Genuine wooden puzzle makers are listed here.

Not cheap, but I’ve been really pleased with both Liberty and Stumpcraft puzzles.

I’ve been really enjoying the Victory wooden puzzles brand. My favorite of theirs is the minis. I love that I can sit back on the couch and work a puzzle with the tray they make for the minis.

I've bought about 2 dozen wooden puzzles off Temu and haven't been disappointed with any of them yet. I know there are some people that are against them for their own reasons. I haven't had an issue with quality or lost packages.

The "special shapes" you are looking for are called "whimsy". That might make your search easier.

I am not really into wooden puzzles, but well-known US-manufacturers are Liberty and Artifact. In the UK, Wentworth rules, and then there is Michèle Wilson from France.

I love the smaller independent brands - Chuffed Puzzles, Puzz, Ordinary Habit, fits, Werkshoppe, Blue Kazoo and Galison. When I have serious cash from holidays and gifts I do Artifact, but they're so pricey that in the future I'm going to probably join their puzzle club instead. If you go to Puzzledly they carry and list different brands that allow you to discover different brands.

Oh, and I have a favorite artist from the New York Puzzle Company whose puzzles I buy just for the artwork and unusual piece shapes - Victo Ngai. I'm not quite as big a fan of the quality itself since sometimes pieces will be stuck together, but her artwork is stunning and the unusual shape of the pieces themselves more than make up for it. They're such fun to put together and her artwork is just so fantastic.

I've also done Jiggy and Lantern Press and really enjoyed those as well although these for me have been harder to do.

Look up "independent puzzle brands" and that should get you articles listing some of the less-known brands. I will often learn about these then watch for sales on the websites, discounts for new subscribers and I will sometimes buy used if I find a good deal or can't get a puzzle I really want another way.

I don't really have one brand I'm loyal to but base my choices on artist and subject itself. I love trying different brands and for me that's almost half the fun.

Ravensburger is my go-to. Not really a fan of White Mountain. For quality, a Charles Dickens-themed puzzle from Lawrence King was probably the nicest puzzle I ever put together.

Schmidt is one of my favorite brands, perfect fit, zero dust, beautiful colors. ( German brand, a thousand times better quality than Ravensburger nowadays) .

Pomegranate, Cobble Hill. JaCaRou and Art & Fable are my favorites. Werkshoppe and Heye are really good also. A lot depends on what kind of image appeals to you.

see wiki faq: Best/Favourite/Recommended puzzle brands

Fantasypuzzles from https://fantasypuzzles.com/ ! Their quality is simply first class.

Other means I have done Wentworth, Artifact, and Nautilus. I like Wentworth and Nautilus for the relatively matte finish. Artifact is a bit too glossy. I have a Peaceful wooden puzzle that I am looking forward to do. I'll try Liberty as soon as I see the image I love!

StumpCraft is wonderful (Canada).

https://preview.redd.it/1c94e3ux0yod1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4c6ad707396b9ba276511f7f9058bf6fddeb09b

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D7FSY7JS

I haven’t done any wooden puzzles but I voted “other” because I wanted to see the results. Just wanted to let you know I’m not withholding any top secret awesome brands from you 😂

I’ve done one Liberty Puzzles puzzle (Rebecca Campbell’s the Menagerie) and just ordered two more of her puzzles. But besides her work, I don’t really like the Liberty artwork. Nautilus has great artwork, but is more expensive than Liberty. Anyone have a preference for one or the other? Why?

My favourite wooden puzzles …. Fantasypuzzles from https://fantasypuzzles.com/ . Premium quality ! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

I’m in Canada and love StumpCraft puzzles.

I have completed 2 Liberty puzzles and have 1 more ordered. I agree the artwork is not my favorite, but the 2 I completed are now framed. Would love to try Michelle Wilson!

Those who have experience with wooden puzzles, could you please comment on these separate designs, I have larger boards in mind 1000+ pieces.

1. Wooden puzzles have a rather loose fit, somewhat like cardboard ones. You can still tell easily if they fit, but the whole board doesn't really stay together on its own, maybe even less so than normal ones.

2. Wooden puzzles that are thicker and somewhat more difficult to connect. There is a clear "click" when they do. Most importantly the large number of joined pieces stay together on their own. For example, upon finishing you can carefully lift the entire board by its edges.

20ish years ago I did a couple of puzzles, which were like number 2 above. Now I purchased a Trefl one and it was nearly not a nice (like number 1).

Can you still get quality wooden puzzles (number 2)? Which brands, maybe even which models specifically? Thanks.

Just finished a Fantasy Puzzle ( https://fantasypuzzles.com/ ) and wow! The quality is amazing. The pieces fit together perfectly and they feel so nice in your hand. Definitely some of the best wooden puzzles out there.

Wentworths - I really like the quality of their puzzles.

I’m a fan of PuzzleLab from Canada. There’s no click as you describe but it’s very easy to tell if the pieces fit together. Also excellent quality!

I don't know how good they are, but Ravensburger now has a line of wooden puzzles.

Bewilderness also has some interesting puzzles, like geometric ones. (https://bewilderness-puzzles.com/)

My favourite brands so far, based on those I completed:

• Clementoni
• Bits and Pieces
• Jumbo (Wasgij, Falcon, Jan Van Haasteren)
• Ravensburger
• Springbok
• Trefl

Brands I'd look into:

• Bluebird
• Castorland
• Cobble Hill
• Educa
• Eurographics
• Gibsons
• Heye
• House of Puzzles
• JaCaRou
• New York Puzzle Company
• Peter Pauper Press
• Pomegranate
• Schmidt

Brands popular on this sub, but not my particular favourites, due to the 'plasticky' feel of their pieces:

• eeBoo
• Galison and Mudpuppy

A lot of them are European brands because these are the most affordable/available for me.

I find Heye very hit and miss. Some of the pieces fit extremely well, but then others are super loose. I also don't kike that sometimes they have posters and somwtimes not. Really annoying. I think every puzzle should have 1 and not a teeny tiny one. Gallison's puzzles are weird too. Some of them have lovely thick, super well fitting pieces and then others are extremely loose and thin. The thin ones tend to be pretty glossy as well, which I don't like. It's hard to see the pieces. Even among the Michael Storrings puzzles there's such a huge range of piece quality. I quite like Cobble Hill puzzles. Super fun shapes and good quality. Not extremely tight fitting, but really good regardless.

Ravensburger all the way!

Cobble Hill is my favorite brand. The pieces aren't flimsy feeling and I like the matte finish.

I'm very happy with the quality of Pomegranate and Art & Fable.

Since moving to Europe the answer has totally changed! Recent brands I love: Enjoy, Bambelle, Pieces and Peace, Sulo, Trevell, Reverie, Roovi, Gibsons, Piece & Love, so many more!

Cherry Pazzi, Buffalo Games, Cobble Hill and Ravensburger (minus the dust). IMO only.

Paperblanks, Anatolian, vintage Springbok come to mind!

I love Cobble Hill and Blue Kazoo. I really like eeBoo( I wish they had matte finishes, though).

Enjoy

My best brands so far, based on those I completed (in alphabetical order, to avoid bias):

• Clementoni
• Bits and Pieces
• Jumbo (Wasgij & Falcon)
• Ravensburger
• Springbok
• Trefl

Brands I'd look into:

• Bluebird
• Castorland
• Cobble Hill
• Educa
• eeBoo
• Eurographics
• Galison & Mudpuppy
• Gibsons
• Heye
• House of Puzzles
• New York Puzzle Company
• Peter Pauper Press
• Pomegranate
• Schmidt

A lot of them are European brands because these are the most affordable/available for me.

Schmidt will give you top quality, very similar, slightly above Ravensburger. And I would second White Mountain. If you like their images you will love their quality.

Pomegrante, for me, is top of the line. I also like Buffalo and White Mountain. Those are not as thick as RB or Pomegranate, but they are solid and dependable.

I favor White Mountain for its quality of construction and eclectic offerings. The fit of pieces is good but not the best I've seen.

I also like Bits and Pieces for its construction and quality of fit in the pieces.

Not the original commenter, but I enjoyed Flowers very much: https://www.etsy.com/listing/534857499/flowers-1000-piece-jigsaw-puzzle-for

Feast. It was 10/10. When it was done i picked up the puzzle like it was a sheet of paper and brought it to my husband. It was perfect. Never even had a puzzle that locked together that well

Cloudberries Feast – Colourful Food Jigsaw Puzzle for Adults (1000 Pieces). Detailed Modern Puzzle for Foodies Featuring Tasty Snacks on a Challenging Tablecloth Design. Made in Europe. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08V19VC27/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_2V7XHX72QPRZNW188Y0K

I LOVE the texture. I think it comes down to personal prefetence. I couldnt even finish sorting an eeboo puzzle i tried because the pueces were so waxy they felt laminated. Ymmv ya know

I recently discovered Vermont Christmas Company. It’s a great under appreciated brand.

My favorites are Art and Fable as well as Unified Pieces. They both have a satin coating that makes the pieces really luxurious.

Ravensburger seems to be the best widely available puzzle. The price of them put you into the realm of a lot of brands though. If you’re willing to wait for shipping, there are a lot of great alternatives.

If you’re in Europe, you can get Schmidt puzzles. They’re very similar to Ravensburger.

Cobble Hill, Bits & Pieces and Buffalo. I love their consistency. I know exactly the quality to expect with each puzzle.

I know many think of Ravensburger as the best puzzle brand, but I've done dozens of them and they are hit or miss. When they hit they are a perfect dream. When they miss they are a false fitting, loose fitting nightmare.

I just started doing puzzles about 6 months ago and so far my very favorites are Pomegranate and New York Puzzle Company. I like a lot of the others mentioned too.

Edited to add that I also really enjoy eeBoo puzzles and have been lucky enough to find quite a few at thrift stores. They are an odd size though and don’t fit my board but I still get them and just break into sections.

I couldn't stop thinking about Unified Pieces after looking though their website and I've actually managed to find a good deal on eBay now (which I never expected). Just wanted to say thanks again for this wonderful suggestion ☺️

I love all the Magic Puzzles!