Holy Grail puzzles. Puzzle unicorns. These are puzzles that are on our wish lists. Not just regular wish lists but wish lists for puzzles that are hard to find, rare, and long discontinued in a retail or online ecommerce space.

When I started my puzzle journey, I was looking online in multiple puzzle groups and found so many puzzles that I wanted! I took screenshots and asked questions. And there I learned that many of those were unavailable. They were old and were hard to find. My list was growing and there was no end in sight.

The best places to find these are in used marketplaces online or thrift shops. It takes a lot of patience and even more luck.

My biggest unicorn holy grail was a Ravensburger 1000-piece puzzle called Down the Wharf. I loved the colors! I saw it for sale a few times, but I was not ready to pay a few hundred dollars for a puzzle. Imagine my shock when I saw it used near my house for a mere $15. Complete. I grabbed it! It was complete and is now going on my wall! I enjoyed every minute of the build and took my time. It was an experience.

       

I was wondering what makes a puzzle a holy grail puzzle. Sometimes they are part of a series or collection, and people want to find the old ones. Sometimes they make less of a certain puzzle. The older ones were not as widely circulated.

But I have a feeling that some of these puzzles have such a reputation for their rarity that they just don’t go to a new owner. This one won’t be sold. I am keeping it.

What about you? What are your puzzle unicorns and where do you look for them? Have you found any?

Let me know!