Jigsaw Puzzle Tips and Tricks

There is no wrong way to do a jigsaw puzzle. Some people like to dive straight into the most colorful part; others like to work patiently from the border in. Still, a few habits that experienced puzzlers share can turn a frustrating hunt into a relaxing, steady flow. These tips work on a cardboard puzzle at the dining table and on our free online jigsaw puzzles alike.

1. Corners First, Then the Edges

The oldest tip is still the best. Corner pieces have two straight sides, and there are only four of them. Put them in first and you have fixed the size of the picture. Then fill in the border: every edge piece has one straight side, and you already know which side of the picture it belongs on.

Online, tap Edge Pieces Only to hide everything else. In a 24-piece puzzle, 16 of the 24 pieces are edge pieces, so the border alone gets you two-thirds of the way. In a 100-piece puzzle there are 36 edge pieces, and the border gives you a frame to build the middle into.

2. Sort by Color

Before you start placing pieces, it helps to make little piles: all the blue sky pieces together, all the red barn pieces together, all the green grass together. On a real table you use the box lid or saucers. Online, just drag pieces into groups in the tray. They won’t snap to each other unless they really belong together, so you can heap them up without worry.

Then look at the finished picture (tap Show Picture) and notice where each color lives. The golden wheat in Red Barn at Sunset is all along the bottom; the purple clouds are at the very top. A piece’s color often tells you its row before you even look at its shape.

3. Look for Things You Can Recognize

A window, a sail, a bird’s beak, the line where the hill meets the sky: details like these are much easier to place than a plain patch of color. Start with them. Once a few strong landmarks are on the board, the plain pieces around them have far fewer places they can go.

Lines that run across pieces are especially useful. The white fence rail in the barn picture, the horizon in the lighthouse picture and the lead lines in the stained glass window all continue from one piece to the next, so you can follow them like a road.

4. Read the Shapes

Every side of a piece is one of three things: a straight edge, a knob that sticks out, or a hole that goes in. Neighbors always match: a knob fits a hole. When you are looking for the piece that goes in a gap, look at the gap’s sides first. If the gap has a hole on its left, you need a piece with a knob on its left.

Knobs also differ a little in size and in how far along the side they sit. When two pieces have similar colors, the shape is often what tells them apart.

5. Build Small Sections, Then Bring Them Over

You don’t have to build everything on the board. Put together a whole hot air balloon, a sailboat or a quilt block wherever you happen to be working. In our online puzzles, pieces that belong together snap to each other anywhere on the table and move as one group. When the section is done, drag the whole thing into the frame and it clicks into place in one go.

6. Save the Sky for Last

Large areas of one color, such as sky, sea or snow, are the hardest part of any jigsaw. Leave them until the end. By then most of the picture is in place, and each sky piece has only a few possible spots left. Look for small changes in shade: skies are usually darker at the top and lighter near the horizon, and the water in Mountain Lake Morning is lighter close to the shore.

7. Try Every Piece in One Gap

Near the end of a puzzle, when a few similar pieces are left, pick one gap and try each remaining piece in it. Online this is quick: drop a piece close to the gap. If it belongs, it snaps; if not, it stays where you dropped it. This systematic approach beats staring at the pieces hoping one will jump out.

8. Take a Break

Stuck? Walk away for a few minutes. Most puzzlers know the feeling of coming back to the table and spotting the missing piece straight away. Your online puzzle is saved after every move, so you can close the page, make a cup of coffee and carry on later.

9. Use the Helpers Without Guilt

A puzzle is meant to be enjoyed. If one piece is driving you round the bend, press Hint. It lights up a piece and outlines where it goes, and Put It There for Me places it for you. The faint picture on the board (you can switch it on or off in Settings) is another gentle helper. Nobody is keeping score.

10. Pick the Right Size for Your Screen

On a phone, 12 or 24 pieces keep each piece large and easy to grab. On a tablet or computer, 48 or 100 pieces give you a longer puzzle. If a puzzle feels too easy, move up one size with the same picture: it feels like a new puzzle, because the pieces are cut differently. See piece counts and puzzle types for more.

Which Pictures Are Easiest?

Pictures with many separate colors and objects are the easiest. Grandmother’s Patchwork Quilt is a good first puzzle because every block is different. Hot Air Balloon Festival and Sailboats in the Harbor have bright, distinct shapes. Pictures with big areas of one color, like Mountain Lake Morning or Songbirds on a Blossom Branch with its soft background, are a little harder at 48 or 100 pieces.

When you want a change from pictures, our solitaire games offer the same calm, take-your-time play with cards.