In a hall in Bella Vista, a child’s hands fly over the table. In less than two minutes, a pile of colorful bits turns into the Argentine flag. «He’s got it down,» murmurs an organizer. The kid is the champion of the moment, but here everyone is part of a community that grew with the rhythm of 1,000-piece puzzles.
Guillermo Straface, founder of Photo Puzzle, does not hide his pride: «Nine years ago we wanted to create an alternative that combined good designs and high quality. What we never dreamed was to build such a large and loyal community.» And he certainly achieved it: what started as a hobby for his musician son in Bariloche became the only national factory that fully produces 1,000-piece die-cut cardboard puzzles, similar to the most prestigious international brands.
Straface had no experience in the graphic industry. «In 2015, my son worked at a toy store and noticed there were no puzzles of music bands. I was self-taught, so I started researching how to make them.» But in Buenos Aires he found no one dedicated to that. He spent months crafting handmade dies, laminates, and prototypes. When he finally called his son to update him, the kid said he was postponing the project because he was going to open a burger joint. «A few weeks later I left the construction company and went ahead with it. In the end, I was the hooked one,» he sums up.
At first, he set up his office in an empty room at his mother’s house. He took family photos, sent them to a print shop, and then found a studio to laser-cut them. But the pieces weren’t perfect, so he separated them with a cutter and packaged them primitively. «We published a couple in 2017, and a young couple from Mendoza bought the first one,» he recalls.
Quality gradually improved. He adapted machines from other industries, like shoemaking, with help from blacksmiths and lathe operators. Today he uses top raw materials: quality paper and Dutch backing cardboard. «We convert national pressing machines and bring in perfect dies from China,» he explains.
The images were also a challenge. «We didn’t have our own, so we started with our photos, landscapes, and art classics like Van Gogh’s Lilies, which no longer pay royalties. Gradually we added free banks and made agreements with artists like Susana Ibsen, Fernando Ferramosca, or Coty Borio, plus my wife’s designs, who is now our main supplier.»
The pandemic was key to the takeoff. «They were difficult times, with many people locked up. Faced with the shock, these games became crucial.» Many of his current customers assembled their first puzzles back then.
Today, the factory employs about ten people. The process is simple: the image is printed, glued onto Dutch cardboard, and die-cut under pressure. But the essential part is manual control: «We count each piece. It’s a bet on quality. We ensure all are perfectly separated, and if any is poorly cut, we separate it with a scalpel. There’s nothing worse than a missing piece.»
Soon they will launch the 2,000-piece puzzle. «It’s complicated, because it’s not a larger print: all machines need to be adapted.» In Europe, there are boxes of 60,000 pieces, like the famous What a Wonderful World by Dowdle, which require production in parts and a zipper to join the batches.
One day, Straface asked himself: if Valladolid had a puzzle world championship, why not hold a local tournament? Timidly, they launched the idea. Gradually, a bond formed beyond the monthly meetup in Buenos Aires or the traveling tournaments. «It moves us a lot. Some tell us they not only travel together to the championship but also get together to go to the theater, the stadium, or the square to drink mate.»
The first tournament was at the end of 2021. The following year they held three meetups. In 2023 they started every other month, and in 2024 with monthly tournaments. «Such was the demand that last year we began touring the country: Rosario, Córdoba, Mar del Plata, Bahía Blanca, and other cities are hosting us.»
Photo Puzzle is an example that, against screens, concentration and shared in-person time still have their place. And in every tournament, a fast-handed kid proves it: he assembles the Argentine flag in minutes and shrugs as if it were nothing.
para mi esto es re volucionario los pibes de photo puzzle tienen razon los gamers corporativos nos quieren esclavos digitales pero el rompecabezas es resistencia popular aguante el carton y los torneos barriales los liberales seguro prefieren jugar solos con su celu ✊
para mi estos pendejos pegados a la pantalla son una lacra ni saben lo q es un rompecabezas de verdá menos mal q hay argentinos de bien como straface q rescatan la cultura del esfuerzo con sus torneos presenciales esto si es patria carajo no como los zurdos de mierda q quieren todo digital viva la picardia criolla