Do you remember: The Jig-Map series

The Jig-Map by Waddington’s

The Jig-Map series was produced by Waddington’s and included a ‘shaped Jig-Map’ together with a ‘Place-name Quiz’. They were released in very colourful boxes and were clearly bought not only for the puzzle but for the educational aspects too.

The boxes came with the pieces of the puzzle, the instructions, and an envelope with the appropriate region printed on the front. The envelope contained all the town and country names required to complete the puzzle successfully.

The instructions on the box read as follows: "First take out all the place name strips and put them on one side. Then make up the jig map. Take any one of the place name strips, read the name and put it in the space where you think it should go. If the colours on the strip match the colours on the surround, you have placed the name correctly."

There were numerous sets available, each with a different Continent. The puzzles varied in size when completed, and these measurements were printed on the box. For example, the ‘British Isles’ had an over-all size of twenty-four and a quarter inches by twenty and three-eighths of an inch, while ‘Africa’ when completed measured twenty-three and a half inches by seventeen and five-eighths of an inch.

Before you begin the task ahead, it is useful to make sure that the tray, board or table will accommodate the finished puzzle. The pieces of each set are colourful and quite randomly shaped. It seems quite logical to begin the puzzle by seeking out all those pieces that have any amount of ‘sea’ on them. The sea provides the ‘frame’ of the Continent, and these should be placed towards the outer edge of the estimated boundary. The next step, will no doubt, follow the usual route of looking for significant shapes, colours, or distinctive patterns – everyone has their own formula for building up the picture, or in this case the Continent.

It may be helpful to try and complete sections or ‘patches’ and these should be placed roughly where you think they will eventually fit.

The Jig-Maps are featured in the Collectors Gazette ‘Toy Collectors’ Price Guide 2009. The feature draws our attention to a number of ‘hot collectables’ for 2009 and these puzzles are included. They were apparently available during the early 1970’s and contained 250 pieces.

While at their time of release, they were probably bought for the geographical information within the puzzle, the Jig-Map is now more interesting due to the historical content.