Jigsaw Puzzle Assembly Strategies

Jigsaw puzzles are popular among children and adults of all ages. They promote hand-eye coordination in children and help keep the mind sharp in older adults. Regardless of a person's age, working jigsaw puzzles can provide a challenge as well a sense of satisfaction. Many people employ a certain strategy when completing jigsaw puzzles. Indeed, the more pieces the puzzle has, the more necessary it is to have a strategy in place to complete the puzzle. Each person may adopt his or her own strategy or combination of strategies. Some of the more common strategies are discussed here.

Complete the frame first

When beginning a puzzle, it is often helpful to find all the pieces that form the outer border of the puzzle. Normally, these have at least one straight edge, which makes it easy to pick them out of the pile of pieces. Once these pieces are collected, it is usually fairly easy to fit them together to form the frame or border of the puzzle. This provides a framework that facilitates completion of the rest of the puzzle.

Sort by color or function

Another strategy for completing puzzles is to sort the pieces. Using the picture on the puzzle's box as a guide, it is possible to find all the pieces that are a certain color or that are part of a certain area of the puzzle. Once those pieces are collected, it is possible to fit them together to complete that section of the puzzle. After one section of the puzzle is completed, it is possible to start working on the next section. Some people like to work on several sections of a puzzle at one time.

Many people find that working puzzles is both fun and challenging. Employing strategies such as those discussed above enables people to complete puzzles in a timely manner without experiencing frustration.