Jigsaw Puzzles: History, Types and Solving Tips

However this website is mainly dedicated to twisty puzzles, we thought it would be welcome to devote an article to a different kind of puzzle, but nonetheless enjoyable, the jigsaw puzzle. It's probably the most popular puzzle in the world.

A Rubik's Cube jigsaw puzzle: two classic puzzles in one

The History of the Jigsaw Puzzle

The first jigsaw puzzle was made in the 1760s by John Spilsbury, a London engraver and mapmaker. He glued a map onto a thin wooden board and cut it into pieces along the borders of the countries, so children could learn geography by putting the map back together. He called it a dissected map. Sadly Spilsbury died in 1769, only 29 years old, but his idea outlived him.

This tiling puzzle got its name later from the tool used to cut it: in the late 1800's foot-powered jigsaws (scroll saws) appeared in the workshops, and the first paper-board puzzles were put on the market around the same time, mainly for children. The word "jigsaw puzzle" itself only became common in the early 20th century. Since then the puzzle has become more appealing to adults, because manufacturers developed more complex designs that are much more difficult to assemble.

The Parts of a Jigsaw Puzzle

Just like the Rubik's Cube has corners, edges and centers, a jigsaw puzzle has its own piece types:

• Corner pieces have two flat sides. A rectangular puzzle has only four of them.
• Edge pieces have one flat side and build the frame of the picture.
• Interior pieces have four connecting sides and make up most of the puzzle.
• Tabs (or knobs) are the round parts sticking out of a piece.
• Blanks (or sockets) are the holes where the tabs of the neighbouring pieces fit.
• Whimsies are specially shaped pieces, like a little animal, a letter or an object, found mostly in wooden puzzles.

Types of Jigsaw Puzzles

There are many variations including the typical 300, 500, 750, 1000 piece puzzles, all these come in a large variety of sizes. The 1000 piece puzzle is the classic choice for adults, while children start with big pieces and simple pictures.

• 2D puzzles: the classic flat picture puzzles made of cardboard.
• Wooden puzzles: thicker pieces, often laser-cut, with whimsies and irregular shapes.
• 3D puzzles: buildings, objects and figures, mostly made of wood or foam, which you can only solve if you assemble them in a certain order.
• Globe puzzles: although the assembled pieces form a single layer, the solved puzzle has a three-dimensional shape, usually representing the Earth or the Moon.
• Challenge puzzles: double-sided pictures, a single color gradient or no picture at all, made for those who find the 1000 piece puzzles too easy.

The World's Largest Jigsaw Puzzles

Once the world's largest commercial puzzle: 32,256 pieces, 544 cm by 192 cm when assembled

Puzzle makers keep competing for the title of the largest jigsaw puzzle you can buy in a shop:

• 32,256 pieces: Ravensburger's Keith Haring puzzle, measuring 544 cm by 192 cm.
• 40,000 pieces: Ravensburger's Disney puzzle with ten classic movie scenes, nearly 7 meters wide. Each scene can be assembled on its own, with about 4000 pieces.
• 51,300 pieces: Kodak's puzzle of world landmarks from 2020, over 8 meters (28 feet) long.
• 54,000 pieces: Grafika's "Travel Around Art" from 2020, showing an art gallery with famous paintings like Klimt's The Kiss and Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring.
• 60,000 pieces: Dowdle's "What a Wonderful World", built from sixty 1000-piece sections. It measures 8 by 29 feet (about 2.4 by 8.8 meters).

To put this into perspective, a 60,000 piece puzzle has more parts than the 33x33x33 Rubik's Cube (6153 pieces) and the 49x49x49 cube (13,827 pieces) put together, three times over.

How to Solve a Jigsaw Puzzle

There is no algorithm like for the Rubik's Cube, but a good strategy saves you a lot of time:

1. Turn all the pieces face up and look at the picture on the box.
2. Find the corners and the edges and build the frame first.
3. Sort the interior pieces by color, pattern or by the shape of their tabs and blanks.
4. Start with the easy parts: faces, text, objects with strong colors and clear lines.
5. Leave the sky and the background for the end, when there are fewer pieces left and their shape gives them away.

Jigsaw puzzles make excellent presents. They are perfect for a lazy afternoon, whether enjoyed alone or in a group, solving them is a fun activity. If you're looking for more gift ideas, check out our collection of Rubik's themed gifts. And it's not only fun: puzzling also trains the brain, read more about the cognitive benefits of puzzles.

Jigsaw Meets the Rubik's Cube

A Rubik's Cube jigsaw puzzle turned into a sliding 15-puzzle

Many companies offer customers the chance to upload their own images and use them to create personalised puzzles for their loved ones. You can do something similar right here: our 15-puzzle maker turns any picture into a sliding puzzle that you can share with your friends.

Since it's the era of the internet, there are lots of websites allowing users to solve these puzzles online and free of charge. They offer a wide selection of jigsaw puzzles with thousands of beautiful images and different cuts, available for kids and adults as well. If you prefer twisting to fitting, try our online puzzle simulators instead.

The Rubik's Cube can also become a picture, just like a jigsaw puzzle. Artists build huge Rubik's Cube mosaics from hundreds of cubes, and you can plan your own with our mosaic generator.

The Wikipedia Logo

The jigsaw puzzle has a cultural significance, being the logo of Wikipedia. It's an incomplete globe made of jigsaw pieces, where the missing pieces symbolize the room to add new information and the characters symbolizing the multilingualism of the website.

A puzzle in a puzzle in a puzzle. Find out how to put a Rubik's Cube in a bottle.