nationals 2025
National Jigsaw Puzzle Championships 2025 event information
The Australian National Jigsaw Puzzle Championships 2025 (aka ‘Nationals’) will take place over TWO days on 29-30 November 2025 at the State Sport Centre – MSAC Albert Park in Melbourne.
This event has three divisions: solos, pairs and teams. Solos will consist of two qualifying rounds on Saturday, with the fastest 150 puzzlers from each round progressing to the final on Sunday.
This event is sponsored by Ravensburger.
Timetable
Saturday 29 November 2025
- 9am – 10am: Doors open
- 10am – 12pm: Solo Qualifying Round A
- 12.30pm – 2.30pm: Solo Qualifying Round B
- 3.30pm – 5.30pm: Teams event (includes IPC schools event)
- 5.45pm – 6pm: Teams (and IPC) awards ceremony
Sunday 30 November 2025
- 10am – 11am: Doors open
- 11am – 1.30pm: Pairs event
- 2.30pm – 4.00pm: Solo final
- 4.15pm – 4.30pm: Awards ceremony (pairs and solos)
Divisions
Solos consists of two qualifying rounds on Saturday with the top 150 finishers from each round going through to a solo final on Sunday. Results will be updated live, and qualifying details will be released after all results are finalised by 6pm on Saturday.
Puzzlers only need to buy one solo ticket for this event and should plan to be available for either events.
Saturday 29 November: Puzzlers will be allocated to either Qualifier A or B to complete a 500 piece Ravensburger puzzle. Solo allocations are now live on the AJPA website.
Sunday 30 November: The top 150 puzzlers from each Qualifying round complete a 500 piece Ravensburger puzzle as we find the fastest puzzler in Australia!
Pairs is a single event on Sunday 30 November with puzzlers completing two 500 piece puzzles!!
With our first ever double puzzle pairs event, you may be wondering how things will run. Each pair will get two puzzle boxes in the same competition bag. At the start of the event, puzzlers will open the competition bag and view both puzzles. Puzzlers will then be told in which order to complete the puzzles. The first completed puzzle must be packed up into its box and moved off the table before opening the second puzzle. Read more about the rules.
Teams is a single event on Saturday 29 November. Each team will complete a 1000 piece Ravensburger puzzle.
1 ticket per 4 people.
You can compete with a team of less than 4 people if desired.
Prizes
We have new prizes on offer this year !
SOLO: 1st place: $1500; 2nd place: $1,000; 3rd place: $500
PAIRS: 1st place: $1500; 2nd place: $1,000; 3rd place: $500
TEAMS: 1st place: $1500; 2nd place: $1,000; 3rd place: $500
Pairs and teams prizes are shared between winning participants, not awarded per person.
Checking in at the event
When you arrive at the event, you’ll get a competition card and lanyard with a QR code to look up your table number and results. No need to show your ticket at the door! See how it works!
Aim to be seated at least 15 minutes before the competition start time. If you can no longer attend, please let us know as soon as possible. If the event is sold out, we may be able to resell your ticket on the waitlist.
You will have an allocated table at this event. If you have accessibility needs, let us know before the event so we can assign a table that meets your needs. We will do our best to accommodate you.
Getting to the venue
Address
MSAC Arena, 30 Aughtie Drive Albert Park, VIC 3206
*** Please note the venue is MSAC Albert Park, not Parkville***
Nationals is located in the MSAC Arena, which is located to the left of the main entrance on the Aughtie Drive side of the venue (see map below).
Public transport
Two tram routes drop you directly behind MSAC just a minutes walk from the MSAC Arena:
- Route 96 (East Brunswick to St Kilda Beach) – Stop 129
- Route 12 (City to South Melbourne/St Kilda) – Stop 131
***We strongly advise travelling by public transport due to the large number of competitors coming to this event.***
Parking
Parking for MSAC Stadiums is available all day in the MSAC Stadiums Carpark, at the southern end of MSAC, accessed from Aughtie Drive. Contactless payment upon exit only.
Important information from the venue: On Sunday 30 November, there’s a half marathon fun run with road closures. More information can be found here: https://wellnessrun.com.
What’s available on the day
Raffle and merch: There will be a raffle and AJPA merchandise on sale. Bring your AJPA membership card for 20% off merch.
Pop-up shop: TBC
Dress up: We encourage you to dress up or have a theme for yourself, your pair and/or team – we sometimes have prizes for best dressed!
Refreshments: The Sir Albert Cafe will be open at main reception. A second cafe, the Aquatics Reception Cafe may also be open and is located across from the Multi Deck Carpark. It’s a 10-minute walk to Bridport Street where there are various food and drink options. If you’re competing in all three events, you might consider bringing a pre-packed lunch.
General tips for smooth day
Read our event info to find out how to make your day a success.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale via Eventbrite. Pairs and teams are already sold out. When adding yourself to the waitlist, please add the division you want after your name (e.g. Emily Smith PAIRS; Emily Smith TEAMS).
Members get 20% off ticket prices. Become a member now to get your discount.
Event FAQs
We need your final registration details at least four working days before the event. This gives us time to print the correct time slips and have the right names in our system to help you find your table on the day. For teams, we will contact you shortly before the event to update your team members – we do not need this information for printing (only your team name gets printed on your slip), so don’t panic if you have not supplied this information early!
For pairs, we use you and your partners names – there are no team name for pairs.
Login to your Eventbrite account on a browser to update your participant details.
We do not make name changes on the day. If necessary, you may manually amend the name on your time slip and we will endeavour to update it after the event.
Unfortunately, the AJPA cannot confirm what puzzles will be available for sale on the day.
There will be 300 competitors in the solo final – 150 from each qualifying round.
We pride ourselves on creating an inclusive environment and reducing barriers to access and participate in our competitions. Our social script explains what to expect at an AJPA competition.
Pairs is a single event with two 500 piece puzzles. Each pair will get two puzzle boxes in the same competition bag. At the start of the event, puzzlers will open the competition bag and view both puzzles. Puzzlers will then be told in which order to complete the puzzles.
When the first puzzle is complete, an adjudicator will record your time, then the first completed puzzle will be packed into its box and moved off the table before you open the second puzzle. Read more about the rules.
Don’t worry, just pick up a new one at nationals. We have plenty for all competitors but encourage you to reuse them to reduce waste at our competitions.
Email volunteer@australianjigsawpuzzle.org.au to find out if we have volunteer opportunities available.
Check-in opens one hour before each event. You should be checked in and seated at least 15 minutes before the start of each division.
There will be some background noise during the competitions and some cheering when competitors complete their puzzles. If this is an issue, we recommend bringing noise cancelling headphones.
Yes you can! Spectators are very welcome to come along for free and do not need a ticket.
AJPA will cut the box stickers before the event. Competitors will only need to open the inner bag can be opened without sharp implements.
