Meet Alice Rowe, national jigsaw puzzle champion

On March 29, Alice Rowe ’29 became the country’s fastest jigsaw puzzler. After claiming first place in the 2026 USA Jigsaw Nationals, Rowe set her sights on a new goal: catching the overnight flight to make her early-morning PWR class.

In speed puzzling, individuals and pairs compete to solve 500-piece puzzles. Meanwhile, teams complete either a 500-piece puzzle and a 1,000-piece puzzle or two 1,000-piece puzzles. 

As soon as she finished her winter quarter finals, preparation for nationals began.

“I did a ton of puzzles. I’ve done so many that some of it is just muscle memory,” Rowe said. “I’m very lucky to have something in my brain that makes sense. I credit some of that to starting when I was so young.”

In the individual finals, Rowe completed her puzzle in just 30 minutes and 39 seconds to win the national title, setting the national record on her way to victory

“My prelim was the national record for the fastest individual time set, which was wild. I still can’t believe that. I’m normally in the late 30 [minutes] when I time my puzzles,” Rowe said.

Rebecca Taylor, Rowe’s puzzling partner in the pairs division of the 2024 World Championship, remembered the moment at the 2026 Nationals fondly.

“She smashed the record. It would be like if a swimmer lapped everyone else ten times,” Taylor said. “It gives me chills to think about that moment.”

Taylor, associate director of the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute (DCI), is an accomplished puzzler in her own right. Her team won both the 2024 National Championship and the 2024 World Championship. 

Taylor was right to be stunned. In a sport where milliseconds can determine the difference between winning and losing, Rowe finished eight minutes before the next competitor in the 2026 preliminary round.

Rowe isn’t new to puzzling competitions either. In 2024, she won Nationals as a high school student and placed 24th at the World Championship. She has since competed in the individual, pairs and teams divisions at national and international competitions. Rowe is the first and only two-time national champion from the United States. In addition to her individual win at the 2026 Nationals, her team, The Jiggernauts, won first in the teams division. 

“At the 2024 Nationals, I was really thrown right in. Immediately after my individual prelim heat, [the organizers] asked if I wanted to be on the livestream and be interviewed. That was mind-blowing to me. I’ve grown so much since that moment,” Rowe said.

This year’s competition, Rowe said, was even more gratifying. 

“I had my dad there to support me, and all of these people who I’ve built amazing relationships with. We’re only able to see each other a couple of times a year, and they were so excited.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, competitive jigsaw puzzling experienced a resurgence in popularity, which is when Rowe discovered her love for the sport as well.

“Over COVID, I got very into jigsaw puzzles,” she said. “I decided to time a few puzzles. My official speed puzzle journey started in the summer of 2022. My first official competition was the 2024 Nationals.”

At Stanford, she is also part of club rugby, and navigating practices, academics and puzzling is no small feat, but Rowe has learned how to balance it all. 

“She’s a very driven individual. She shows up and works hard,” said her rugby coach, Richard Ashfield.

As a teenager, Rowe is typically one of the youngest puzzlers in the room. Three of her Jiggernauts team members are stay-at-home mothers. Despite the age difference, the community has embraced her with open arms.

“Everyone comes from different walks of life, but we all have the same passion,” Rowe said. “We love each other and have so much fun together. Our puzzling styles complement each other.”

Rowe’s puzzling journey has brought her around the country and the world, from the 2026 Nationals in Atlanta to the 2024 World Championship in Valladolid, Spain.

“It’s cool to meet people from around the world. There are so many people from different backgrounds, but we all have the same interest that we bond over. That’s true in the US as well,” she said. “It’s a tight-knit community, and everyone wants everyone else to win.”

Rowe is too modest, according to Ashfield and Taylor. 

“She’s just incredible to watch,” Taylor said. “It’s such a privilege to get to puzzle alongside her.”

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