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Puzzle and board game sales surge amid COVID-19 pandemic

Families are coming together and connecting over jigsaw puzzles.

ROGERS, Ark. — With families self-quarantining for the foreseeable future because of the COVID-19 pandemic, puzzles and board games are selling out at stores.

It appears one of the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak is a surge in puzzle and board game sales.

Puzzles have become one of the most searched for items on Google right next to toilet paper.

“It’s clear that families and individuals for one reason or another feel like puzzles and games at this time fulfill a certain need in their household," said Filip Francke, C.E.O. Ravensburger North America

Puzzle and board game maker Ravensburger is seeing sales numbers typical at the height of the holiday shopping season.

“If we compare march this year to last year puzzle sales are up more than ten times. Game sales are up more than five times. So, it’s unprecedented in that sense," Francke said.

The demand for puzzles and board games is obvious at local businesses like Dilly Dally’s Toys in Rogers with shelves nearly empty of those products.

Some people find puzzles relaxing while others see it as a way to reconnect with family.

Kasey Sisk says puzzles and board games are just one of the ways she’s keeping her boy's Lane and Max busy in isolation.

“I like board games to keep them thinking and having to work together and not be so ornery with each other all the time," Sisk said.

The Sisk family is using game time as a chance to make new memories to last a lifetime.

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