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Puzzle Detail Baffler Puzzles Chris Yates

About the Parleys

In the early 1990s relatively few craftspeople were cutting wooden jigsaw puzzles, and most were working in isolation. Rachel Page (Pagey) Elliott decided it was time to break down those barriers. She came up with the inspired idea of a "Puzzle Parley," a gathering together of jigsaw puzzle cutters to share ideas and experiences. She proposed this concept to Bob Armstrong and recruited him as organizer. Pagey and Bob, along with Debby Greeley (Pagey's sister) and Anne Williams, were the forces behind the first Parley in 1994. Below you will find documentation on the past Puzzle Parleys. You can use the side bar to navigate to specific Past Parleys.

Puzzle Detail image from Jardin Puzzles by Melinda Shebell
Puzzle Detail Jardin Puzzles Melinda Shebell

The 14th Puzzle Parley - Rochester, NY - 2018

7/16/2018

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For the fourteenth parley we combined the Puzzle Parley with the AGPI (Association of Games and Puzzle International) Convention. We chose Rochester NY as the location for this event because of the Strong Museum of Play where some of our events took place.

​Our weekend started on Thursday with two optional activities. The first was an all-day bus trip of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. We visited Buffalo Games who are known for their quality puzzles and interesting games. We then dined for lunch at the Anchor Bar where we had the opportunity to sample the original buffalo wings. After lunch we headed off for a private tour of the Buffalo Transportation Pierce Arrow Museum as well as a Niagara Falls visit where some of us journeyed into the falls on the Maiden of the Mist boat.

Our weekend started on Thursday with two optional activities. The first was an all-day bus trip of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. We visited Buffalo Games who are known for their quality puzzles and interesting games. We then dined for lunch at the Anchor Bar where we had the opportunity to sample the original buffalo wings. After lunch we headed off for a private tour of the Buffalo Transportation Pierce Arrow Museum as well as a Niagara Falls visit where some of us journeyed into the falls on the Maiden of the Mist boat.
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Buffalo Games tour - from this to that
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Lunch at the Anchor Bar Lower Right:Rick Tucker on the Maiden of the Mist Boat (Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker)
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At the Pierce Arrow Museum
For a quieter activity, the Strong Museum opened their world class Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play for research. The library is unmatched with its archives on the history of games and puzzles. It was a unique opportunity to access information to do research for an article in the AGPI publications "The Quarterly" or "On the Table".

​On Thursday evening, early arrivals could attend either an adventure in one of Rochester's Escape Rooms or simply begin enjoying puzzling or gaming with old and new friends.

On Friday, the museum offered us complimentary admission and a VIP tour which included its research library, the behind the scenes archives, and an exhibit of puzzles past and current. Some of the special puzzles we saw included puzzles from The Anne Williams Puzzle Collection, our own Exchange Puzzles from past Parleys and the "South Carolina" puzzles from a previous AGPI convention. Several master cutters participated in a live cutting demonstration which was received with much enthusiasm by museum patrons young and old. Cutting demonstrations were graciously given by John Stokes, Juday Pedersen, and David Beffa-Nigrini over the day.

Our Friday banquet was followed by the fifth Pagey Elliot Puzzle Exchange, organized by Anne Williams. Then Show and Tell of interesting games and puzzles that were shared by attendees. Puzzling and gaming continued into the night!
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Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker
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Melinda Shebell and Marge Hillback in front of an exhibit of Melinda's puzzle
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A Private Viewing of Past PEPE Puzzles and the South Carolina Puzzles
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John Stokes, Juday Pedersen and David Beffa-Nigrini giving cutting demonstrations. (Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker)
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Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker
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Start of the Pagey Elliott Puzzle Exchange (Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker)
Saturday featured a full day of parallel and shared sessions with the AGPI. Some of the talks and sessions presented on Saturday included:
  • Bob Armstrong, "Dickens in Puzzles"
  • Antori Pancco, "Cutting Jigsaw Puzzles from Acrylics"
  • Judy Peterson, "How to a Design Jigsaw Puzzle if you Can't Draw"
  • Anne Williams, "A Field Guide to Jigsaw Puzzle Identification" 
  • Chris Yates, "The Making of 'Baffler' Puzzles
  • Mark Tschida, "Making Wood Puzzles Using Veneers"

​After Saturday's dinner, the AGPI presented the "Outstanding Achievement Award" to the Strong Museum of Play. Our after-dinner speaker on Saturday night was Chris Bensch with "A Curator's Day at the Strong Museum". Chris had us rolling in the aisle with his talk and his hula hooping!

Throughout the day, puzzle entries for the Best in Show trophy were displayed in the front of the room. People were encouraged to vote for their favorite. After dinner we announced the winner, Caesar Rocchi, for his puzzle of an Italian scene in wood veneer. His daughter Illaria was in attendance from Italy and accepted the award for him.

Saturday evening was officially drawn to a close with the AGPI auction, featuring Dave Beffa-Negrini with undiscovered auctioneering talents. His energy and enthusiasm brought tears of laughter, and he even upped people's bids automatically for the many treasures on the auction block. Although the night was officially done, many of us continued our puzzling and gaming till the wee hours of the morning!
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Illaria Rocchi, Accepting the Best-in-Show Award for her father (Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker)
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Best-in-Show Puzzle Costier Amalfitana by Ceasar Rocchi
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Puzzling at the beginning of the night (Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker)
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Close up of the struggle to find the right piece in a swath of green (Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker)
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Getting near the end? (Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker)
Sunday morning had two parallel sessions. The first was a well-attended workshop on restoring old puzzles, lead by Lisa Lee. Like the last Parley, Lisa had prepared replacement pieces for some of her puzzles ,and attendees tried their hand at creating the artwork for them. The second was a panel discussion on "Today's Game and Puzzle Market", consisting of Bob Armstrong, Rosemary Howbrigg, Dave Thomen, and led by Bob Finn.
We closed with a presentation of the 2019 AGPI convention to be held in Denver, Colorado in 2019 and our Raffle drawing with items contributed by puzzle cutters, game collectors and combined Puzzle Parley and AGPI supporters.

Here are only a few of the wonderful puzzles on display all day Saturday:
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Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker
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A Collection of Puzzles by artist Amy Scott
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Stave Puzzles with a display of some of their more memorable creations
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Puzzle "Doodles" from Thom Spenser - Jigsaw ART
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Some classy ladies created by Lisa Lee Forgetmenot Puzzles
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Perfect for a puzzling musician, created by Thom Spencer Jigsaw ART
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A Collection of Puzzles by Jay Hollis Bogart Puzzles (Photo courtesy of Rick Tucker)
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"Village" by David Beffa-Negrini Fools Gold Puzzles
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Even the boxes are pretty - Fools Gold Puzzles
Lastly is a group photo of all our new friends! Thank you for coming out to Play!
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Group Photo of all Attendees (Photo courtesy of Ashley Marvin)
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    Past Parleys

    All
    1994 - 1st Concord
    1996 - 2nd Lexington
    1997 - 3rd Worcester
    1999 - 4th NYC
    2000 - 5th Katonah
    2002 - 6th NYC
    2004 - 7th Concord
    2007 - 8th San Fran
    2008 - 9th Sturbridge
    2010 - 10th Salem
    2012 - 11th Salem
    2014 - 12th Salem
    2016 - 13th Salem
    2018 - 14th Rochester
    2021 - 15th Virtual
    2022 - 16th Sturbridge

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