Jan van Haasteren Holdson Funny World (HFW) puzzles
What is a Jan van Haasteren Holdson Funny World puzzle (HFW puzzle)?
A Holdson puzzle is a Jan van Haasteren puzzle published by the puzzle manufacturer Holdson in Auckland, New Zealand. Full name is 'Holdson Funny World (HFW)'.
Holdson puzzles - the box is different
The box is different, there is NO Dutch title on the box and you do not see a Jumbo logo but the Holdson logo. You can see this further explained in the video:
There are a few other things in the box
– Satisfaction paper:
As with the Ceaco puzzles, the Holdson puzzles also contain a 'satisfaction' piece of paper, if you are not satisfied you can respond to Holdson via email, website or telephone number. You will not find such a piece of paper (dated January 2023) with the Jumbo puzzles: – A puzzle box holder!
This is very special, a puzzle box holder. Simple, but perhaps very useful? I've never missed it myself, but maybe other people have:
and this is what it looks like when you place the puzzle box in the puzzle holder: – the back of the box is different:
As you can see, there are four other puzzles on the back of the box, all of which are different Holdson puzzles. Four puzzles were (or are) released each year, forming a set of four. The example below shows the set of four puzzles from 2022. You don't see that with the Jumbo puzzles either:
The puzzle pieces are slightly different
Two differences of Holdson's puzzle pieces from Jumbo's puzzle pieces:
– the puzzle pieces are thinner
– the puzzle pieces have different shapes
You can see this clearly in the following image - where the row with the bottom puzzle pieces of the Holdson puzzle are:
That takes some getting used to while puzzling. But if you already have one Coco puzzle (puzzle producer from America), then you are used to it. You can see this further explained in the video:
Three boxes of 1000 piece puzzles by HFW
and another video where you can see an example of what a puzzle box of number 08745 looks like with the colors green, blue, red and pink:
The dimensions of the puzzle are slightly different
I had the puzzle 'Campsite in The Forestbought it and started making it. My experiences? I made a video about this, think the quality is less than that of Jumbo. Why?
– I had bought the puzzle new in New Zealand, at Holdson. Many puzzle pieces were still connected. I had to tear these apart myself. That doesn't always go well. Pieces don't break, but sometimes pieces of cardboard get stuck to a piece. You never tear off neatly.
– the puzzle pieces do not stick together properly, so you cannot easily move blocks with multiple puzzle pieces. then the block falls apart
– sometimes it seems that the pieces don't fit together. But that's not true. Doesn't always connect well.
My video on this:
Which Holdson Funny World Puzzles are rare?
Not every HFW puzzle is rare. You can distinguish between rare and non-rare puzzles. The distinction is as follows: – Not rare:
These are all the puzzles that have been and will be released in the familiar blue Jumbo puzzle box. You can order these puzzles from many online stores in New Zealand. You'll pay a hefty shipping fee, and it will take a long time to receive your puzzle. But they are available immediately. This box, for example: – Very rare:
That's all the HFW puzzles that were NOT released in a familiar blue box (pictured above). See the complete overview of all rare HFW puzzles further down this page. For example, in this box:
The numbering of the Jan van Haasteren HFW puzzles
The numbering system HFW assigned to the Jan van Haasteren puzzles is different. Initially, for the older puzzles published by Holdson Funny World, sets of four puzzles were issued with the same number. A new sequential numbering system was applied to each puzzle when Holdson Funny World introduced the new blue boxes, which is now this blue box (the colors we recognize and always use). This system started in 2018. After 2018, this system of issuing four puzzles with the same number was abandoned. For the first time in 2018, you'll see that numbers 77080 through 77083 were issued:
The table below lists all puzzles published by Holdson Funny World (HFW). The table is organized by year. Note: Four puzzles up to and including 2018 are listed behind each number:
Apparently, the four-puzzle sets below all have a serial number. However, there's no mention of that serial number anywhere on the box. I was able to find it because it was in a brochure that came in the box. You can see in the brochure that the HFW puzzles with the number '08900' are Series 8. It can be seen in this brochure:
HFW puzzles – Four puzzles with the number 08126 – Boxes with Green/Red/Pink/Blue border – Series 1 (2002)
On the back of each box you can see which four puzzles belong to this set
The set of 4 puzzles in a video - 4x numbers 08900
HFW puzzles – Four puzzles with the number 09488 – The well-known current dark blue Boxes – (2014)
Something special is at play with this set of puzzles, because this was the year (2014) that HFW celebrated its 75th anniversary (1939-2104). So – all four boxes received a sticker on the plastic stating the 75th anniversary. For collectors, it is truly a must-have item to have these four boxes actually sealed. You can then see this emblem in the top-right corner of the puzzle box's plastic: The 2014 anniversary promotion associated with this set of four puzzles:
What makes this series particularly interesting is the special promotion Holdson linked to the anniversary. Some puzzle boxes contained a voucher that collectors could use to save up for a free anniversary puzzle. The principle was simple: collect three of these vouchers and send them to Holdson. In exchange, you could receive one of four exclusive 1000-piece puzzles. The voucher explained exactly how the promotion worked. After collecting three vouchers, the participant could indicate which of the four anniversary puzzles they wanted to receive. The four exclusive anniversary puzzles
The selection consisted of four special editions, all featuring Holdson’s beautiful 75th anniversary emblem. One of the most striking puzzles in this promotion was the Jan van Haasteren – At the Beach. The enclosed brochure shows that this puzzle became available in May 2014. In addition, participants could choose from, among others:
Jan van Haasteren – At the Beach (Puzzle A)
Country Harvest (Puzzle B)
Three's Company (Puzzle C)
Café in Cassis (Puzzle D)
All puzzles featured the special anniversary logo, making them immediately recognizable as part of this exclusive promotion.
Overview of these four anniversary puzzles – Puzzle C – Three's Company
The participation form
The promotion also included a participation form. On this form, participants had to answer a few questions, such as their age and other general details. They could then indicate which puzzle they wanted to receive by choosing puzzle A, B, C, or D.
Below you can see the photos of the voucher and the promotion mentioned in the brochure – these were included in the puzzle boxes:
Holdson is a New Zealand company founded in 1939. The slogan, which also appears on their puzzle boxes, is "Your Puzzle People since 1939." It's a true family business that has been making puzzles in New Zealand for many years. Besides puzzles, they also make games and toys. Their factory is located in Auckland. You can clearly see their factory via Google Street View; you can see their sign with "Holdson" on it:
Lots of HFW puzzles in a video by Jan van Haasteren
