Mesmerizing

I absolutely love the colors and the unique shape of this puzzle. Putting it together is such an enjoyable experience, and I really appreciate the idea of having changing colors throughout the puzzle. However, I had to take off one star because a few of the pieces arrived slightly damaged. I think this might be due to the nature of the material used. Despite that minor issue, it's still a really beautiful puzzle.

Stunning, but minor issues

Words cannot express just how beautiful and mesmerizing the colour shift is on this puzzle, absolutely stunning. I feel it's worth mentioning that due to the materials used (which ARE a necessity to achieve the color shift), some of the pieces are flawed. Not sure if this is an issue with the die cutter not being strong enough to cut cleanly through the plastic, or if this issure occurs in transit (e.g. pressure changes on air travel, heat from summer, etc.), but the plastic layer on some of the pieces has slightly lifted off, leaving those areas looking a bit discoloured. Some of the edges are a little rough, as if the die couldn't cut it cleanly, and some of the pieces came stuck together at the corners. If this puzzle ever gets produced again in the future, I would urge the manufacturer to look into improving this issue if at all possible. Again, in my opinion the flaws are very minor and won't really be noticable when looking at the puzzle as a whole, but considering the price I think it's fair to leave a warning for future buyers.

Excellent Puzzle - a Few Small Flaws

I struggled with choosing only four stars. My only real issue with the puzzle is also what makes it so special, so I don't know if there's any constructive feedback I can actually offer. The surface of the puzzle is a lenticular plastic sort of finish. It makes for some very thick, satisfying pieces. As a result, it's very difficult to confirm the pieces actually fit without a bit of effort behind your joins. The cut on the puzzle heads are very similar, often to the point that the pieces will fit in almost any location. Combine that with the shifting colors and it makes for some occasional trial and error...you add a piece only to realize it may not fit there. Normal puzzle stuff. On three occasions, removing the incorrect piece resulted in a separation of that lenticular surface from the cardboard backing. I seemed able to re-stick the surface, but it was a bit discouraging. Similarly, some pieces showed some of this separation out of the box due to some bending of the pieces before removing them from the box. So, I will reiterate that the flaw is exactly what makes this puzzle so amazing. I'm not sure I should have mentioned it because all of my praise will now sound contradictory. Perhaps just a warning to others considering this purchase. You will need to be very careful and deliberate with your piece placement if you don't want to risk potential damage. I suggest pushing the pieces from the back, supporting the surface of any adjacent pieces, when you need to separate. That out of the way, I do strongly recommend experiencing the Aeternus Aenigma! Sitting in front of it and witnessing the color change effect on the finished product is truly a thing of beauty. It is an extremely challenging build, but there is a sort of "aha" moment when you discover a special trick that will help you tremendously. This is very much a puzzle that demands the builder to be very shape oriented. You simply can't rely on colors until the piece is actually in place, flush with all the pieces around it. Once installed, you actually might see the colors absolutely do not match. So, this is truly only for a very strong puzzle builder. That level of challenge is a plus in my book, but it made most of my friends and family just shake their heads and walk away after staring at all the gorgeous pieces. If you're on the fence with this purchase, and read the whole review, go for it! The finished product is so rewarding and so great to look at, you'll be glad you did.

The product is well made and very interesting to look at. Assembly was a bit of a challenge at first but once we got used to the colours changing it wasn’t too bad.

Probably the coolest looking puzzle I own