The Puzzle Wave is a social event that will take place from Sat. March 28, 2026 to Sun. March 29, 2026 from 11am to 11am in all time zones. Our in-person event will be held in Aurora, Ontario with Canada-wide remote participation. The complete wave will take a total of 28 ½ hours, starting at 11am NDT (9:30am EDT) in Newfoundland and parts of Labrador on Saturday, and ending at 11am PDT/MST (2pm EDT) in most of British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, and parts of the Northwest Territories on Sunday. Join the Puzzle Wave from your time zone!
Our goals are:
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Have fun puzzling together!
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See how many pieces we can put together as a community. We will be keeping track of the total number of pieces we puzzle, not individual or team totals. Let’s see what we can do when we work together!
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Fundraise for the Canadian Mental Health Association (optional).
Remote Option
Date & Time: The event is taking place from 11am Saturday March 28/26 to 11am Sunday March 29/26 local time in each time zone. Everyone is welcome to join the Puzzle Wave remotely!
Teams: Participants may participate as an individual, pair, or a team of any size, from anywhere in Canada! You may join the Wave any time in the 24 hours for your time zone. Do you have other commitments during the 24 hours? No problem, just join in whenever you can!
Puzzles: Participants may use their own puzzles for the whole marathon or they can choose to purchase the Puzzle Wave 6-puzzle Bundle (1000 piece puzzles) and then use their own puzzles for the rest of the marathon. You may use puzzles of any piece count that you would like.
Cost: Joining the event remotely is free. There is an optional cost if you choose to purchase the Puzzle Wave 6-puzzle bundle for the great price of $130 + HST from our partners at Puzzles Canada. The deadline for ordering the puzzle bundle is January 31, 2026. After you register your participation, you will be provided with a link to purchase the optional bundle through the Puzzles Canada website. They must be purchased in advance, and they will be shipped to the team organizer/individual. There will be limited quantities available.
Connection with Other Puzzlers: Post to the CJPA Facebook page and/or your personal IG page whenever you want! (Event hashtags: #RideThePuzzleWave #PuzzleForHealth and IG Tags: @canadianjigsawpuzzle @cmhanational @puzzlescanada). Join the Remote Zoom Check-In if you would like to connect with others on a Zoom call.
Registration: Registration will begin on November 8th at 1 pm (EST). Once a team is registered, they will be sent information on how to order the 6-puzzle bundle (optional).
In-Person Option
Date & Time: The in-person event will take place from 11am EDT Saturday March 28, 2026 to 11am EDT Sunday March 29, 2026. The event space will open up at 10:00 a.m. for check in.
Location: The in-person event will take place at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites, 205 Eric T. Smith Way, Aurora, Ontario.
Registration: Registration is now closed. Participants must be 14+ years of age. Four people will be puzzling at a time, with team members rotating on and off. The schedule will be determined individually by each team. Here are some sample schedules.
Puzzles: Each team will receive a 6-puzzle bundle (1000 piece puzzles) for the team to puzzle and then take home, 1 puzzle per team member. These bundles will be at the venue for the teams. There will be a community table with additional assorted puzzles to choose from once the 6 initial puzzles have been completed. Teams will choose a puzzle, complete it, return it to the community table, and then choose another one. These additional puzzles will be given away at the end of the event by random draw.
Cost: The registration cost for the event is $450 + HST per team.
Hotel Rooms: Rooms are available at an additional cost at a group rate of $189 + HST per room based on double occupancy (including two breakfasts). Teams may choose to book one room for the entire team to share on a rotation so that team members can get some sleep when they are not puzzling. Two people are included in the base price. There is a $15 charge for each additional person who uses the room. This cost includes breakfast, use of the fitness center (open 5:30 am – 11:00 pm) and indoor pool (open 8:00 am – 10:00 pm) if they wish. Space may be limited. The deadline to be guaranteed a room at the group rate is January 26, 2026.
Note: The hotel lobby will be available throughout the whole event for participants who are on break to hang out and relax if they would like to. The breakfast area will also be available to hang out in except during breakfast hours (7-10am).
Other Meals: Since only breakfast is available onsite, participants may bring any food or snacks that they would like to the venue. Free coffee and tea will be available 24/7! There are also restaurants in the area within a 20 min walk or 2 min drive.
Schedule
Saturday
10:00 am - 10:45 am – Welcome to the Puzzle Wave!
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Event space opens.
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Plan your tentative rotation schedule, if you haven't done so already. The first and last 15 minutes of the event will be all hands on deck. At all other times, 4 people per team will be puzzling at the same time, so that every participant is able to puzzle for 16 of the 24 hours if they want to, and have 8 hours off. Schedules are flexible throughout the event. Remember, this is for fun, so if you feel that you need a little extra sleep, go for it! It is fine if fewer than 4 people are puzzling.
10:45 am - 11:00 am – Group Photo and Countdown to The Wave
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Group photo.
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Open your puzzle bag and decide which puzzle you would like to do first (you will each take home one of these puzzles).
11:00 am – In-Person Puzzle Wave Begins
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Start your first puzzle as a full team until 11:15! After you have completed the first 6 puzzles, choose a puzzle from the community table, complete it, return it, and then choose another one.
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When you finish each puzzle, record it on the tracker sheet provided, and then enter the information digitally using the QR code provided.
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Post to the CJPA Facebook page and/or your personal IG page whenever you want! (Event hashtags: #RideThePuzzleWave #PuzzleForHealth and IG Tags: @canadianjigsawpuzzle @cmhanational @puzzlescanada)
4:00 pm – Hotel Room Check-In
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If you have reserved a hotel room, one of your team members can now check in. They can get a key card for each person registered in the room.
Sunday
7:00 am – 10:00 am – Breakfast
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Breakfast is available for those people registered in one of the hotel rooms.
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Make sure to give all your teammates who are registered for breakfast a chance to grab some!
10:30 am – Hotel Room Check-Out
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Please check out of your hotel room by 11:00.
10:45 am – Let's Finish This Wave Together!
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All hands on deck for the last 15 minutes!
11:00 am – In-Person Puzzle Wave Ends
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Community table puzzles random draw.
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Group photo.
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Thanks for coming!
Optional Fundraising
Component
We will be raising money for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). Join the fun to raise money for this great cause! Together we can make a difference! As of March 27th, we have raised almost $16,000! Puzzle Wave participants who register on the CMHA page and fundraise at least $50 will be entered in a draw to win Ravensburger's 7000 piece "The Six Portals" puzzle.
Please visit this site to register & start
a team, join your team, or to donate.
When you visit the link, you must first create an account with an email and password. Then you can choose to register as an individual, create a team, or join a team. If you are part of a team, decide who will create the team for you, then let the others know your team name so they can join.
Once you are set up, you can visit your fundraising page and share the URL with your friends and family to ask for their support in donating.
