Play Like Before

In the old game, pieces were scattered across the whole screen, as if they had been tipped out onto the table, and almost everyone played with 60 pieces. That's still possible in the new game. You set it up once and the site remembers it.

In two steps

Choose 60 pieces. Open a puzzle and pick 60 pieces in the first menu, top left. If you want larger pieces, choose 24 or 48; for more of a challenge, choose 100.
Choose "Pieces spread out." In the menu right next to it, the default setting is Pieces around. Switch it to Pieces spread out. The frame then fills the screen and pieces are spread across the whole screen, even on top of the frame. This makes the pieces about twice as large.

The game toolbar with piece count and layout — The two menus top left: piece count and layout (around or spread out). You can also change these during play.

Then click Play. That's it.

The difference

Pieces around the frame — **Pieces around** (default): the frame in the middle, loose pieces all around it. Tidy, but the pieces are smaller.

Pieces scattered across the whole screen — **Pieces spread out**: the frame fills the screen and pieces are everywhere, like the old game. Larger pieces, but more searching.

Tips for this way of playing

Click Full Screen: you get even more room and the pieces get even bigger.
With Edges, you temporarily see only the edge pieces; handy for getting started. Click again to see all pieces.
With Preview, the photo appears as a transparent overlay in the frame, so you can see where each piece goes.
To rearrange the loose pieces, choose Pieces spread out again from the menu, or use Layout under the More button. Your progress is kept.
The background color is changed under More, for example to bring back the beige from the old game.

Questions about this

Do I have to set this up again for every puzzle?

No. The piece count and layout are remembered in your browser. Every next puzzle opens directly with 60 pieces and scattered pieces, until you change the setting yourself.

I don't see the "Pieces around" menu.

Refresh the page once (F5, or on a tablet, pull the page down). Your browser still had an older version of the game cached. On a narrow phone screen, this choice is under the More button during play, under "Layout."

Can I remove the frame?

The light frame shows where the puzzle will sit and helps you place the first pieces. With "Pieces spread out," it sits underneath the pieces and doesn't get in the way; it cannot be removed.

The pieces keep appearing around the frame.

Choose the layout before or during play, in the menu next to the piece count. If you were resuming a saved puzzle, choose "Pieces spread out" again: the loose pieces are immediately rearranged and your progress is kept.

Try it with today's puzzle

Not working? Write to us at [email protected] and we'll help you out.