What is a Jan van Haasteren PTZ puzzle?

A Jan van Haasteren PTZ puzzle is a puzzle that was published by PTZ BV in Almelo. And PTZ puzzles used to be part of the company Hubregtse Cartonnagefabriek in Almelo. However, this company no longer seems to exist (under this name). It is suspected that these PTZ puzzles were also published for advertising purposes, because on the side of 'Casino a la Cartoon' - number 100-2300-2, you see 'Vandenberg advertising / Alkmaar NL/', which you can see here:

At the very bottom of the page, you'll find more information about PTZ and its relationship to Hubregtse Cartonnagefabriek in Almelo. Updated February 2026 – A total of 11 PTZ puzzles are known to collectors – and 10 of these 11 can be found in the list below. The three most common are Golf à la Cartoon 100-2300-M, Casino à la Cartoon 100-2300-N, and Tennis à la Cartoon 100-2300-0. These are frequently seen on Marktplaats. Below, two other items play a role in determining "how many different PTZ puzzles there are": these two items that can still be found on the side of a PTZ puzzle:
1. The black CE logo
The CE logo stands for Conformité Européenne (French for European Conformity) and indicates that a product complies with the legal safety, health, and environmental requirements of the European Union. It serves as a mandatory "passport" for the marketing of many products within the European Economic Area (EEA). This logo is:

2. The 'Der Grüne Punkt' logo
The Der Grüne Punkt (Green Dot) logo is an international symbol indicating that the manufacturer of a packaged product makes a financial contribution towards the collection, sorting, and recycling of that packaging. It is a producer responsibility, not an environmental label, that guarantees that the packaging itself is recyclable or made from recycled materials. This is the logo:

NOTE – The logo color is mentioned throughout this page. This is the logo on the sides of the PTZ puzzles. These logos have different colors on different puzzles. The front can sometimes look the same, though.
You can classify these PTZ puzzles into the following three types:

PTZ Puzzles – Tennis à la Cartoon – 3 pieces

These three puzzles from "Tennis à la Cartoon" differ very little from each other. Apparently, there are three variations, including a blue box with a green logo. I've never seen this one, so it's listed, but I don't have any photos. The two green boxes of the PTZ "Tennis à la Cartoon" puzzle differ only in the black CE logo and the "Der Grüne Punkt" logo on the puzzle boxes. The numbers are the same. However, for die-hard collectors, these are two different puzzles. Overview:

If you compare these three boxes of Tennis à la Cartoon you see this:

There is only 1 puzzle of Tennis à la Cartoon. This puzzle is a lookalike of the Jan van Haasteren puzzle 'Tennis' with number 1693 (Published by Jumbo) but is certainly not identical. There are quite a few small differences in the signs, posters and written texts.

There are some differences between the puzzle 'Tennis' and the PTZ puzzle 'Tennis à la Cartoon'. For example, these are the following (NB – there are more differences between the two puzzles):

PTZ Puzzles – Golf à la Cartoon

In overview:

NOTE – everywhere here is written about the color of the logo. This is the logo that is on the sides of the PTZ puzzles. On different puzzles these logos have different colors. The front can sometimes look the same.
There are 3 puzzles of the Golf à la Cartoon. This puzzle is a lookalike of the Jan van Haasteren puzzle 'Golf' with number 1736 (Published by Jumbo) but is certainly not identical. If you see them both next to each other, you can notice many differences. Mainly, many figures on the boards have been changed into nice texts. Of these, the PTZ puzzle with number 100-2300-M is the most common. The box itself is of lower quality compared to the other two. The PTZ puzzle with number 100-2300-1 in the blue box is virtually unknown among collectors and is therefore the rarest of this series.
Explanation: The two puzzles with the numbers 100-2300-M and number 100-2300-1 are almost the same. The two puzzles are certainly the same. The difference is however in the color of the box! The puzzle with number 100-2300-1 is a slightly lighter blue than the puzzle in the box with number 100-2300-M; the box of this last puzzle is a slightly darker blue. For the real collector this really makes a difference, for the average puzzler certainly not!

An overview of the 3 PTZ boxes and the different colours of the boxes from Golf à la Cartoon:

There are some differences between the puzzle 'Golf' and the PTZ puzzle 'Golf à la Cartoon'. For example, these are the following (NB - there are more differences between the two puzzles):

There are 4 Golf a la Cartoon puzzles released

Three of these puzzles are from PTZ and there is 1 puzzle from Golf a la Cartoon published by Playtime:

PTZ Puzzles – Casino à la Cartoon

In overview:

NOTE – everywhere here is written about the color of the logo. This is the logo that is on the sides of the PTZ puzzles. On different puzzles these logos have different colors. The front can sometimes look the same.
There are 4 puzzles of the Casino à la Cartoon. Of these, the green box with number 100-2300-N is the most common and the box of this is of lesser quality. What many do not know is that there are 2 more variants in the green box but then with number 100-2300-2. One has a green logo and the other has a blue logo. These 2 are very rare and almost unknown, even to many collectors. The variant with the blue logo is the rarest.

Video dd October 10, 2024 – 3 of the 4 PTZ puzzles Casino a la Cartoon

Unfortunately I still miss the rarest Casino à la Cartoon from PTZ, but anyway a video to give an insight into this beautiful series of puzzles:

The PTZ puzzle pieces compared to the Jumbo puzzle pieces

What strikes me is that the puzzle pieces are a lot smaller AND less thick. They stick together a little less well. The back of the puzzle pieces is also green instead of gray. Not quite 'fair' of course, I compare a puzzle published in 1983 with a puzzle published in 2022. It does not mean that every puzzle from PTZ has a big difference in puzzle pieces compared to a puzzle published by Jumbo. You can see this in the following video:

Dimensions of the PTZ puzzles are different from the regular Jumbo puzzles

The Jan van Haasteren puzzles published by Jumbo have dimensions of 68 cm (length) x 49 cm (height), while the dimensions of a Jan van Haasteren PTZ puzzle are 68 cm (length) x 44 cm (height). That is a small difference, but good to know if you want to frame such a puzzle, for example. So this looks like this:

Overview of all PTZ puzzles

Further explanation about the PTZ puzzles

I made a video in which I explain some things about the PTZ puzzles by Jan van Haasteren, or the three 'A La Cartoon' puzzles (NB: this video does NOT give a complete overview of all PTZ puzzles – all information about the PTZ puzzles has been updated as of September 2024!):

An overview of all Jan van Haasteren PTZ puzzles in a video?

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These are old Jan van Haasteren puzzles

These four PTZ puzzles fall under the series 'old Jan van Haasteren puzzles', because they were issued in the year 1983. Knowing more? Read all about 'Old or rare Jan van Haasteren puzzles'.

What is the company PTZ BV in Almelo?

This information can be found on the website of Hubregtse Cartonnagefabriek in Almelo:
“We, Kris, Patrick and Danielle are responsible for the sale of the puzzle company PTZ. PTZ is part of the Hubregt packaging group in Almelo (in the east of the Netherlands, near the German border). What makes it fun to work for PTZ is the enormous creativity and flexibility; 'You ask, we run' In addition to our own production, we also have our own DTP department that is closely involved in all creative questions and developments that occur at our customer.”
Since the company 'Hubregtse Verpakkingsgroep te Almelo' no longer seems to exist, this used to be their website with the text on it about the PTZ puzzles:

• All JvH puzzles
• JvH recurring elements
• PDF: List JvH puzzles 1000 pieces