What is a Wasgij puzzle?
A Wasgij puzzle is a surprising and creative puzzle variant where you do not make the image on the box, but something completely different. For example, you puzzle what the depicted people see themselves, what has just happened or what will happen soon. The actual image remains a mystery until you are finished. These puzzles, developed by Jumbo, require imagination and out-of-the-box thinking, and are therefore extremely popular among fanatic puzzlers.
An example of a Wasgij puzzle
Wasgij puzzles were previously called ELZZUP
Wasgij puzzles have undergone a name change, these puzzles were originally called ELZZUP. If you read ELZZUP backwards it says PUZZLE. The reason for this different name AND the name change is as follows:
In the beginning when Jumbo got the Wasgij puzzles in its assortment, they wanted to make these puzzles more well-known in the Netherlands. They used ELZZUP for a “short” time. They reversed this because the Dutch market could piggyback on the UK market. For a very long time, the Dutch market lagged behind the UK market by a year and Dutch retailers ordered the puzzles from the English office of Jumbo in order to be able to sell the most recent edition. So these are really the old editions of the Wasgij puzzles, but they are not more expensive or extra rare. In total, only 5 puzzles were released under the name ELZZUP.
Here you see an example of an ELZZUP puzzle (Original series with number 2 – 10951 'Happy Holidays):
And this same puzzle with the name of Wasgij (Original series with number 2 – 10951 'Happy Holidays):
Numbering and titles of the old ELZZUP puzzles compared to the new Wasgij puzzles
Below you see the old puzzles of ELZZUP and the new puzzles that go with them with the numbers and the titles of Wasgij. This did not go over completely 1-on-1, in the table below you can see how it went, where you can see it like this in terms of comparison '1 remains 1, 2 remains 2, 3 becomes 4, 4 becomes 6, and 5 becomes 7'; see below this explanation with images and titles and numbers:
| ELZZUP Name | ELZZUP Photo | WASGIJ Name | WASGIJ Photo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELZZUP 1 'The Sunday Riders' |  | Wasgij Original 1 - 10950 'Sunday Drivers' |  | |
| ELZZUP 2 'Holiday fun!' | | Wasgij Original 2 - 10951 'Happy Holidays' | | |
| ELZZUP 3 'The Most Beautiful Day of your Life' |  | Wasgij Original 4 - 10953 'A Day to Remember' |  | |
| ELZZUP 4 'Green Fingers' |  | Wasgij Original 6 - 13131 'Blooming Marvelous' |  | |
| ELZZUP 5 'Bear Needs!' |  | Wasgij Original 7 - 01973 'Bear Necessities!' |  |
How is a WASGIJ puzzle different from another normal puzzle?
Unlike traditional puzzles where you try to create an image piece by piece, with a Wasgij puzzle you first have to try to guess what the image on the box would be when viewed from a different angle. For example, this could be from someone else's perspective, or from a different place or time.
How do you start a Wasgij puzzle?
To get started with a Wasgij puzzle, you first need to open the box and take out the pieces. Next, you have to try to guess what the picture on the box would be if you looked at it from a different angle. You can do this by looking at the pieces and see if they tell you anything about the picture on the box. Once you have an idea of what the picture on the box would look like if you looked at it from a different angle, you can start laying out the pieces. Find pieces that fit together and put them in the puzzle. Keep looking for pieces and placing them until the puzzle is complete.
What is special about a Wasgij puzzle?
A Wasgij puzzle is a fun and unique way to challenge your brain. It's a fun challenge to guess what the picture on the box would be when you look at it from a different angle and it's fun to put the pieces in the puzzle. If you like puzzles, a Wasgij puzzle is definitely something to try.
What are the Retro puzzles from Wasgij?
The retro series consists of reissues of previous Wasgij puzzles that have become popular or iconic. This series offers new and old fans the chance to experience or collect classic Wasgij puzzles. The Retro puzzles therefore do not differ from the normal editions. So it's just a re-release. As an example, you can see images of the box of the puzzle 'Mystery – Stop the Time / Stop The Clock':
– The 'regular' Mystery edition:
– The 'Retro' Mystery edition:
Don't look at the solution of a Wasgij puzzle!
What is not fun at all is if you start looking at the solution in advance. Because then the riddle or puzzle is 'already done'. Of course there are all kinds of videos going around with the solutions. If you want an idea of what that looks like, this is one of those videos. That is the Wasgij Mystery puzzle with the name 'De Efteling' and number 25021:
Do you still want to view the Wasgij Puzzle Solutions?
I made a nice overview with all Wasgij Puzzle solutions:
| Kind of Wasgij Puzzle | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Wasgij original | Solutions |
| Wasgiy Mystery | Solutions |
| Wasgiy Destiny | Solutions |
| Wasgij Retro | Solutions |
| Wasgij What If | Solutions |
| Wasgij Imagine | Solutions |
| Wasgij Back To | Solutions |
| Wasgij Christmas | Solutions |
In a video – how do the Wasgij puzzles work?
The following video explains the Wasgij Original, Wasgij Mystery and Wasgij Destiny puzzles in more detail:
What types of Wasgij puzzles are there?
There are a few different types of Wasgij puzzles:
| Kind of Wasgij Puzzle | Explanation | Description Wasgij puzzle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wasgij original | “Puzzle what someone sees on the box” | The first Wasgij concept, launched in 1997, was Wasgij Original. This puzzle challenges you to identify with a character in the image on the box. With a few clues, you use your imagination to work out what they see. | |
| Wasgij Original Retro | “Original Wasgij puzzles re-released” | These are Original Wasgij puzzles, only re-released. | |
| Wasgij Collector's Box | "Three Wasgij puzzles in 1 Box" | Beautiful 3-in-1 edition of 3 Wasgij Puzzles (Original/Mystery/What If/Back To/Destiny) | |
| Wasgij Mini | "Wasgij puzzles of 54 or 150 pieces" | These are especially for children or for collectors. These work according to the same concept as the Wsgij Original puzzles, namely “Puzzle what someone sees on the box” | |
| Wasgiy Mystery | “Puzzle another scene” | With these puzzles you puzzle what will happen at the next moment, so the next scene. | |
| Wasgiy Destiny | “Puzzle the future” | In these puzzles you have to try to figure out what would happen in the future with the characters from the picture on the box. So you puzzle a future scene. So you puzzle the same scene, only x number of years later | |
| Wasgij What If | “What could have happened if….” | You puzzle what could have happened if… (e.g. 'what if money grew on trees') | |
| Wasgij Imagine | “Puzzle the next scene” | You puzzle what if a daydream of something/someone on the box would come true (similar to What if) | |
| Wasgij Back To | “Puzzle a scene in the past” | The Back To is the opposite of Destiny, you puzzle the scene in the (distant) past. | |
| Wasgij Christmas | “A Christmas themed Original Wasgij” | This is an Original Wasgij puzzle, only with a Christmas theme. |