Sales of all puzzles at Adlibris increased by as much as 293 percent - and thousand-piece puzzles by as much as 429 percent.

And from the competitor Bokhandelsgruppen, which owns Bokus and Akademibokhandeln, similar tones are heard.

- It has been a good pressure throughout the period.

It has been so much that there has been a shortage of suppliers, says Johan Junehed, Bokhandelsgruppen's sales manager.

Helps find balance

And the same trend can be seen in the rest of Europe.

German Ravensburger, one of the world's largest puzzle manufacturers, reported record numbers when the company released its latest quarterly report on 27 January.

"We are delighted that our products have helped many people find balance in their lives, especially in a time of crisis," Ravensburger's chairman Clemens Maier wrote in a comment.

Sold all white puzzles

The same dramatic increase was seen when the analysis company NPD summed up the puzzle sales in the UK.

"Manufacturers have told us that they have been able to sell basically anything, even completely white puzzles," NPD analyst Frédérique Tutt told The Guardian.