World-class puzzler Caryn Knill’s usual approach to preparing for competitions was by doing puzzles, but at some point she decided that there was probably a better way, so she turned to the tool that’s apparently everywhere these days: AI.

Hanna Lehikoinen didn't stumble into competitive speed puzzling. She sprinted straight at it. Growing up in Finland, Hanna was surrounded by puzzles and competition in equal measure, and it turned out that was exactly the right training ground. When she discovered speed puzzling, the switch flipped almost instantly: within days she had an Instagram account, a timer, and her sights set on Worlds. In this episode, we trace Hanna's journey from casual Finnish puzzler to one of the breakout stars of the EJJ circuit, where she found herself finishing among the best puzzlers on the planet. We dig into what it was like to time herself from day one, how she thought about improving her skills, and what it actually feels like to be in panic mode during a competition when you're one of the fastest people in the world. We also talk about the competitive gene that seems to run in the family, the challenge of balancing a sudden career in elite puzzling with the organized chaos of family life, and what her prolific Instagram archive reveals about the honest, unfiltered arc of someone becoming great at something. Not just the sunshine, but the work.

Emma Quirke won the UK Nationals in 2025. Rachael Chambers won it in 2026. Does that make them bitter rivals? Quite the contrary! In this episode we dig in to their intertwined history, how their differing approaches to puzzling land them within second of each other over and over again, do a deep dive into their World Series experience, and find out why they may be one of the strongest pairs out there.

EB and I are joined by several of the competitors that made a splash at this year's US Nationals. The theme that kept coming up over and over? How much everyone loved this year's event. Joining us are: Alice Rowe Jessa Douglas Josh Trauger Lewis Dracobly-Helsel

Louise Jackett knew she had found her tribe at her very first competition. Since then, Lou has dedicated herself to giving others that same sense of community, building from Covid-era competitor to one of the most influential figures in Australian competitive puzzling. Along the way she made decisions that shaped the culture of the sport in ways she probably didn't anticipate, including an impulsive choice that gave Australian puzzlers their national identity at Worlds. That pattern of going from idea to execution runs through everything Lou does, and it's ultimately what led her to the presidency of the Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Association and to co-founding the Speed Puzzling World Series. In this episode we follow her puzzling arc, and dig into what the SPWS is all about.

Trigger Alert! THIS EPISODE CONTAINS NEARLY NO STATS! We wanted to explore a different way of talking about the upcoming US National Championships in Atlanta. To help us out, we brought back some former guests, and a new one you might recognize.

Thomas Kaeppeler has been at Ravensburger pretty much his entire working life. From working on the factory floor at Ravensburger headquarters in Germany, to becoming the President of Ravensburger North America. In this episode, we get a whole DIFFERENT kind of nerdy.

Hannah Doyle really didn’t think about jigsaw puzzles much until a fateful night where she was looking for something to do. Suddenly she was obsessed, and within a year she was finishing second in the California state competition, live streaming puzzles on Twitch, and gearing up for US Nationals and Worlds.

If you think that being a competition judge is primarily about taking down times, well…you’re right. But international judges Daphne Harmsen and William Shandling show us that it’s also about innovation, empathy, and a deep sense of fairness.

What happens when you combine the analytical mind of a physics educator with the precision of a world-class violinist? You get a partnership that shares a single competitive brain to deconstruct jigsaw puzzles at a cellular level. In this episode, Jim and Mari break down their unique roles: Mari provides the world-class "hands" while Jim serves as the analytical "eye in the sky," spotting patterns and pieces from a distance that you just can't see when your hands are on the board. We dive into Mari’s "Type A Plus" competitive spirit and their shared pedagogical approach to mastering the table. Whether you're a casual fan or a hardcore sprinter, this episode is a deep dive into the thoughtful puzzling that defines elite play.