What is an Impossible puzzle?
Clementoni's Impossible Puzzle line was born from a simple idea: take away everything that usually helps you solve a puzzle. There is no sky, no horizon, no big character in the middle. The image is a collage of repeated objects from edge to edge, with the same colors showing up everywhere. When you open the box, all 1000 pieces look alike, and that is exactly the point.
The result is a 1000-piece puzzle that takes as long as a 2000- or 3000-piece one, yet fits on a regular table (70 x 50 cm). At Loja dos Puzzles we have gathered every model in the Clementoni Impossible Puzzles collection, which includes the six Stranger Things puzzles and, new for 2026, the Impossible Jolly Christmas, a collage of vintage Christmas ornaments.
Who they are for (and who they are not for)
An Impossible is the right puzzle for anyone who has already completed several 1000-piece puzzles and has started finding them too quick. It is also the perfect gift for the friend or relative who brags about finishing everything in two days. On the other hand, it is not a good first puzzle: beginners should pick an image with clearly defined areas, like the ones we suggest in our guide to the best Christmas puzzles of 2026, and save the Impossible for their second or third.
The method for finishing an Impossible
1. Forget color, look at shape
With a regular puzzle, you sort the pieces by color. With an Impossible that does not work, because the colors repeat across the whole image. The useful way to sort is by the shape of the tabs and blanks: pieces with two opposite tabs, pieces with three, pieces with four, corner pieces. Clementoni cuts the pieces with subtle variations, and those variations hold the solution.
2. Edges first, always
Edge pieces are the only ones with a straight side, and they are the ones you can identify with certainty. Building the full frame gives you a sense of scale and narrows down where each piece can go.
3. Work by objects, not by areas
Use the poster included in the box and choose a recognizable object: a nutcracker, a bear, a glass ornament in an unusual color. Look only for the pieces of that object and assemble it separately. Then fit the block into the frame. Repeat with the next object. An Impossible comes together as a mosaic of small blocks, not from the center outward.
4. Embrace short sessions
Two 30-minute sessions get you further than one three-hour session. Visual fatigue with an Impossible is real: after a while, your eyes stop telling similar shades apart. A puzzle mat or puzzle board lets you store your progress and come back to it the next day.
5. Don't count the pieces left
The hardest part of an Impossible is psychological. Halfway through, with 400 loose pieces, it feels like it will never end. But the pattern flips: the last 200 pieces go in much faster than the first ones, because there are only a few possible spots left for each one.
The Impossible Jolly Christmas
The 2026 Christmas model is a dense collage of vintage ornaments: glass baubles, a nutcracker, a teddy bear, tin toys, pine cones and sweets. It has 1000 pieces, measures 70 x 50 cm and comes in a compact box with a poster. It is the right puzzle for a two-week holiday break if you have already done the others in the Clementoni Christmas Collection and want a challenge that lasts until January.
Once it's finished
A finished Impossible deserves to be on display. Apply puzzle glue in two thin coats, let it dry for 24 hours and frame it. It is a decorative piece that tells a story, especially when visitors ask how long it took.
Does an Impossible really have identical pieces?
No. The pieces have slightly different shapes and colors, but the image was designed to keep those differences to a minimum. That is why sorting by shape is so important.
How long does it take to complete?
It depends on your experience, but 15 to 30 hours is normal for a 1000-piece Impossible, compared with 6 to 10 hours for a conventional 1000-piece puzzle.
Are there Impossible puzzles with fewer pieces?
Clementoni's line is essentially 1000 pieces. For an intermediate challenge, 1000-piece puzzles showing interiors, with lots of distinct areas, are a good step before an Impossible.
See all the available models in the Clementoni Impossible Puzzles collection and, if you're giving one as a gift, pair it with our Christmas gifts 2026 suggestions.
