Tips to Piece Together a Jigsaw Puzzle With Expertise

Jigsaw puzzles aren’t just entertaining—they’re healthy for our brains. 

This is supported by research: puzzles are shown to sharpen cognition while simultaneously decreasing stress. It’s exceptional news for anyone seeking a challenging, low-key activity that is as affordable as it is rewarding.

There’s an extra piece of the equation that can further enhance all these puzzling positives; learning to puzzle like a pro. 

Just as showing up for an exercise class with water and appropriate footwear helps support a good workout, the right strategies help puzzlers maximize the mental dexterity of jigsaw puzzling. 

Whether attempting 300 piece puzzles, 2000 piece jigsaw puzzles, or anything in between, here are a few tips to help you master jigsaw puzzles and capitalize on their benefits.

Choose an Appropriate Sized Puzzle

If you're still a novice at assembling jigsaw puzzles, take puzzle piece count into consideration. 300-piece jigsaw puzzles can help you work on various strategies and discover what works for you before you graduate to larger puzzle piece counts.

Puzzles with larger individual pieces and simplified images are also easier to construct. Test how quickly and fluidly you can solve these puzzles—and hone your tactics—to prepare for the next, more challenging set. 

Choose the Right Work Area

When choosing a surface to scatter the pieces of your puzzle, bigger is always better. A coffee table may not work, for example, for spreading all the pieces out at once to look for patterns. Consider setting up the puzzle on a larger surface, like your dinner table or a kitchen counter, for maximum visual effect.

Regardless, puzzles sometimes need to be moved. Whether you underestimated the space you need, or you need a surface cleared for cleaning or hosting, building puzzles on jigsaw puzzle mats or tables grants you that mobility and flexibility for the best jigsaw puzzle experience.

Start With the Border

When you're ready to start assembling the puzzle, it helps to gather all the edge pieces and connect the border first.

This not only provides a frame to work with, but gives a sense of the space needed to complete the entire puzzle. It also gives you a starting point for building your puzzle from the outside in, and from any direction.

While you’re looking for border pieces with a straight edge, turning all the pieces right side up can help you start organizing pieces by color, too.

Categorize and Group Your Puzzle Pieces

Scanning puzzle pieces allows us opportunities to group similar pieces at first sight. It helps to start with straight-edged border pieces, but at the same time, puzzle pieces that have the same color—or even parts of the same color—can be grouped together for future efficiency.

So many times, we remember seeing a puzzle piece of a certain color but can’t find it again. Grouping as we go maximizes productivity and decreases the time needed to find each precise piece.

Study the Picture

It can be hard to identify where a small, disjointed puzzle piece fits into the bigger picture. That’s when it helps to put it back into context and study the finalized picture on the puzzle box. 

While many jigsaw puzzlers enjoy the extra challenge of putting a puzzle together without a final image to view, the easiest way to puzzle efficiently is to routinely reference the end product and see which colors fit where.

Enjoy Your Jigsaw Puzzle Prowess

Puzzling can be beautifully cathartic, especially with the right tricks and tactics in place. 

Ultimately, there's no perfect way to complete a puzzle, but these tips can help ensure every piece finds its proper place before any agitation sets in. Soon, you’ll be a jigsaw puzzle master—and all the benefits will fall into place alongside the construction of your finalized picture. 

Unsure where to start? Our Masterpieces guide to understanding puzzle piece count can assist your selection and help optimize your puzzling journey.