PUZZLE MANSION: Gina Lacuna’s 1,028+ Puzzles and the Biggest Puzzle of All!

The PUZZLE MANSION is home to the museum where you can find the record-breaking puzzle collection of Gina Gil Lacuna. It is located in the Lacuna family’s one hectare summer house in Tagaytay. She beat the reigning Brazilian Luiza Figueiredo in the Guinness World Records for having the Largest Collection of Jigsaw Puzzles in the World.

The best time to visit is when Gina herself is in the museum to personally give the tour. She loves having kids as her audience because she wants to inspire them to believe that more and more Filipinos can be Guinness World Record Holders.

Here’s our Puzzle Mansion Tour experience with Gina Gil Lacuna:

What’s new in Tagaytay in 2013 Series:

• TAGAYTAY: Your Awesome Journey to Tagaytay Food Trip (Infographic)
• BREAKFAST at ANTONIO’S: Welcoming 2013 with a Yummy Bang along the Ridge!
• METEORA, Tagaytay Birthday Overnight Trip ☾
• CECIL’S CAFE: Home-Cooked Food Stop on Your Way to Tagaytay
• SKY RANCH: Tagaytay Sky Eye @SkyFunPark
• TAAL VISTA HOTEL: Enroute to Becoming Tagaytay’s First 5 Star Hotel?
• TOOTSIE’S Tagaytay Revisited + A Taste of Chef Ed Quimson
• PUZZLE MANSION: Gina Gil Lacuna’s 1,028+ Puzzles and Counting
• WILSON’S Tagaytay: A Secret Bed & Breakfast Place in Tagaytay
• ASILO TAGAYTAY: Insider’s Tips on Avida’s First Residential Retreat

TAGAYTAY: Your Awesome Journey to Tagaytay Food Trip (Infographic)

The mansion is sort of hidden, so it’s a good thing they already put up enough signs to help people make their way to it.

If you are with a group, I suggest you park your car outside and take the customized Puzzle Mansion jeep to arrive at the mansion Pinoy-style.

The Puzzle Mansion has a puzzle museum, an infinity pool, a 400-sq.m. function room (with a capacity of 400 guests), and a ten-room Bed and Breakfast.

Here’s a view of one of the family rooms: GARDENIA ROOM complete with a set of double beds, full size bathroom and shower, with a maximum occupancy of 4. There is a 24-hour cafe, cable TV, wifi internet and a massage area.

Check out Puzzle Mansion Rooms & Suites and Rates

The puzzle collection is located in the lower level of the mansion, opposite the infinity pool.

There is a P100 entrance fee (including kids), which is for the maintenance of the museum.

Inside the museum,  you can watch a video of the Guinness World Records awarding ceremony held last November 29, 2012 where Gina was officially recognized as the world record holder with her 1,028 puzzles.

(Did you know that aside from the application fee to challenge an existing Guinness World Records holder, you have to spend at least 2 million pesos to bring the Guinness World Record organization here to validate your application and to spend on the actual awarding ceremony?)

There are a lot of puzzles of renowned paintings that are part of the collection.

Puzzle #946 SPHERICAL. (No. of Pieces = 530 | Completion Time: 6 hours | Dimension: 9.5 in. diameter)

One of the interesting pieces is this 3D spherical globe puzzle.

Puzzle #545 CASTLE CRYSTAL PUZZLE. (No. of Pieces = 105 | Completion Time: 40 mins)
Puzzle #543 LION CRYSTAL PUZZLE. (No. of Pieces = 96 | Completion Time: 30 mins)
Puzzle #560 PEARL IN SHELL. (No. of Pieces = 47 | Completion Time: 15 mins) 

The Crystal Puzzle collection was indeed precious and cute. 🙂

Puzzle #550 PINK BEAR CRYSTAL. (No. of Pieces = 41 | Completion Time: 15 hours )
Puzzle #554 CRYSTAL PANDA. (No. of Pieces = 53 | Completion Time: 20 hours )

Gina explained that jigsaw puzzles began in England, and the classic ones are made from wood.

Wooden Puzzle #506 SEASONS OF RABBIT. (No. of Pieces = 300 | Artist: Joe Vaux | Completion Time: 2.5 hours | Dimension: 28 cm x 36 cm.)

Up close, you can see the intricate shapes of each piece.

Wooden Puzzle #517 WHIMSICAL EIFFEL TOWER. (No. of Pieces = 135 | Artist: Georges Seurat | Completion Time: 1 hour | Dimension: 17 cm x 28 cm.)

The wooden pieces of the Eiffel Tower puzzle have different shapes that symbolize Parisian culture like wine, women, church and the Eiffel tower itself.

3D WOODEN PUZZLES

The Puzzle Mansion has an extensive collection of modern 3D wooden puzzles — from dinosaurs, to rats, to dogs, etc.

Puzzle #115 LAS MENINAS. (No. of Pieces = 6,000 | Artist: Diego De Silva Velazquez | Completion Time: 100 hours | Dimension: 156 cm x 107 cm.)

Gina loves to tell stories of how she completed the puzzles, how long each took and the challenges she faced in assembling them.

Puzzle #6 GUERNICA  (No. of Pieces = 2,000 | Artist: Pablo Picaso | Completion Time: 40 hours | Dimension: 146 cm x 68 cm.)

This particular puzzle took the longest time to complete because of its monotone color scheme. Now, that’s challenging!

This 5,000-piece Disney puzzle for Gina’s son Gino was the first puzzle that ignited her passion for puzzles, which has been ongoing for over 30 years.

This puzzle of the Mona Lisa is a popular photo-op for guests holding the Guinness World Record certificate with the Puzzle Maker.

Puzzle #307 3D SPIDER SENSE. (No. of Pieces = 425 | Completion Time: 4 hours | Dimension: 46cm x 61 cm.)
Puzzle #308 THE WATCHER. (No. of Pieces = 425 | Completion Time: 4 hours | Dimension: 46 cm x 61 cm.)

The 3D puzzles of animals and cartoon characters were also fun; the images seemed to pop out of the puzzle. 🙂

Puzzle #314 BREAKTHROUGH. (No. of Pieces = 250 | Completion Time: 2 hours | Dimension: 46 cm x 61 cm.)

A fun Hot Air Balloon 3D puzzle.

They say that the puzzle was originally invented as an aid to teach geography. Here’s a nice 3D puzzle of famous buildings in the world.

Puzzle #536 NOTRE DAME DE PARIS. (No. of Pieces = 74 | Completion Time: 20 hours | Dimension: 38 cm x 23 cm x 27 cm.)

Close-up view of the Notre Dame de Paris.

Another interesting 3D puzzle on top of a a geography puzzle.

Puzzle #499 COCA-COLA. (No. of Pieces = 1,000 | Artist: Rob Silvers | Completion Time: 11 hours | Dimension: 68 cm x 50 cm.)

This Coca-Cola mosaic is a challenging puzzle because of the tiny Coca-Cola images.

Puzzle #256 WORLD FLAG. (No. of Pieces = 1,000 | Completion Time: 10 hours | Dimension: 50 cm x 75 cm.)

Another educational puzzle, which helps you learn the different flags of the world.

Puzzle #903 PNOY#2. (No. of Pieces = 285 | Completion Time: 3 hours | Dimension: 28 cm x 35 cm.)

Finally, for something local, a portrait puzzle of our current president PNOY.

I admire Gina’s advocacy to inspire the next generation of Filipinos to aim high, teaching them that with a lot of determination, hard work and, of course, Filipino Fun, great things can be achieved. 🙂

Last March 1, Gina started working on the Keith Haring Double Retrospect set, a 32,000-piece puzzle. It will be installed on six pieces of plywood, and will be 7 feet tall and 6 feet wide, weighing 42 pounds, when finished.

Take a look at the World’s Biggest Puzzle-in-progress: Travel on ShoeString | PUZZLE MANSION: Gina Gil-Lacuna Now Doing the World’s Biggest Puzzle

Overall, the Puzzle Mansion tour is worth it, especially if Gina is leading the tour on weekends. It’s awesome to hear her speak passionately about how she worked hard to be awarded the Guinness World Record for the Largest Collection of Jigsaw Puzzles. It would be inspiring to see the World’s Largest Puzzle in development before it is completed.

One of these days, we will probably stay overnight in the Puzzle Mansion Bed & Breakfast to witness the completion of the World’s Largest Puzzle. 🙂

PUZZLE MANSION
Address: Purok 4 Cuadra St. Barangay Asisan, Tagaytay City, Philippines
Telephone: +632 661-0019
Mobile: +63 905  225-0229
Email: puzzlemansion@gmail.com
Facebook: Puzzle Mansion Bed & Breakfast
Website: http://thepuzzlemansion.com/

Operating Hours:
Monday to Friday: 7 am to 7 pm
Saturday and Sunday: 7 am to 8 pm

Entrance Fee: P100 (including kids)

What’s new in Tagaytay in 2013 Series:

• TAGAYTAY: Your Awesome Journey to Tagaytay Food Trip (Infographic)
• BREAKFAST at ANTONIO’S: Welcoming 2013 with a Yummy Bang along the Ridge!
• METEORA, Tagaytay Birthday Overnight Trip ☾
• CECIL’S CAFE: Home-Cooked Food Stop on Your Way to Tagaytay
• SKY RANCH: Tagaytay Sky Eye @SkyFunPark
• TAAL VISTA HOTEL: Enroute to Becoming Tagaytay’s First 5 Star Hotel?
• TOOTSIE’S Tagaytay Revisited + A Taste of Chef Ed Quimson
• PUZZLE MANSION: Gina Gil Lacuna’s 1,028+ Puzzles and Counting
• WILSON’S Tagaytay: A Secret Bed & Breakfast Place in Tagaytay
• ASILO TAGAYTAY: Insider’s Tips on Avida’s First Residential Retreat

TAGAYTAY: Your Awesome Journey to Tagaytay Food Trip (Infographic)

 

Live an Awesome Life,

 
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If you have tips on awesome food and travel destinations, please email me at anton@diaz.ph.

Full Disclosure: We paid for our Puzzle Mansion experience. I wrote this blog post myself, and it expresses my own opinions. We only feature awesome experiences in the blog.

I have no business relationship with any company mentioned in this post or any organization promoting it. As a policy, I don’t receive compensation from food and travel places we feature in the blog.

P.S. To get to the Puzzle Mansion, you have to drive all the way to the Mendez Intersection in Tagaytay. You can turn right into Maglabe drive after passing the Bag of Beans after the Mendez Intersection. Follow the signs that lead you to the Puzzle Mansion.

Note: There’s also another set of signs if you are going to or coming from Antonio’s restaurant. Just follow the signs and they will lead you to the Puzzle Mansion.

Check out this Tagaytay Map: TAGAYTAY: Your Awesome Journey to Tagaytay Food Trip