I don't see how less puzzles is an improvement - you always had the option to only do 12 puzzles and skip ones you don't find interesting. I guess just from a statistical perspective, you're probably more likely to find 12 puzzles you find interesting out of 25 vs. find all 12 puzzles interesting.

There's also nothing preventing you from doing more of them, or finishing in January... in fact, I know some people that space them out over the entire year, only doing a handful each time when they have lots of spare time.