How to play Jigsaw
Play Jigsaw
The rules
- The picture is cut into pieces. The frame has one place for each piece.
- Drag a piece from the tray to a place in the frame. It snaps to that place.
- Pieces that lie next to each other as in the picture join and move together as a group.
- On the hard and expert levels the pieces come turned. Turn each piece the right way up.
- The puzzle is solved when every piece is in its place and the right way up.
How to play here
- Drag a piece onto a place, or tap a piece and then tap a place.
- Drag a group by any of its pieces: the whole group moves.
- To turn a piece, tap it, then tap it again (or press R).
- Drop a single piece on the tray to take it out of the frame. The ‹ and › buttons show more pieces.
- Keyboard: Tab moves between pieces, Enter picks a piece, the arrow keys choose a place, Enter puts the piece there, R turns it and Escape cancels.
- Undo takes back a move. Hint shows a piece to place; press it again to see where it goes.
- The picture is never mirrored, also on right-to-left pages.
Difficulty levels
| Level |
Pieces |
Turned pieces |
| Easy |
16 (4 × 4) |
No |
| Medium |
36 (6 × 6) |
No |
| Hard |
49 (7 × 7) |
Yes |
| Expert |
100 (10 × 10) |
Yes |
Tips
- Start with the border: the pieces with a straight edge go around the frame.
- Look for strong colours and lines in the picture, such as a horizon or a bright sky.
- Build groups anywhere in the frame, then drag each group to its place.
FAQ
- How do pieces join?
- Two pieces join when they lie next to each other in the frame in the same position as in the picture, and neither is turned. Joined pieces move as one group, and their outlines fade so they read as one picture.
- What happens if I drop a piece on a full place?
- The pieces that were there go back to the front of the tray. You can also drag a single piece back to the tray yourself.
- How do I turn a piece?
- On the hard and expert levels the pieces come turned. Tap a piece to pick it, then tap it again to turn it a quarter turn. On a keyboard, press R. Pieces in a group cannot turn.
- Can I see the whole picture?
- Yes. The "Show the picture" button lays a faint copy of the picture in the frame, under the pieces. It is not counted as a hint.
- Where do the pictures come from?
- From Wikimedia Commons: paintings by artists such as Van Gogh, Monet and Hokusai, space images from NASA and ESA, and nature photos. Every picture is in the public domain or free to use (CC0).
- Is there a new puzzle every day?
- Yes, at each of the four levels. There are 30 pictures, and at each level they come in a fixed order, so the same puzzle comes back after 30 days. Earlier puzzles are in the archive.
- Do I need an account to play?
- No. You play right in your browser, with no sign-up and no cookies. Your progress is saved in your browser.
