A Broader View 659 Continent Puzzle Combo Pack (171 Pieces in 5 Puzzles)

As a homeschooler and a geography enthusiast, I purchased a set of both A Broader View and GeoPuzzles. Although I give them both 5 stars, I prefer the Broader View. The GeoPuzzles are thicker which suggests to me a higher quality, but they are priced much higher also. The A Broader View puzzles give a quicker and more direct educational experience due to the frame of the puzzle actually is the oceans and/or bordering continents so the puzzle solver can get right down to the business of learning the countries or the continent . They are also easily stacked puzzles and saves on space compared to size of he GeoPuzzle.Also, I noticed the Continent Puzzles from A Broader View keep each continent relevant to its shape and position. The GeoPuzzles seem to have some distortion to the size and shape of all the land masses. Further, each continent from A Broader View is represented in its entirety. I noticed some of the GeoPuzzles do not include the entire continent:in fact, what would have been the North America puzzle was converted into the USA and Canada puzzle, meaning Central America and the Caribbean are not represented at all. FYI, Central America and the Caribbean are part of North America.The A Broader View puzzles also do an excellent job of showing the boundaries of the continents, which I would say is critical to the learning about the continents. The GeoPuzzles do not seem to make the effort. The A Broader View puzzles also have representation of many famous landmarks.As I mentioned, I give both sets 5 stars, but it depends on what you are looking for. The GeoPuzzles are great and have good entertainment value, but I think the Continent Puzzles by ABV excel in educational and price value.

I was really excited to get these puzzles to my surprise they are larger than I expected which is excellent. My disappointment comes in how easy the puzzle pieces Bend. I am using it for my four-year-old who loves puzzles and we are currently studying the different continents. It is challenging for her to do but she is still able to do it. The puzzle does not lay completely flat which is disappointing. It would have been awesome if each country has its own puzzle piece but I do still like it. I do you like that each Sea has its own puzzle piece which is excellent.

Continents seem slightly skewed from other sets I've seen. Cardboard is thick, durable. Hawaii is not on the North American puzzle, though islands are represented on other maps. Pieces are supposed to be shaped like the countries found within the continents...which is why I needed/wanted a puzzle, and why I ordered this item. While it advertises that the puzzle shapes are the countries, there are smaller countries sharing one puzzle piece, which is understandable. However, also advertised but MUCH further down the list so that it didn't catch my eye, contradictory to the "Pieces shaped like countries" it says that the North American continent consists of 55 pieces. That's because instead of a simple map to teach countries (the main point of having a continent puzzle) A Broader View felt that they'd rather represent each individual state for the United States and the provinces in Canada. It did not do this for Mexico, however. Honestly, it bothers me that they did this and advertised so strongly as puzzle pieces depicting countries. Not sure why it didn't catch my eye - perhaps because it's a depiction of a map I'm "used to seeing." It's left me in a lurch, as a homeschooler, though I'm happy with the remaining continent puzzles.

I bought these puzzles for my 4 year old son to learn about the world from a young age. I don't want him to grow up like a lot of children not knowing geography and thinking USA is the only existing country in the world.The puzzles are a good size and the colors are nice and bright. Some smaller countries and states are as one piece but that is understandable for their size.On the other hand, they are made of cardboard so they are not very sturdy. They bend easily and have to be handled with care. Not the best material for young children. Also, when I tried to take some of the pieces out, some of the paper ripped.Still, a good learning tool for everyone!