The Falcon Puzzle Club – everything you need to know

The Falcon Puzzle Club is one of the most unique and least-known chapters in the history of the puzzle world. An exclusive mail-order club for puzzlers, where members received special Limited Edition puzzles that were not available in stores anywhere. This page explains everything: what the club was, what the puzzles look like, what the certificates reveal, and which editions are known.

What was the Falcon Puzzle Club?

At some point—presumably in the 1990s—Falcon de luxe launched an exclusive membership system: the Falcon Puzzle Club. Members received special puzzles by mail that were made specifically for the club and were unavailable anywhere else. Each edition had a strictly limited run of 1000 copies worldwide, and every puzzle came with an official Certificate of Authenticity. The club had at least 12 editions—this is evident from the certificate at Bear Necessities, which explicitly states that this is “the twelfth puzzle to be produced for the Falcon Puzzle Club.” Whether the series continued after that is unknown.

Who drew the puzzles?

The regular illustrator of the Falcon Puzzle Club was Graham Thompson, a British humorist known for his busy, hilarious scenes full of a British sense of humor. Thompson was also the artist behind the very first Wasgij puzzles – and that link is no coincidence, as most Falcon Puzzle Club editions are directly based on the box images of early Wasgij Original puzzles. In addition to Thompson, Stephen Cummins also contributed to the series, namely No. 4 Country Garden.

The link with Wasgij

Most Puzzle Club releases are based on the box image of a Wasgij Original. With a Wasgij, you don't lay out what you see on the box, but rather what the characters on the box see. The box image is the “trigger”—the puzzle itself shows the result. Falcon took that box image and released it as a regular jigsaw puzzle: the same drawing by Graham Thompson, but without the Wasgij concept. This way, with the Puzzle Club version, you could simply lay out the scene you see on the box.

The certificates

Every Puzzle Club issue included a Certificate of Authenticity. These certificates are themselves an interesting source of information, as they changed along with the development of the club.

The certificate for NO.1 Sunday Driver has a light blue background with a puzzle piece pattern and states:

“This is to certify that this puzzle, 'Sunday Driver' – the illustration from the Original Wasgij 1 box lid, is one of a strictly limited edition of 1000, published exclusively for members of the Falcon Puzzle Club. The illustration is by the extremely talented humor artist Graham Thompson, and is the first puzzle to be produced for the Falcon Puzzle Club.”

The certificate for NO.3 A Day to Remember has a green-turquoise background – matching the box design – and different text. Notably, the print run of 1000 is not mentioned here. Also, the club is called “Falcon UK Jigsaw Puzzle Club” here instead of “Falcon Puzzle Club”. The certificate states:

“This is to certify that this puzzle, 'A Day to Remember' – is published exclusively for members of the Falcon UK Jigsaw Puzzle Club. The illustration is by the talented humor artist Graham Thompson, famous for the Wasgij puzzle images.”

The certificate for NO.12 Bear Necessities features a black background with mint green puzzle pieces – again matching the dark box design. The text explicitly states that this is the twelfth edition:

“This is to certify that this puzzle – 'Bear Necessities' – is one of a strictly limited edition of 1000, published exclusively for members of the Falcon Puzzle Club. The illustration is by the extremely talented humor artist Graham Thompson, and is the twelfth puzzle to be produced by the Falcon Puzzle Club.”

The certificates confirm three things that remained constant throughout the entire series: a print run of 1000 copies, exclusivity for club members, and Graham Thompson as the regular illustrator.

The three box designs

Anyone placing the boxes side by side will immediately see that they are not all the same. There are three distinctly different versions – in box design, color scheme, and labeling on the box. These differences are no coincidence: they reflect the development of the club over the years.

Version 1 – “Limited Edition” + “Exclusive”

– Earliest performances of the club
– Light, colorful background matching the illustration
– “Limited Edition” in red in the top right
– “Exclusive” banner bottom left
– Falcon logo top left, small Jumbo logo bottom right
– Examples: NO.1 Sunday Driver, NO.2 Happy Holidays, NO.6 Full Monty Fever!, NO.8 Late Booking

Version 2 – “Exclusive” only

– Green box with a subtle puzzle piece pattern
– Only “Exclusive” top right – no “Limited Edition”
– Certificate has the same green color as the box
– Edition of 1000 is not stated on the certificate
– The club is called “Falcon UK Jigsaw Puzzle Club” here – a slightly different name than the other versions
– Possibly an interim phase in the development of the club
– Example: NO.3 A Day to Remember

Version 3 – “Limited Edition” only

– Later versions of the club
– Dark, almost black background with puzzle pieces in dark gray
– “Limited Edition” at the top left in white letters
– Jumbo logo now large and prominent – ​​the same size as the Falcon logo
– No more “Exclusive” designation
– Certificate has the same dark color as the box
– Example: NO.12 Bear Necessities

Overview of all known editions

Rare, but not (yet) expensive

Anyone looking up the Falcon Puzzle Club editions will notice something striking: the estimates are around €8 to €10 per puzzle (see the overview 'Rare Wasgij puzzles'For a print run of only 1000 copies worldwide, that is remarkably low. By comparison, the Beverly Enterprises editions of the same Wasgij illustrations are estimated at €50 to €90. That does not mean these puzzles are ordinary. They are rare – demonstrably rare, with a certificate confirming the limited edition in black and white. The low price level is mainly due to notoriety: the Falcon Puzzle Club is hardly known outside a small circle of British puzzle collectors. Anyone who does not know what they have in their hands sells it for next to nothing. That could change. As more people discover the history of the club – and understand that only 1000 copies of each edition exist worldwide, some of which have been lost or were never opened – interest among collectors is growing.

• Wasgij Rare
• Falcon Exclusive + Limited Number 1
• Falcon Exclusive + Limited Number 8