Keeping to their release schedule, Microsoft just lovingly placed Puzzle Arcade onto the Marketplace for your purchasing pleasure. This 800 Microsoft point jigsaw puzzle type game is guaranteed to make your inner jigsaw puzzle putting together fanboy cheer with joy, that is if you have an inner jigsaw puzzle putting together fanboy. If not, we have a hunch you'll completely ignore this week's XBLA release and pocket your 800 points for another rainy day.

The jigsaw puzzle, a decidedly non-digital form of cooperative entertainment, is going all electronic and competitive on XBLA this week with the release of Puzzle Arcade. The game features 35 puzzles and downloadable picture packs (see Lara Croft in the above image), with publisher Eidos promising that "players are sure to have a brain-busting experience." (Note to the ESRB: you might want to add "brain-busting" to your descriptors.)

Up to four players can simultaneously race to complete the puzzles in normal or "turbo" modes (undoubtedly where the "brain-busting" would most likely occur), while watching each others' expressions (and, presumably, brains busting) via the Xbox Live Vision camera. Puzzle Arcade is priced at 800 ($10). Brain. Busting!

Today, we have a proud moment to celebrate at X3F headquarters, because we're pleased to tell you that we came out victorious at competing in "guess which XBLA game will release prior to its official Microsoft announcement." This week, just as speculated, the Xbox Live Arcade receives Puzzle Arcade.

If Xbox.com can be trusted, the puzzle and word genre type game Puzzle Arcade should be releasing to the Xbox Live Arcade next Wednesday, December 24th. The official Xbox.com page for Puzzle Arcade lists that as its release date and plops an 800 Microsoft point price tag on the puzzling fun as well. While we wait for official confirmation of its release, we'll ponder how the fun of putting together a jigsaw puzzle translates to a video game environment.