Yuu Asaka’s puzzles look simple, but sneakily break all the rules

Well, Yuu Asaka would disagree. A cult puzzle designer, Asaka is part of a new breed of creators who are upturning the idea of what a jigsaw puzzle ‘should’ be. 

In a jigsaw, you assume the goal is to interlock all pieces perfectly to make a picture. You also assume it will have four corner pieces. But in Asaka’s games, the rules are more rudimentary: make everything fit. And in his most famous creation, Jigsaw Puzzle 29, there are five corner pieces that must fit into a square tray:

Jigsaw Puzzle 29, which has five corners out of 29 total pieces, and must result in a square. Source: puzzlemaster.ca

What now? Well, you push yourself to solve what sounds impossible.

Asaka’s creations encourage creative and unconventional thinking to reach the solution. Hobbyist solvers say that Jigsaw 29 is one of the hardest, most infuriating puzzles in the world. It can take 15+ hours to finish, which isn’t exactly everyone’s idea of a good time.

But for those who do love games that push their mind more than their computer’s GPU, Asaka has kept on delivering, with a whole line of elegant and complex jigsaw puzzles:

Oleo 10, where you must fit all the red circles and black pieces into the tray. But are there enough holes for all the circles? Source: puzzlemaster.ca

Jigsaw Puzzle 16, where you have to figure out the best fit for each piece, with no exact answer. Source: puzzlemaster.ca

Wave Puzzle 7, a jigsaw with no traditional interlocked pieces. Source: puzzlemaster.ca

Bird Puzzle 11, which looks nothing like birds, but is sure to make you angry! Source: puzzlemaster.ca

Puzzle-solving as a hobby picked up steam during the coronavirus pandemic, as more people found themselves bored and isolated at home. A growing market now exists for tricky puzzles for adults, led by creators like Asaka, who want to promote offbeat ideation and heightened problem-solving skills through entertainment. 

Does this sound like something you’d want to try?