Birthday present
On my son's wish list for his June 1st birthday I put down puzzle with pegs/knobs. I was pleasantly surprised to see my son open this one from his aunt and uncle... although was saddened to see that this is the only puzzle that my son received. So, over the past several months my son has gotten a lot of play time with this puzzle and has figured out how to perfect this puzzle!

What does it look like?
The puzzle is in the shape of an equilateral triangle (meaning all sides are the same length). Each side measures 10" long and there are three pictures in the middle of the triangle. There is a picture of a yellow car, red/yellow/and blue airplane, and a colorful (red/yellow/blue/green/black) train. Each piece has knobs on them to make it easier for little hands to hold and maneuver. Each knob is thick and chunky measuring approximately 1" above the piece.

The pictures of the vehicles (car, train, and airplane) use basic colors which are easier for a child's brain to comprehend and the pictures are very clear. There is no question on what the vehicle is... the pictures are simple and a child can recognize them.

The puzzle is also a wooden puzzle so the durability is great! It can put up with a lot of use and abuse and has virtually no wear and tear. Wooden puzzles can be harder to clean so if your child is sick I wouldn't recommend playing with this one at that time. You can use a wet wipe on it, but I wouldn't recommend getting the wood very wet.

Our experience
This is a very basic puzzle with only 3 pieces, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun for a 12-24 month old. My son is 18 months now and has loved this puzzle from the beginning. I think the most appropriate age for this puzzle is 12-24 months (younger can't hold or care to place the puzzles in the spots and older than 24 months they are ready for harder puzzles). The puzzle is great because when a piece is removed there is a picture of the piece in the place where it goes. This makes it great for children to match what is in their hand to the picture that is still in the hole.

When my son plays with this puzzle he first brings it over to the couch and turns the entire puzzle over to dump the pieces. Then after we pick the pieces off the floor he begins to match them in their place. Sometimes he spins the piece in his hands by holding the knob and tries the piece in the correct spot by twirling it all around. I personally think he does that because it is fun for him because he almost never misses putting the piece in the correct spot.

At the beginning (12 months old) he played with the pieces more by clapping them together, hiding them underneath the couch, and putting them in other toy containers. He still could get the pieces in, but he needed a lot more guidance to be focused. However, now he is definitely more focused and finishes the puzzle much faster.

Cost
This was a gift so I don't know exactly, but I have seen it retail from $6-$9 dollars.

Overall
As we are moving on to bigger puzzles (there are already some wrapped under the tree!) we still think this is a great puzzle for a toddler to start with. We highly recommend it!

Special thanks to Dianapinions and her Little Write off!

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): gift
Type of Toy: Puzzle