Reglas WJPC

World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship 2024

Individual Category

It will consist of 3 phases: first round, semifinal and final.

Individual First Round: A maximum of 1.224 players will participate, divided into 6 groups (A, B, C, D, E and F) with a maximum of 204 participants per group. Players must to assemble a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in a time limit of 90 minutes, qualifying to semifinal 60 participants from each group according to the following criteria:

The top 8 classified in each group will participate on a single table in the semifinal, the rest will share a table with other participant.

Each qualifying test will have a different model of 500 pieces.

Individual Semifinal: 360 players will participate. First semifinal will be 60 classified from groups A, B and C, and second semifinal from groups D, E and F. The participants will have to assemble a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in a time limit of 90 minutes. In the case of not finishing before the maximum time, the number of correctly placed pieces will be taken to make up the classification, qualifying to final 90 participants from each semifinal according to the following criteria:

The top 12 classified in each semifinal will participate on a single table in the final, the rest will share table with other participant.

Individual Final: 180 players will participate (90 qualifiers from each semifinal). The Individual World Champion will be the participant who manages to assemble an unpublished 500-piece jigsaw puzzle (Catalog 2025) in the shortest possible time, or in the case of no participant finishing within the maximum period of 90 minutes, the one who has placed the highest number of pieces correctly.

Each participant can use up to 2 trays of cardboard, foam or another type of material of a maximum size of A3 as an aid during the assembly of the puzzles.

The individual registration fee is €50, until May 31th (20% discount). The amount includes the first round 500-piece jigsaw puzzle, and the semi-final jigsaw puzzle even if do not qualify. All finalists will also win the unpublished 500-piece jigsaw puzzle from the final.

Pairs Category

It will consist of 3 phases: first round, semifinal and final.

Pairs First Round: A maximum of 816 pairs will participate, divided into 4 groups (A, B, C, D) with a maximum of 204 pairs per group. Pairs must to assemble a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in a time limit of 75 minutes, qualifying to semifinal 90 pairs from each group according to the following criteria:

The top 12 pairs classified in each group will participate on a single table in the semifinal, the rest will share a table with other pair.

Each qualifying test will have a different model of 500 pieces.

Semifinal Pairs: 360 pairs will participate. First semifinal will be 90 qualifiers from groups A and B, and second semifinal, groups C and D. The qualified pairs will have to assemble a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in a maximum period of 75 minutes. In the case of not finishing before the maximum time, the number of correctly placed pieces will be taken to make up the classification, qualifying to final 90 pairs from each semifinal according to the following criteria:

The top 12 pairs classified in each semifinal will participate on a single table in the final, the rest will share table with other pair.

Final Pairs: 180 pairs will participate (90 classified from each semifinal). The World Champion pair will be the one who manages to finish an unpublished 500-piece jigsaw puzzle (Catalogue 2025) in the shortest time, or in the case of no pair finishing within the maximum period of 75 minutes, the one who has placed the most pieces correctly.

Each pair can use up to 2 trays of cardboard, foam or another type of material of a maximum size of A3 as an aid during the assembly of the puzzles.

The registration fee for pairs is €50 per pair, for registrations made until May 31th (20% discount). The amount includes the first round 500-piece jigsaw puzzle, and the semi-final puzzle even if the pair does not qualify.. All finalists will also win the unpublished jigsaw puzzle from the final.

Teams Category

It will consist of 2 phases: first round and final.

Teams must be composed of a minimum of 3 people and a maximum of 4. No changes will be allowed during the competition.

Each team must choose the first puzzle, not being able to start assembling second puzzle until first puzzle has been correctly completed and a member of the Organization verifies the correct assembly, records the time in participation act and authorizes to start next puzzle.

If after starting the first puzzle, the team decides to change the puzzle before finishing it, it must be completely destroyed and put back in its box before opening the other puzzle.

Qualifying Round Teams: A maximum of 306 teams will participate, divided into 3 groups (A, B and C) with a maximum of 102 teams per group. The teams will have 3 hours to assemble two 1.000-piece jigsaw puzzles from 4 models. The team will have a few minutes before the start to chose 2 models, removing the 2 discarded models from the table. During the test, it is not possible to modify the 2 chosen puzzles. 35 teams from each group will qualify for the final according to the following criteria:

Each qualifying test will feature 4 different models.

Teams Final: 105 teams will participate (35 from Group A + 35 from Group B + 35 from Group C). The World Champion team will be the one that assembles in the fastest possible time two unpublished 1.000-piece jigsaw puzzles (Catalogue 2025) in the order that they prefer. In the case in which no team finishes both puzzles in the maximum period of 3 hours, the winning team will be the one that has placed the highest number of pieces correctly.

Each team can provide up to 4 trays of cardboard, foam or other material of a maximum size of A2 as an aid during the puzzle assembly.

The Organization recommends the use of the same shirt design for all team members, with the names and the country of origin.

Registration fee in this category is €125, until May 31th (20% discount). The amount includes all the 1.000-piece jigsaw puzzles in the tests in which participate.

Prizes

The awards ceremony for all categories will take place once the team final is finished, that is, on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

The prizes by categories are the following:

The first three classified in each category will also receive a trophy.

General conditions

The registration period begins on January 1 at 0:00 GMT and closes 15 days before the start of the WJPC or after the quota of participants is completed.

People over 14 years of age can register, unless they are accompanied by an adult as a pair or team.

The competition area will have 108 tables, divided as follows: a row of 6, a row of 8, eight rows of 10, a row of 8 and a row of 6.

All tables will be numbered along with the names, as well as the country of origin of the participant. In the initial phase, the order will be established according to the marks and positions obtained in previous championships recognized by the WJPF. In the following phases, the order will be determined by the position obtained in the previous round.

Participants must arrive at the Millennium Dome 15 minutes before the start of each test.

Until the presentator indicates the start of the test and starts the timer, the participants cannot manipulate, unseal or open the jigsaw puzzle boxes that are on the table.

To open the plastic that covers the puzzle box, only letter openers, keys or other non-sharp objects. Nothing sharp like scissors or box cutters as that could be dangerous to handle during a speed competition.

During the test, the judges will monitor the progress of the assembly, so that when a participant is close to finishing a puzzle, if no member of the Organization has noticed this situation, they will raise their hand so that a judge can record the completion time of the puzzle. The judge, after deeming the setup correct, will note the time in participation act and will proceed to deliver it to the main judge’s table.

All participants who finish the puzzles before the maximum time allowed, after a judge records the time achieved, must collect their belongings and leave the competition area to facilitate preparation for the next test.

Only duly accredited judges and members of the Organization will be able to take note of the completed puzzle times in participation act and authorize the opening of the next puzzle if several puzzles have to be built.

If once the maximum time has elapsed the participant has not managed to finish the puzzle, the judges will count the placed pieces of the unfinished puzzle, adding only the groups of 3 or more pieces correctly joined together.

If pieces are missing at the end of the puzzle, 10 seconds for each lost piece will be added to the final time. If the final piece appears after 10 seconds of searching, the time of the penultimate piece plus the penalty will be taken into account. In case of more than 10 pieces lost, participation will be considered void. If there are 2 or more adjacent and missing pieces, no penalty will be applied as it is considered a manufacturing error.

If due to a manufacturing defect the puzzle does not have the correct number of pieces and it causes damage to the participant, the Organization may take the necessary measures to correct the damage caused without undermining the rights of other participants.

Only participants, judges, and authorized personnel are allowed to enter the competition area.

It is not allowed to use risers or any object that changes the height or layout of the tables.

Box top holders or supports are allowed to keep the box top upright and easily viewed while puzzling.

Headphones are allowed as long as they do not disturb the rest of the participants.

Singing or vocals are not allowed. The organization may disqualify those participants reprimanded on several occasions for conduct that causes inconvenience to other participants.

It is not allowed to bring extra lighting or use printed or digital templates in which you can see any type of manufacturer’s cutting pattern.

A player cannot be part of 2 different teams or form a pair with two different people, therefore they can only participate once per category.

The organization may require the passport or other official document that certifies the nationality of the participant in case of accessing the next round according to the quotas provided by country.

Persons with two or more nationalities, in the individual category must choose one of them before participating. Once the participation has been chosen and consummated, it cannot be modified in any subsequent WJPC.

WJPF considers the official list of countries included in the UN as possible nationalities.

All the jigsaw puzzles used in the tests are the property of the participants once the test is finished.

The Organization may dispose of the places of the participants who have not taken their place or have not appeared after 10 minutes from the start of the test, not deriving any compensation or refund to the participant.

The distribution of the groups in the first round will be carried out maintaining proportionality, so that each country will see its participants distributed among all groups and the total number of different countries in each group will be similar.

The total number of participants per group will be determined by the total number divided by the number of groups.

In the preliminary phase of individuals and pairs, all competitors will share a table regardless of the final number of participants in each group.

Any help during the competition from someone other than the participants may be grounds for disqualification.

In pairs and individuals, if shared tables are used, it is not allowed to invade the area of the adjacent participant or hinder the construction, and may be disqualified if a participant seriously hinders another participant.

The applicant accepts that their data of name, nationality and age will appear in the list of participants of the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship (WJPC), rankings and any other related digital or printed publication with the Championship and authorizes WJPF to use his image in photographs and videos or any other recorded media during the celebration of the tests in which the applicant appears, for Dissemination of the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship.

All images and videos posted are the intellectual property of WJPF.

The Organization is not responsible for lost objects during the championship.

The Organization reserves the use of 6 tables for guests outside of competition.

The decisions of the judges during the tests are final.

In the event of cancellation or postponement of the Championship for reasons beyond the control of the Organization, the WJPF is not responsible for indirect expenses incurred by participants, except for the paid registration fees.

The fact of participating in the World Championship implies full acceptance of the rules. Any incident that arises that is not reflected in them will be resolved by the Organization.

The Organization reserves the right of register/admission of people who may alter the public order or have shown an attitude contrary to the spirit of the WJPF or its Organization.

The Organization may make the necessary adjustments to the distribution and schedule of the groups in the preliminary phase, in the event that the number of participants exceeds the forecast. In this case, these changes will be announced no later than one month before the start of the competition.

Pairs and teams of mixed nationalities

In the case of pairs with people from different nationalities, they must notify the Organization which of the two countries they will represent. Once the championship has started, this condition will be unchangeable for the purposes of countries’ quotas. Likewise, each team must represent a single country and will wear a single flag on posters and classifications. In the case of mixed teams with members of different nationalities, the country they will represent will be the one with the most players of that nationality (including reserves). In case of equality, the team will decide and inform the Organization which country they will represent before the start of the WJPC.

People with dual nationality will be able to choose in the registry which country they will represent and the flag with which they will appear on posters and classifications.

Frequently Asked Questions