We believe that puzzles make the world a happier place.  Our monthly event is about creating a space for puzzlers to swap puzzles they no longer want for new ones.  Our Swap is about inclusivity, sharing, recycling, and building community.  Each month the PDX Puzzle Swap buzzes with excitement, music, community, and joy.  Occasionally we (are lucky/ have ) live music!  We believe in spreading joy, one puzzle at a time. 

 

The PDX Puzzle Swap is on the first Saturday of every month from 11-1p.  We are located in the auditorium at Matt Dishman Community Center, 77 NE Knott Street; Portland, OR 97212.

Please check our website for updates and date changes regarding the Swap. 

 

We operate on the generosity of your donations. Our suggested donation is $20/year.  This covers our expenses of rent, storage, and materials to run the Swap.  We use the honor system and don’t keep track of who pays or not.  Money isn't a barrier to participating in our community. PDX Puzzle SWAP is run by volunteers. All donations go back into the Puzzle Swap.

 

How the PDX Puzzle Swap works-

1-  Donate puzzles to the swap that you no longer want.  They need to have all the pieces, and the pieces put in a ziplock bag which preserves the life of the puzzle. Please don’t tape the puzzle box closed. Puzzles that are new to the Swap go onto the “New Puzzle” table.

    

2- After you drop off your puzzles, it’s time to pick new ones!  There will be all types of puzzles to choose from-  Kids, 1000+ pieces, Mystery, Wooden, etc. The general rule is that you can take twice as many as you brought.  Some puzzlers will take extra puzzles for their office, assisted living facilities, group homes, schools, etc.  Sharing is what PDX Puzzle Swap is about!  If you’d like to take big bags of puzzles for other puzzler’s use, please check in with me

 

3- When you're ready for different puzzles, return the ones you picked up from the Swap, and pick up new ones.  Drop these puzzles off at the “Return Puzzle” table. It doesn’t matter how long you keep the puzzle as long as it comes back to be shared again.  After your first visit to the Swap, it is expected that you return some puzzles to pick up others.  

 

Other things to note-

Annual October Fall an Winter Puzzle Puluzza-   We introduce our Fall and Winter puzzle collection. The first hour of this Swap we will have Fall and Winter puzzles ONLY on the tables. 

 

How busy is the Puzzle Swap?  The first hour can be quite busy and a little hectic. If you were looking for a more relaxed experience, think about arriving after 12 o’clock.  We have plenty of great puzzles throughout the Exchange. The puzzles left on the tables at the end of the Swap are the same ones that go onto the tables first the following month.

 

Parking- Parking can be difficult. We have a small parking lot and street parking.  There is good access to public transportation.  

 

Missing pieces- Most people feel frustrated when finishing a puzzle and realizing there is one or more pieces missing. If you have a puzzle with missing pieces, please don’t bring it back to the Puzzle Swap. What do you do with them then?  If it’s missing one or two pieces, write on the back of the box and donate the puzzle to a thrift shop.  If the puzzle is missing more than 2 pieces, it needs to be re-purposed or thrown out.  Puzzle pieces make great creative projects for kids.  Donate pieces to a craft center or thrift store. The pieces can be composted if they are made with untreated cardboard and printed with nontoxic ink. If you want to recycle it, only the box can be recycled. The pieces can’t be recycled as they interfere with the recycling machinery. 

 

We are looking to add more puzzle swaps to our system  Would you like to start a puzzle swap in your area?  We could help with “how to get started”, some printed materials, and boxes of puzzles to start. 

 

We are looking for donation sites for our excess puzzles. We have more puzzles than we can store. Do you know a place that would use these puzzles?

Community organizations? Senior living? Groups that are homebound? If you have ideas and/or could help deliver these boxes of puzzles, that would be very helpful.

 

Would you like to volunteer? Volunteers help with the Puzzle Swap, help transport boxes of puzzles to and from our storage unit, take puzzles for donation and drop them off, and whatever else needs to be done to help the Swap run smoothly.  

 

Re-Sellers- We’ve had problems with resellers at the Swap.  Puzzles donated by the community are intended for our community. Taking advantage and profiting from the PDX Puzzle Swap is not acceptable.  PDX Puzzle Swap reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone who appears to be taking advantage of the community or is disruptive in any way.

 

We are no longer partnered with the Portland Puzzle Exchange.  If you had been attending both Exchanges these are the changes-

1)  We are no longer sharing puzzles.  Meaning if you picked up a puzzle at PDX Puzzle Swap it is to be returned there.  

2) Our yearly donations are separate

3) We will not have an email list.  You won’t be getting monthly updates about the Swap.  Please refer to this website for updates.

4) We are no longer putting Puzzle logs in each Puzzle box.  We’ll have a stack of puzzle logs available by the entrance if you’d like to use them. 

 

Questions regarding the PDX Puzzle Swap, Volunteering, potential donation sites, music at the Swap?