Jigsaw Puzzle Tips: Faster and Less Stressful
The techniques used by people who have solved jigsaw puzzles for years work just as well on a screen as on a table, and some of them are only possible online. Here are the most useful ones, from 24 to 1,000 pieces.
1. Edges first
If you are wondering how to solve a jigsaw puzzle faster without losing track, always start here. Click Edges (key E) and only the frame pieces stay visible. Find the four corners first, then the straight sides, and build the frame. From there, every new piece has a clear spot between two boundaries. On 500 pieces or more, this step alone can save you half an hour.
2. Sort by color, then by shape
Drag all the pieces of one color to a corner of the table: sky blue up top, grass green at the bottom. Once color stops helping, look at the shape: a piece with two knobs, one on top and one below, will only fit in certain gaps. In plain, solid-colored areas, shape is all you have to go on.
3. Colorful pieces first, plain last
Faces, flowers, signs, windows: anything with sharp detail goes in quickly and gives you landmarks in the picture. Save sky, water, and foliage for the end, when few gaps remain and each piece can only go in a handful of spots.
4. Build islands
Online, joined pieces move together. You can put the church tower together on one side and the row of boats on the other, then slide the islands into the frame whenever it suits you. Keep the table organized: finished sections go into place, pieces still waiting stay off to the side. The Shuffle button rearranges loose pieces without losing your progress.
5. Use zoom and Fit wisely
Zoom with the mouse wheel or the + and - keys when comparing small details, and hit Fit (key 0) whenever you want to see the whole table again. Drag an empty area to pan around. In Full Screen (key F), pieces are at their largest.
6. The preview is the picture on the box
With Preview (key P), you see the full image, exactly like looking at the lid of a puzzle box. It is not cheating. Players who want more difficulty leave the preview off, or turn on Rotation as well.
7. Take breaks
After a ten-minute break, you will spot pieces you had missed five times before. The puzzle is saved after every move, and time only runs while the page is open. A 1,000 piece puzzle can easily take a week, and that is perfectly fine.
8. Choose the right piece shape
Classic pieces with knobs are the easiest to tell apart. Round and wavy pieces look more alike, and square pieces are the hardest, because the picture is the only clue left. For large puzzles, we recommend the classic shape.
9. Tips for a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle
The tips for 1,000 pieces come down to three things: go full screen from the start, dedicate one session to the edges and one to each color zone, and keep areas of the table that never get mixed together. Play on a large screen or tablet, not on your phone. And pick a varied image: a landscape with a village, the sea, and mountains is much more enjoyable to solve than a starry sky.
10. Choose the piece count that fits you
Finishing 200 pieces beats giving up on 1,000. Every image is available in every size, and each size keeps its own progress. On the large piece puzzles, easy puzzles, and hard puzzles pages, you will find images that work well for each level.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best order to solve a jigsaw puzzle?
Start with the edges, then move to the areas with the most color and detail, and save plain surfaces like sky or water for last.
How do I sort pieces in an online jigsaw puzzle?
Drag pieces that belong together to a corner of the table. Groups you have already joined move as one block. Zoom and the Fit button help you keep an overview.
How do I spot edge pieces?
Click Edges (key E) and you will only see the frame pieces. They have one straight side; the four corners have two.
Is using the preview cheating?
The preview is just like the picture on the box lid. Use it as often as you like; players who want more of a challenge leave it turned off.
How long does a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle take?
It depends a lot on the image and your experience. Four to ten hours is normal, spread over several sessions. The puzzle is saved after every move, so you don't have to finish it in one sitting.
