What makes a great jigsaw puzzle

Jigsaw puzzles come in many variations and sizes. There is no single approach to make puzzles captivating.

The most solved puzzles on Jigidi do not show a clear pattern of what is desirable. Yet, we know of some parameters that significantly affect the enjoyment of the solving experience, and in this article, we'll share them with you ☺

Here is a short overview:

• Try to use photographs where most parts of the image are in focus.
• Images with many details make for interesting puzzle pieces.
• Choose a number of pieces that matches the image (few details = few puzzle pieces).
• Keep jigsaw puzzles with a completion message that serves as the primary objective for solving the puzzle below 150 pieces.
• Use the description field to show us why you post this exact image.

We'll go through them all in the following.

The motif

First, let's talk about the motif.

It is essential to remember that an unsolved puzzle has no clear motif until most of the puzzle has been assembled. Each piece is a picture by itself and will be closely observed by the solver as such until it has been connected with its neighbours.

Therefore, photos with many details tend to be more joyful to solve.

For the same reason, it is also good to consider how much of the motif is in focus and how much is blurred in the image.

Photographers often focus on one element and let the background and surroundings stay unfocused when shooting captivating images. They do this to make the object of attraction stand out from the rest and make it more appealing.

That's great when looking at photographs from a holiday, but when it comes to jigsaw puzzles, it's better to use photographs where most parts of the image are in focus and preferably has details that make them interesting to look at by themselves.

The number of pieces

When choosing the number of pieces for your puzzle, it's worth considering how many pieces the image can justify.

If your image isn't generous with details or has large blurry areas (see above), it's good to lower the number of puzzle pieces, as jigsaw puzzles become exponentially more difficult with more pieces.

If you are looking to publish large jigsaw puzzles with many pieces, we recommend you first try and solve a 500 pieces jigsaw puzzle. This is the very best way to get a feel of what it takes for a large puzzle to make a good solving experience.

Puzzles with completion messages

This article's mentioned topics are essential if getting your puzzle's completion message is the primary objective for others to solve the puzzle.

It is important to consider the solving experience you offer your fellow puzzlers. Challenging them to solve a puzzle with very many pieces and few details to get the final message will likely give them a sense of being punished.

As a rule of thumb, jigsaw puzzles that primarily bring a completion message to the table should stay below 150 pieces. This is manageable for most people. For puzzles with more pieces, keep in mind that the enjoyment of solving jigsaw puzzles is essential on Jigidi.

Write a description of your puzzle

We are all equipped with a brain that constantly works to make sense of what it meets – making deductions based on our current mood, experiences, knowledge, and imagination. It auto-fills 'gaps' that are left open to us. Being an online community, naturally lacking the helpful information we get from body language and just a physical, shared setting, there are a lot of information gaps left open to us.

When you have a particular intent with your posting, you can help our interpretation much by using the title of the puzzle and the description field for that specific framing. Also, you can use the description field for sharing knowledge related to your puzzle.

This is greatly appreciated by so many in the Jigidi community and often leads to further communication in the comments section of your puzzle ☺