There are plenty of reasons why puzzles have remained popular throughout the decades: They are mentally stimulating, relaxing, and provide a sense of accomplishment when you complete them.
As you break open a fresh puzzle, it’s normal to find yourself wondering, “How long is this going to take me to finish?”
A 500 piece puzzle is a great size for beginners, though it can still be a challenging the task to complete, depending on the puzzle design itself. If you’re curious about how long your 500 piece puzzle will take you to complete, fear not, we have everything you need to know right here.
Key Takeaways
● When it comes to completing a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle, the average time is generally about two to six hours.
● There are a number of variables to consider when it comes to puzzle completion time, like design, mood, health factors, and experience.
● While tracking the time to complete puzzles can be a fun challenge
How Long Does it Take to do a 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle?
If you were looking for a cut-and-dry answer on the completion time for a 500 piece puzzle, you’re out of luck (sorry!). There are a number of variables that factor into puzzle completion time, but 500 piece puzzles generally take anywhere between two and six hours to fully complete.
What Factors Affect the Time it Takes to do a 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle?
You might find yourself thinking, “Between two and six hours? That’s a huge range of time!” The reason is that there can be a number of factors that can affect how long someone takes to complete a puzzle.
Design
Some jigsaw puzzles have easier designs to complete than others. Jigsaw puzzles may consist of a single color for an extra challenge, which is likely to take even more than six hours. If your design has a lot of variances with distinct colors, patterns, and illustrations throughout, it’s a bit easier to figure out which pieces go where.
Mood and Emotions
Your mental state can have an enormous impact on how long it takes you to complete a puzzle. If you’re in a good mood and enjoying the process, you’re likely to complete it sooner. If you’re getting frustrated or already enter the puzzle feeling stress or anxiety, it’s likely to take longer.
Impairments and Health
Every person is different, and for those with hand and/or vision impairments, issues with hand-eye coordination, memory decline, or other mental health issues, puzzles can indeed take longer to complete.
Skill and Experience
Every puzzle is different, and while frequent puzzlers don’t always inherently have a leg up, if you’re used to putting together puzzles, you’ve likely worked out certain patterns and routines to help complete it faster than folks who may be brand new to puzzles.
Final Thoughts
Does it even matter how long it takes to complete a jigsaw puzzle?
Whether you take two hours or 10 to complete a 500 piece puzzle, we think puzzling is about the journey, not the destination. With that motto in mind, it does not matter how long it takes you to complete a puzzle (unless you are dead set on beating a record or have a deadline of some kind).
It’s not a race, and what matters most is that you’re having a good time while doing it!
