Jigsaw puzzles are a great way to keep your mind sharp and challenge yourself. They can also be extremely frustrating at times, especially if you’re new to them. These brain-teasing puzzles are great for challenging your spatial reasoning skills, but they aren’t as easy as they look. If you’ve tried to complete a jigsaw puzzle before but failed miserably, don’t worry - you aren’t the only one! In today’s blog, you will find everything you need to know about jigsaw puzzles and how to complete them perfectly every time.
Sort out the pieces so they're all the right way up
First of all, you need to sort out all of the pieces and make sure they’re the right way up. This will make the rest of the process much easier, especially if you use a table for your puzzles. The best way to sort out the pieces is to use a puzzle tray or a puzzle board. They are designed to hold all the pieces in place so you don’t have to worry about any of them falling out.
Separate the edge pieces from the inner ones
The best way to start a jigsaw puzzle is to separate the edge pieces from the inner ones. Edge pieces are the pieces that form the outline of the image, they are the easiest to fit in because they aren’t hidden by any other pieces. I find our Colourful Cardboard Sorter Trays are perfect for separating the pieces, but any trays will do.
Piece together the outside first
The easiest way to solve a jigsaw puzzle is to piece together the outside of the image first and then work your way towards the inside. This will save you from having to find pieces that fit in the middle of the puzzle and having to move them out of the way as you go. It is much easier to fit a piece in a corner of the puzzle than it is to fit it in the middle.
Look for a distinctive part of the inner image to piece together first
If you’re having trouble fitting pieces into the corners of the puzzle, look for a distinctive part of the puzzle image to piece together first. For example, if you’re puzzling an image of a car, look for the steering wheel or a hubcap first. This will save you from having to look for the edges of the car. It will also make the rest of the puzzle much easier to complete.
Separate the pieces into different colours
If you’re having trouble fitting the pieces into the puzzle, it might be because they are all the same colour. This can make it harder to find the right piece to fit in because they all look the same. To make the puzzle easier, separate the pieces into different colours. This way, you won’t have to worry about matching colours. Instead, you can focus on finding pieces that fit in the puzzle. This will also help you if you’re having trouble fitting pieces into the corners of the puzzle. If a piece is red and you can’t seem to find a spot to fit it, try to find another red piece and fit both pieces in at the same time.
Separate the pieces into different shapes
If you’re coming to the point where you’ve completed two thirds of the puzzle, try separating the pieces into different shapes. This will make it easier to find pieces that fit in the puzzle because they will all look different. For example, if you’re trying to fit a piece with two nodules (bits poking out) and two notches, separating by shape will make it much easier to find the pieces that fit in.
I hope that if you are new to puzzling these tips will come in handy, maybe we’ve even taught avid puzzlers a handy tip or two! We have a great range of Jigsaw Puzzle Accessories that can help make assembling jigsaws easier, to view them in store click on the image below.
