle it's instant brand recognition that appeals to the customer ... John Deere puzzles are our top sellers."

Outside of the licensing arena, GAPF is also aiming for innovation in other ways, Jackson says, such as its new offerings in the Make 'em Move line of floor puzzles that feature movable parts; for example, kids can unload the dump truck in Busy Builders or swing the ladder up and down in Speedy Fire Truck. For older kids and adults, there is the Impossible Puzzles series by Alex Beard, which allows puzzlers to create free-form puzzle designs, and the super-challenging, monochromatic One Tough Puzzle (now available in three titles: Red, Silver and Copper). Moving forward, GAPF also hopes to add more contemporary art to its standard puzzles for adults, Jackson says.

For Outset Media, "we are seeing very strong summer and advance fall order numbers from our new Cobble Hill titles as well as the children's framed puzzles in the Cobble Hill line," says Albhouse. In addition, the company's newest titles in the two-in-one Magic Square Tile Puzzles line "continue to sell at a frantic pace."

Another company expanding the definition of traditional jigsaws is Lafayette Puzzle Factory, which is currently shipping its debut product, the Chalkboard Floor Puzzle, featuring large areas within the image that a child can draw on. "Kids love to interact with our Chalkboard Puzzle images," Clauson says. "When I was testing the concept I was blown away by the creativity of the kids putting the puzzle together and then using the chalk. They played games, wrote math problems, and drew their own characters."

Bridging the gap between the jigsaw and more Rubik's-style logic/strategy brainteasers are several popular lines of 3-D puzzles, such as Ravensburger's Puzzleball and Imagiplay's wooden puzzles.

Each Puzzleball is made of curved plastic puzzle pieces that form a smooth ball without glue; the newest releases include heart-shaped keepsake boxes, sports balls, and SmileyWorld, a 240-piece children's globe that's packaged with information about animals.

Meanwhile, the most popular items for Boulder, Colo.-based Imagiplay at the moment are the Buddy Blocks puzzle/blocks for toddlers. They can be played with as blocks, then later as puzzles as the child grows, says president Barbera Aimes. "Our other popular item is the ColorMeUp series of puzzle craft kits. These are natural wooden puzzles that are not finished in any way. They come with a water-based paint kit so a 4- or 5-year-old can color as they please. These appeal not only to puzzle-kids, but to crafters as well." Next in the line is an endangered species series, ColorMeForever.

GAPF is also getting in on the 3-D action with its new uniquely-shaped Clearly Puzzled line. "Our brainteasers category is one of our biggest growing segments within our puzzle business," Jackson says. "Consumers like the challenge of the brainteaser as well as the satisfaction of overcoming it. And when it comes to merchandizing, we consider them both a game and a puzzle. With brainteasers there is also an overlap with the customer because a game player may not consider buying a puzzle, but will buy a brainteaser and vice versa."

It's no wonder then that game maker Winning Moves, Danvers, Mass., has been such a force in brainteaser sales at specialty stores in recent years. "We strive to make games and puzzles that people will recognize and identify with at a reasonable cost," Joe Sequino, vice president of marketing, tells Playthings. "The Rubik's Cube is a perennial best-seller," he says, noting that Winning Moves' big addition to the category this year is the Rubik's You Can Do It DVD, which packages the popular brainteaser with an easy-to-follow DVD starring "speedcuber" Tyson Mao demonstrating to players how to solve the cube, step by step.

"The desire, and the need, is always there to get behind a new puzzle or brainteaster but it's such an uphill battle in the specialty industry. Oftentimes, it's smartest to go with what sells, like the Rubik's branded items," Sequino says ... though he cautions retailers to be on the lookout for new items. Today's unknown product could be "the next Rubik's Cube," he says.

A number of new companies are still vying for that kind of brand recognition, such as the Creative Whack Company and the Sandy, Utah-based Voxal.

New from Creative Whack this year is the X-Ball, designed by Roger von Oech as a companion product to the Ball of Whacks. It features magnetic X shapes that click together, forming a geometric orb. "We see the items like the Ball of Whacks and X-Ball appealing to broader markets than more traditional games, both in terms of the consumer and also in terms of the retailers," Araujo says. "A lot of parents tell us they buy the Ball of Whacks for their kids but end up playing with it themselves ... We've had a lot of success marketing these items for Dads and grads. Customers seem to like the unlimited creative aspects of [them]."

Open-ended creativity is also a key component of the Voxal puzzles, according to inventor Fabio Elias. His award-winning Voxal Solo, comprised of identical flat pieces that fit together to form 3-D symmetrical objects, debuted in 2008. New this year from the company are the Mini Voxals, which allow huge 3-D configurations. Elias hopes to license the product line to a puzzle company that can take his concepts to a larger audience. At Toy Fair this year, the Mini Voxals "got amazing feedback," Elias says. Unlike its predecessor, "the Mini Voxal is a collectible because you can connect them (they come in "positive" and "negative" models) and create as many cool Voxal constellations as your imagination lets you."