It's fast, fierce and adrenaline-loaded as puzzle pieces fall into place with a speed rarely seen.

Welcome to the world of puzzling under pressure and the first Australian National Jigsaw Puzzle Competition.

By day's end, tens of thousands of pieces will have found their rightful place as competitors aged eight to 80 vie to be Australia's champion.

Close to 400 people are competing in pairs puzzling at the event in Melbourne, while 220 individuals will be working their magic on 500-piece and 1,000-piece puzzles.

"Competitive puzzling is very fast, pieces spill out onto the table at the exact same time, it's very intense," said D'Arne Healy, Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Association president.

It was a case of mistaken identity that inspired her to find the "real" fastest puzzler in Australia.

Puzzling on a world stage

Ms Healy was on holiday in Spain in 2019 when, out of curiosity, she decided to go to the World Jigsaw Championships.

"I … was the first ever Australian to turn up [at the event]," she said.

Before she knew it she was ushered to the front row with international television cameras pointed at her. She had been accidentally enrolled as the Australian champion.

"I tried to tell them as quickly as I could … 'No, no, you've misunderstood, I've never done a competition before.'"

Ms Healy competed, coming a not-too-shabby 79th in the world and came home to found the Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Association and the national competition.

A nation of puzzlers

Ms Healy has since held events around Australia drawing out the nation's "dissectologists", or jigsaw-puzzle enthusiasts.

"We thought with these events we would start to see a pattern but it couldn't be further from the truth, it is the most diverse group of people," she said.

"Now that we have all these puzzlers out of the closet and out of the privacy of their homes we are starting to realise that everybody's puzzling!"

Satisfaction guaranteed

There's a sense of achievement and a rush of endorphins when puzzlers approach what's called "the final countdown".

It's when you are down to your last 10 pieces.

Ms Healy said puzzles provided mental-health benefits by slowing the mind and requiring a lot of concentration.

"There are a lot of things in life where there's no guarantee that you will achieve something, but with a jigsaw puzzle there is a guaranteed end, there is a guaranteed solution," she said.

"It's a small time in your life where for a brief moment you don't think about anything else." 

Puzzle paradise

It's a sentiment echoed by jigsaw collector Lyn Willemse.

"I feel like it's 'me' time; it's just you and the puzzle and you don't think about too much else really," Ms Willemse said.

Each day she opens the doors of her puzzle exchange near Yamba in northern New South Wales to the wider community in the spirit of sharing.

Therein lie about 500 puzzles all neatly stacked and sorted, a feast for those who favour the fully interlocking satisfaction of completing a jigsaw.

"I find people come here and they get really excited about what they take away and conquering a [new] puzzle," Ms Willemse said.

"I like that idea of people getting that enjoyment."

Helping us bond

D'Arne Healy loves hearing about puzzle exchanges, and implores people at a loss to grab a jigsaw and start putting the pieces together.

"What I say to people [is] a jigsaw puzzle is basically a lot of smaller jigsaw puzzles and then it doesn't become so overwhelming," Ms Healy said.

"It is beautiful to see jigsaw puzzles bonding people together.