Puzzle Process
People have processes for everything they do. Here is our process for solving jigsaw puzzles:
- Remove all pieces from box
- Flip all pieces
- While flipping, separate edge pieces and corners from non-edge pieces
- Place corner pieces in approximate locations
- Assemble puzzle border
- Identify visually unique elements and begin gathering related pieces
- Assemble visually unique elements
- Place assembled elements in approximate location
- Fill in the missing areas
Along with this strategy we find it helps to have the largest possible area in which to put the puzzle together, with plenty of space for the partially assembled puzzle as well as all remaining pieces. We try not to place single pieces within the border of the puzzle to avoid clutter, unless we are sure of where they are to be placed.
When the puzzle is particularly challenging with few unique visual areas we sometimes have to fall back on a ‘brute force’ strategy. This involves first organizing the pieces by their shapes and then referencing the organized pieces based on the pieces missing from the partially assembled puzzle. This is not unlike the game Minesweeper in that you’ll likely only have two sides matching the missing piece and can only exclude certain types of pieces.
This may not seem like fun to many, but we enjoy both the process of assembling the puzzle and the sense of satisfaction you get when placing that last piece.
