Esphera 360 9" 540 Pieces Sphere Art: Wall's "Queen of the Night" by Mega Brands

This is a great puzzle, as it is quite challenging (but still fun) to put together, and the finished product is beautiful and easy to display. My preference is to assemble it without looking at the numbers or even the included image.The pieces are curved plastic, and fit together snugly enough that even the unfinished puzzle will hold its shape without support. The finished puzzle is quite sturdy (can be tossed in the air, gently dropped, etc. without coming apart.) The image matches up very well across pieces, despite the fact that the puzzle is not jigsawed (that is, it is not cut from a single piece after the image is printed, but instead the pieces are individually molded so that they can fit together tightly enough to hold the spherical shape).The pieces do all look similar, with the same arrangement of "in" and "out" connectors. In fact, I count only nine different shapes of pieces total -- I assume that this is a byproduct of the molded pieces, as it requires fewer molds than making all of the pieces different. The identically shaped pieces can be frustrating (particularly because pieces from the same mold are frequently adjacent in the puzzle), but it certainly makes for a more challenging puzzle. In places it is necessary to work by the image alone, but (as I mentioned before) this is not a huge issue as the image matches very nicely across pieces. Of course, if you get stuck you can always use the numbers on the pieces.The puzzle comes with a display stand, and conveniently takes much less space to display than a flat puzzle of the same size. It also comes with a clever flat representation of the puzzle image, printed on four plastic pieces which fit together to show the entire spherical image with little distortion (although of course it's hard to see how the entire image fits together all at once.)

I purchased this for my mother in law for Christmas... it is harder than expected to put together... more of a methodical put together than a normal find the piece and put together flat puzzle... but I think she enjoyed it. She also really likes the finished product that she is displaying now...

We could not get the surface flat. When we tried to press one piece in place flatly other sections would collapse. Maybe we don't have the technique but we followed the instructions on which way to place pieces.

I admit I was a little skeptical that a puzzle could be pieced together into a ball that could hold its shape. But the picture on the ball was beautiful, and the physics involved made me curious, so I gave it a try.The puzzle was different type of challenge than a typical flat puzzle. Because of the extra challenge of fitting the curved pieces together, it is really more of an adult puzzle that a typical flat puzzle. To piece it together properly, you have to visualize the picture in 3-D. The pieces fit together nicely, and the plastic is much more durable than a normal jigsaw puzzle.When putting the puzzle together, you need to use pressure from inside the ball to help stabilize the structure. Initially, I made two halves and tried to fit them together, but realized my mistake quite quickly. I guess I should have read the instructions first! ;)The finished puzzle is beautiful and whimsical, and is displayed on my coffee table. It is also stable. I am able to gently toss the ball up in the air and catch it, and can also roll it across the floor without breaking it apart.My teenaged niece loved the one I bought for her, too. This puzzle was a lot of fun!

I used the numbers on back of the pieces (cheating!) to put this together in about six hours (I have done some circular puzzles before). I recommend this brand because the pieces are plastic and fit together (and stay together) much better than some of the other 360 puzzles that use cardboard.The picture is sort of abstract (think Monet style), but looks clearer and fairly nice from across the room. It did come with the plastic display ring. Once complete it is about the size of a small children's bounce ball (about 6-8 inch diameter).

I bought this two years ago, and didn't realize I could still review it! The item comes in a box by Mega Brands, and was shipped on the designated date. No glue or sealer is required; the pieces fit perfectly into each other and forms a globe when you finish; very lovely design and Josephine Walls paintings look nice as a sphere. It's not playable though; if a child tried to thorw this or play with it, it can break; it's a decor piece.

Fun puzzle to put together. Can be difficult sometimes with pieces snapping together well or when you're almost complete and they want to fall into the sphere, but a good challenge for kids and fun to work on.

Some of the pieces fit in place with ease while others required some strength in the fingers to get them to snap in place. These puzzle balls make attractive decorative pieces and take up less space than the typical 3d puzzle. I have started a collection and this is my 3rd puzzle ball. This one met all my expectations and the transaction went smoothly.