Jigsaw and Picture Puzzle Tips

Picture puzzles turn a scrambled image back into a finished one. They are calm, visual games, and they suit players who enjoy noticing small details. The techniques below work for sliding-and-rotating jigsaws, sticker puzzles and dot-to-dot pictures alike.

Start with the corners and edges

In grid-based picture puzzles like Art Puzzle and Square Puzzle, the corner and edge pieces are the easiest to place. They have fewer neighbors, so they give you fixed points to build from. Once the frame of the picture is set, the middle of the grid shrinks and the remaining choices become much smaller.

Look for distinctive details

Some pieces stand out because of a sharp color, a strong line or a piece of a face. Place them first. A single obvious piece gives you clues about the pieces next to it, and a picture with one clear feature often falls into place quickly around it.

Rotate early

When pieces can rotate, orientation matters as much as position. Turn each piece until lines and colors flow the right way before you decide where it goes. It is much easier to notice that a piece is upside down than to work out why a whole section does not look right.

Start with a small grid and work up

Art Puzzle offers grids from 3x3 up to 6x6, and Square Puzzle offers 3x3, 4x4 and 5x5. Use the smaller sizes to learn how the pieces fit together. When they feel easy, step up to a larger grid. The strategy is the same, but you have more pieces to keep track of.

Match by shape, color and then number

In Sticker Book, each sticker has an outline with a number on the picture. A reliable order for checking is shape first, color second and number last. This quickly narrows the sticker collection at the bottom of the screen, and it avoids mixing up stickers that look similar.

Scan systematically

Randomly moving your eyes over the image makes it easy to miss something. Scan from left to right and top to bottom, like reading a page. If you are looking for a specific detail, break the picture into sections and check them one at a time.

Use zoom and drag in dot-to-dot puzzles

Star Connect lets you zoom in and drag the screen. Crowded areas of the picture can hide the next number, so zoom in on those regions rather than scanning at full size. If you still cannot find the next dot, the game offers hints, and using one occasionally is better than getting frustrated.

Take short breaks

When you have been staring at the same picture for a long time, your eyes stop noticing differences. Look away for a minute or come back later. Many players find the next piece immediately after a short break.

Use hints with a plan

Hints exist to keep the game enjoyable. Try to find the answer yourself for a while first. If you do use a hint, think about why you missed it, so that you can spot similar things next time.