The Puzzle Mansion: An enigma no more

MANILA, Philippines - Within a shallow valley in the sleepy town of Asisan, Tagaytay City, amid rows and rows of pineapples waiting to be picked, stands a bed and breakfast that is more unique for what it has than for what it is. Inns and lodges are a dime a dozen in the other summer capital of the Philippines, but no other place can boast of the largest collection of jigsaw puzzles in the world. In the world! And this was just recently confirmed by the adjudicators of the Guinness World Records.

The Puzzle Mansion is a typical Tagaytay B&B, quaint, with lots of greenery (even the rooms are named after flowers), a diving pool, spa service on call, free Wi-Fi, a roof deck, a jeepney that may be used to shuttle visitors and guests along the steep driveway of the mansion, and personalized service by a really friendly crew.

Its main attraction is the museum, which is literally filled with puzzles — in wood, cardboard or plastic, flat, spherical, 3D, 4D, in various genres ranging from people, animals and places, nature scenes, historical events, religious figures, fictional and cartoon characters, to corporate ads and reproductions of famous paintings by the masters — Renoir, Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Dali, Monet, Botticelli, Goya, Gaudi, Picasso, Degas, to name a few.

Unknown to many, jigsaw puzzles, as we know them today, began in England. They were mostly wooden and were intended as educational tools for teaching geography.  Puzzles like these are still around, but they are not as elegant as the earlier models. In time, jigsaw puzzles took on many forms, cardboards being the most common medium.

The Puzzle Mansion was initially intended to be a rest house for the family of Gina Gil Lacuna — garments guru turned jigsaw puzzle enthusiast — but as interest in her puzzle collection grew, it was finally opened to the public, which meant people could start visiting without necessarily checking in.

Excursions, educational field trips, and walk-ins are not uncommon, especially on weekends and holidays. The museum charges a nominal entrance fee of P100 for a guided tour of the museum. Along the way, Lacuna remembers to proclaim the benefits of doing puzzles. “It sharpens the mind, teaches you to be patient, and lets you have fun even without the benefit of electricity,” she crows. Of course, once done, it can be dismantled to be assembled again some other time, or put in a frame and displayed for others to see. Her fascination for puzzles has rubbed off on many guests and visitors. I myself got a plastic globe puzzle and a 1,000-piece Monet. She couldn’t be happier.  

Nearly 30 years ago, at the height of Lacuna’s accomplishments running the maternity wear retailer Buntis, she discovered the wonderful world of jigsaw puzzles during one of her trips to Hong Kong. She bought a 5,000-piece Disney puzzle for her only child and son Gino, worked on it, and found the experience challenging, rewarding, and addictively entertaining.

Since then, each time she visits other places, new puzzles join Lacuna’s ever-growing assortment. She buys them to give as presents, or to sell at the museum shop, but she buys a lot more for her own consumption. From the start, she intended to have a collection, so she painstakingly numbers and catalogues each puzzle according to title, artist, number of pieces, time spent assembling them, and the puzzle’s maker, manufacturer or origin. 

This is the same meticulousness that allowed Lacuna, an unabashed high school graduate born in Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila, to succeed in her first endeavor. After peddling garments and selling her own knitted works to such high-end stores as Tesoro’s, she found her niche in maternity clothing. “I guess I was in the right place at the right time,” she muses. Not only did she make it in the cutthroat garments and RTW business, but she literally ruled the market. She claims that at one time, Buntis had cornered 95 percent of the market for maternity wear.

The commercial success of her business, now being operated by her son, liberated her from the daily grind and allowed her to pursue her passion. She was happy quietly building up her impressive set when her collection of some 1,030 puzzles was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the Largest Collection of Jigsaw Puzzles last Nov. 29. She edged out the reigning record holder, Brazilian Luiza Figueiredo, who apparently wants to regain her title but will surely have a difficult time considering that Lacuna has some 700 boxes of unassembled puzzles in storage.

She confesses that the title and distinction came with a hefty price tag. In order to be certified a record holder by the Guinness World Records, one must be willing to spend for all the expenses of the adjudication team. She shelled out close to P2 million to affirm her rightful place in the Guinness books.

There is no room for regret, only gladness and happy memories. She fondly shares the story of a nun who visited the museum and wanted a puzzle of a cross for her church but didn’t have enough money to buy it.  Two total strangers who heard this agreed to buy the puzzle for her. Lacuna is also coordinating with the Philippine Cancer Society to introduce puzzles as a form of therapy to people who are being treated for cancer. Stories like this are pushing her to expand the museum, with hopes that the Department of Tourism will give it accreditation as a true museum. This dream might come sooner than she hopes with her inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The ever-cheerful Lacuna is currently working on a monster puzzle: a 32,000-piece, 17x6 feet Keith Haring: Double Retrospect set.  She launched this last March 1, and the public is invited to see her in action as she works on another Guinness for the world’s biggest puzzle.

For those who want to witness this labor of love, reaching the Puzzle Mansion is a cinch. The main roads of Tagaytay are riddled with directional signs. Tagaytay normally allows limited business markers, but the Guinness brand on the Puzzle Mansion made it a top destination for local and foreign tourists, hence, the exception. As the saying goes, you won’t miss it.

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Puzzle Mansion Bed & Breakfast is located at Purok 4, Cuadra St., Barangay Asisan, Tagaytay City, Philippines. For inquiries or reservations, call (02) 661-0019 or 0905-2250229 or send an e-mail to puzzlemansion@gmail.com.