Puzzles & Tangram

This jigsaw and puzzle shelf gathers wooden puzzles for every stage, from a five-piece knob puzzle for a one-year-old to a 192-piece world map from age 4 and pocket brain teasers for ages 6 and up. Pick by age, by number of pieces or by the theme your child loves.

Peg and inset puzzles for 2 year olds and younger

The youngest start with chunky peg puzzles: firefighters, safari animals, a baby horse in five pieces, or sound puzzles that make an animal call when the piece goes back in. A small knob helps a little hand lift each shape out and turn it until it drops into place, the try-again-until-it-fits idea behind many wooden Montessori toys. Between 18 months and 2, inset boards of geometric shapes, letters and numbers add a new challenge, as each hole takes only one piece.

From magnetic scenes to a first jigsaw puzzle

Magnetic puzzles are a gentle step towards interlocking pieces: the pirate ship, the funfair or the forest owls stay put on their board, so a stray elbow does not undo the work. Around 3 or 4, children move on to a proper wooden jigsaw of 24 pieces, such as the baby animals or the pond life scene, then the 96-piece Europe map. The 192-piece fairy-tale castle suits ages 6 and up.

Tangram puzzle sets and brain teasers

A tangram puzzle uses seven flat shapes to build a cat, a boat or a running figure from a model. Our sets run from a 7-piece tangram with its guide for ages 3 and up to a 52-piece set in a metal travel box, alongside pattern blocks, a honeycomb hexagon game and Tetris-style grids. For older children, the snake cube, the T-puzzle and metal wire brain teasers take over once flat puzzles feel easy.

Choosing puzzles for kids by age and patience

Watch your child rather than the box: a puzzle finished in a minute means it is time for more pieces, while one abandoned after three tries needs fewer. For a first jigsaw of 24 pieces or more, sort out the straight-edged pieces together and build the frame first: the pile on the table becomes a job your child can see the end of.