Among many other things, friends and techies Punjit Sharma and Karthik Balakrishnan bond well over puzzles. A few years ago, Karthik traveled to the US and participated in the Puzzled Pint Session, a global social puzzle solving event held once a month in San Francisco. Completely captivated by the allure of the brain game, the duo started organizing Puzzled Pint in Bengaluru, the only city in India to host it in a worldwide format. “Karthik approached the San Francisco chapter for assistance,” says Punjit.
Punjit says, Bengaluru embraces hobbies like solving puzzles in a more positive way and that is why Puzzled Pint is growing steadily here.
Puzzled Pint lets participants solve the same puzzles together, on the same day. “It’s a fun exercise to gather offline and make some new friends,” says the 32-year-old. It encourages new people to come and solve puzzles in a pinch. “But people who enjoy being competitive can compare their times to someone who has solved the same puzzle in New Zealand or Paris or some other city.”
to level
The puzzles offered at the events are not typical sudoku or crosswords. One can expect various versions of word-based puzzles – crosswords and anagrams with themes around pop culture. “I’ve attended events based on shows like Friends, Pokemon or Christmas,” says Suraj Mangesh, a 28-year-old IT professional who is a regular at Puzzled Pint.
He says, “I love solving puzzles and when it’s held in a social setting you often want to participate.” Recently, at the pub where the event was organised, Sooraj and his friend joined a couple who had brought along their pet dog.
a detox from work
Solving puzzles is a great way to relax after a hard day’s work and so, Suraj finds a puzzled pint helpful
Events are organized in the middle of the week. “Sometimes, you meet other people or people who are looking for teammates. You stop working together with different people. It’s a good way to expand your social circle,” he says. Suraj has been participating in Puzzled Pint events since July 2019. He learned about them from a Meetup group. “They haven’t stopped even during the pandemic .They put it online,” he says.
Shubhrajyoti Sen, a 28-year-old software engineer, and his friend started attending Puzzled Pint events “as an activity” in 2022. But now he has a group of 19 people who are regular in solving puzzles.
Shubhrajyoti says, the puzzles are a tough challenge every time. The puzzles in July were quite complex. “In the first few, we had to find similar words, and match parts of those words to create new words. Then we had to make another word by taking letters from these new words. That was the final answer. We were very involved in it and when we finally solved it, everyone was obviously happy, and really relieved,” says Shubhrajyoti.
Each event will have four main puzzles, including a meta puzzle, sometimes followed by a bonus puzzle. Shubhrajyoti and his group keep it very simple. “We don’t look at the leaderboard to see the timings of participants from around the world,” says Shubhrajyoti.
Sometimes things get a little competitive. “When there are more people, we try to divide the puzzles among ourselves to finish them faster. “We have made it to the top few spots on the leaderboard many times,” says Suraj.
beat the monday blues
Jigsaw Puzzle Meetup Playful Pursuits gathers on Mondays. It has become a popular place to hang out with friends; Some people also choose it as a place to bring their dates. Prerna Gupta, a 36-year-old psychiatrist from Indiranagar, took her first date to Playful Pursuits. “I didn’t have much conversation to do, so I asked if he wanted a game of jigsaw puzzles and he agreed. It was fun and we talked more on the second date,” she says.
As someone who grew up solving jigsaw puzzles with her mother, Prerna says puzzles bring her immense joy. He even has a puzzle tattooed on him. Prerna says such encounters are a boon for die-hard puzzle lovers like her as they do not need to buy and store lots of puzzles at home. “Plus, you don’t get bored of solving the same puzzles over and over again. There are many types of puzzles in Meetup. Until I went to one of these meetings, I didn’t even know that so many variations and different terminologies existed. Every time, it feels like a puzzle fairyland,” she says. Prerna solves three to four puzzles in about two hours.
Asma Tajuddin, organizer of Playful Pursuits, takes pride in the variety of puzzles she creates. “These are not standard cardboard puzzles with interlocking pieces. We have signed up with a wooden puzzle company as our sponsor. The pieces are cut differently depending on the theme,” says Asma. There is an owl-shaped puzzle; The second one is based on Harry Potter theme. “Each piece looks like a corner piece, and it’s challenging to solve.” There are puzzles on Shaktimaan, Nirma Girl and Indian Coffee House, things that 1990s kids grew up on. She adds, “Solving them is especially satisfying because they create a great sense of nostalgia.”
Asma, a 36-year-old lawyer, started Playful Pursuits six months ago. They have also started organizing a formally sponsored competition with about 60 people once every month, on the lines of the World Championships held in Spain. Asma plans to form an association of puzzle lovers that can represent the country at the global level.
trade your old puzzle
At Meetup, there is a place to resell, buy, or exchange used puzzles. Jenitha Das, a 29-year-old cyber security consultant in Sarjapur, was looking to resell some of her 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles after solving them twice. That’s when she came to know about a group called Playful Pursuits, a WhatsApp group for puzzle enthusiasts, and started attending meetups as well. “I go there with my partner and solve two-three puzzles. “I find it therapeutic and a great way to beat the Monday blues,” she says. Zenitha got into solving puzzles with her college mates during her MBA days in 2018. “We moved to different cities but whenever my friends come to town, we get together for a board game and puzzle night,” she says. At any given time, Zenitha had seven to eight jigsaw puzzles at home, which she would solve a few times before selling them again.
Make your way to the venue
Puzzled Pint is a non-profit program founded in July 2010 in Portland, Oregon, USA. Its volunteers organize unpaid, informal social puzzle-solving events over beer in pubs or restopubs in over 80 cities around the world on the second Tuesday of every month. But the real game starts four days earlier, when last Friday, a location puzzle appeared on the Puzzled Pint website. This is the first obstacle the participants must overcome – piecing together clues to find the watering hole that is hosting it. On the day of the event, they usually get to solve four puzzles and sometimes, get a bonus if they finish in the first four. The puzzles are designed on the lines of the MIT Mystery Hunt, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology event, which is one of the most complex puzzle hunts in the world, attracting around 120 teams every year. Yet Puzzled Pint always keeps its puzzles beginner-friendly.
a boost for
cognitive function
Puzzles are an effective means of relaxation and entertainment. Crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, puzzles and word games help preserve cognitive functions, says Dr Shobha N, consultant-neurologist, Manipal Hospital, Malleshwaram. “Crosswords specifically improve word memory, executive functions and vocabulary, and attention span. It prevents short-term memory loss. Puzzles improve cognitive functions like thinking, reasoning, problem solving skills and mental speed. “Puzzles help preserve the memory.” Puzzles and word games, especially when solved successfully, increase the release of dopamine, which has an effect on mood and memory. “They help reduce screen time and improve social relationships, which is another safety net for preventing dementia. Doing crossword puzzles regularly can delay the onset of dementia by up to two and a half years.
