Heather Mueller. Photos: Chris Emeott
When Plymouth resident Heather Mueller began puzzling in 2018, the community wasn’t the fast-growing, organized network it would become. She started off with friends Katie Everson, Kim Pietrzak and Megan Westrum, and the group got together once a month. Now, Mueller sits on the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association (USAJPA) board, helping to bring over 3,000 puzzle lovers together.
Mueller and her three teammates—dubbed the Puzzle Moms by their kids—attended their first speed puzzling competition in Duluth in 2019, and Mueller realized she’d found a way to engage her competitive nature outside of traditional sports. “I’m a very competitive person, so I like [to be in] competition with myself,” Mueller says. “If you practice and study what you do, how you do it, you can see progress.”
Heather Mueller works Cute Kawaii Chaos, a 500-piece puzzle by Ravensburger.
For Mueller, this means recording herself practicing to identify weak points. While there’s some muscle memory involved in puzzling, “It’s definitely a mental game,” she says. “When you’re doing it alone, you’re looking at your hands—are both your hands moving? Are you slowing down? Did you spend too much time in one area? All those things you can identify in video.”
In preparation for competitions, puzzling teams or pairs meet as many times as they can to puzzle together and identify who will do what part. “There’s some thought process to it, but really it’s just getting to know what your teammate likes to do because everybody has their strengths and weaknesses in terms of puzzling,” Mueller says.
Although the competitive aspect to speed puzzling is undeniable, the community maintains a notably easy-going atmosphere. “In terms of a sport, it’s one of those activities where everybody’s cheering everybody else on,” Mueller says. “I think that’s what’s really helped grow the community because everybody feels welcomed and supported, and we’re just happy for each other’s successes.”
Since starting out in 2018, Heather Mueller’s love for puzzling has only grown. Stay up-to-date on her latest feats by following her on Instagram @mnpuzzlemom.
Since discovering this tightknit community, Mueller has helped to cultivate it through volunteering for USAJPA in 2022 before joining the board in 2024. In this role, she shifted much of her attention to the puzzle of planning events for the community. “We have the big event [USA Jigsaw Nationals], but on top of that we do puzzling clubs, traveling puzzles, sanctioned events and state events,” Mueller says.
For those looking to try their hand at speed puzzling, Mueller recommends starting with Sarah Does Puzzles’ in-person puzzle contests, hosted by Sarah Schuler, who puts on the contests at breweries across the Twin Cities. If you enjoy it, she says, you could move to larger competitions like speedpuzzling.com’s Minnesota State Championship or the Autism Society of Minnesota’s Jigsaw Puzzle Competition at the Mall of America, both in October.
Heather Mueller’s Puzzle Picks
- For the 3D Enthusiast: Central Perk by Wrebbit3D; 440 pieces
- For the Challenge Seeker: Demelsa Haughton: If Fish Could Walk by Ravensburger; 2,000 pieces
- For the Family Gamemaster: Mercats by Cobble Hill; 350 pieces
- For the Mystery Solver: Minnesota State Parks by PuzzleTwist; 1,000 pieces
- For the Speed Demon: Road Trip by Re-marks; 500 pieces
- For the Zen Master: Sky Love by Soon Cho; 1,000 pieces
Instagram: @mnpuzzlemom
