I am an MS-1 at LECOM Bradenton and from the little bit of PBL we have done so far, I love it. Its fun and a great way to learn the basic sciences. I guess it is kind of like a puzzle, but not really. You dont really "solve" the case, but learn the basic sciences invloved with the case as you go on and get a diagnosis at the end. The facilitators are all great and will keep you on a great path to finishing the case within a reasonable amount of time, and will make sure you have the right learning objectives at the end of the case. Over the 2 years in PBL, you will have gone over everything that the regular pathways go over, but twice. Each case is set up with a few set learning objectives in mind, you take them and add the rest, and everything will be covered. You take anatomy first to lay a decent foundation of the workings of the human body and then all of the PBL cases supplement that anatomy and give you all of the other sciences to understanding the working mechanism of the body.
If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM.
Ryan