🧩Jigsaw Puzzle

About this tool

Choose a photo from your device, or use the built-in picture, and pick from 6 to 80 pieces. The pieces scatter around the board. Drag each one onto the dashed outline, and it snaps into place when it is close to where it belongs. A counter shows how many pieces you have placed and your time when you finish. Tick the faint guide picture for an easier game.

How the puzzle is made, and how to solve it

Your photo is cropped to fill a 4:3 board and cut into a grid. Every edge between two pieces is randomly given a tab on one side and a matching blank on the other, so neighbouring pieces genuinely interlock, as cardboard pieces do. The outside edges stay straight, which is the first clue to use. Classic strategy works here too. Find the four corners first, then the straight-edged border pieces, and build the frame. Then sort the rest by colour and texture, sky, faces or text, and work inwards from areas with strong detail. The tab and blank shapes help you rule out pieces that can't fit. Six or twelve pieces suit young children, especially with the guide picture on. Forty or more is a proper challenge on a large screen. A family photo makes a personal puzzle to share, though remember the puzzle exists only on this device, since the photo is never uploaded. The fifteen puzzle, the nonogram and the memory match game are other quiet brain-teasers.

Frequently asked questions