You Won’t See Them at the Olympics, but These Speed Puzzlers Are World-Class

In the winter of 1966, The New York Times printed a story about the jigsaw-puzzle boom sweeping the United States, quoting a Barnard College professor who said, “The reason that people do puzzles is nothing more complicated than compulsion.” Almost 60 years later, puzzle culture has exploded far beyond mere compulsion: It’s a thriving community with online stars and an international tournament drawing thousands of nimble-fingered competitors.

That tournament, the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship, will hold its fourth edition this September in Valladolid, Spain, a city more than 130 miles northwest of Madrid. Participants from more than 75 countries will race to complete multiple puzzles for a modest cash prize and bragging rights over six days.

One of the more well-known competitors in Spain will be Karen Kavett, 33, of Los Angeles, who has been doing her part to fuel the speed-puzzling craze. Ms. Kavett, one of the sport’s most familiar figures, has built a sizable following on social media since she started making content in 2018 — including more than 290,000 subscribers on YouTube — where she goes by Karen Puzzles.

For Ms. Kavett, puzzling is not only a pastime, it is how she earns a living and connects with others.

“When I’m here practicing speed puzzling, just alone in my apartment, it makes me feel connected to a broader community, in a way that I had never really felt before with puzzling,” Ms. Kavett said. “For a long time, it was just a solitary activity. But with this, you have a benchmark or a statistic, something in common where you can compare yourself to other people around the world.”