What are Jigsaw Puzzles? Why do People Like Puzzles? An Introduction to Some Recently Popular Puzzles Including Some Super Difficult Ones

Allow us to explain what jigsaw puzzles are, along with the world's super difficult puzzles and some stylish decorative puzzles.

What Are Puzzles?

When we hear the word "puzzle" we tend to think of jigsaw puzzles, but jigsaw puzzles are just one type of puzzle.

A puzzle is a toy or game that cannot be completed easily and requires thought and repeated attempts. 

What Is a Jigsaw Puzzle?

A jigsaw puzzle is a type of puzzle in which a photograph, painting, or illustration is cut up into many pieces. Using the joints in each piece as hints, you must put them together correctly to complete it. Although the goal is to complete the picture, the process of putting it together is also fun.

Why Is "Jigsaw" in the Name?

British Library, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The name "jigsaw" originally came from a puzzle to assemble the shapes of the countries of Europe. It was made for the purpose of educating children and was given that name because it was the type of saw used to cut it.

Puzzles Originated in Ancient Greece?!

The history of jigsaw puzzles dates back to ancient Greece. It is said that the original jigsaw puzzles were known as silhouette puzzles and were enjoyed by Greek people as early as the 3rd century BC.

Types of Jigsaw Puzzles: Each Material Has Its Own Charm

Let's look at materials used in types of jigsaw puzzles.

Paperboard Jigsaw Puzzles

This is the most common type of jigsaw puzzle because it's easy and inexpensive to print. Many of them are made into decorative pictures when completed and a wide range of them is sold from puzzles for kids to ones for adults and enthusiasts.

Jigsaw Puzzle

Wood Jigsaw Puzzle

This is a jigsaw puzzle made of wood, such as cedar, cypress, or broadleaf trees.
The pieces are often in the shapes of animals or characters, and although they can only be cut into simple shapes, they are often painted simply and sold as toys for children. There are also educational toys that use scrap pieces to show the texture and warmth of solid wood.

Plastic Jigsaw Puzzles

This is a commonly used material along with paperboard.
Because it's easy to produce and strong, plastic is used for puzzles with small pieces, complex shapes, and 3D structures. Although it's not a jigsaw puzzle, the LaQ block puzzles that are popular with children can be used to create large and complex structures with small pieces because of their strength.

Metal Jigsaw Puzzles

Metal puzzles are rare but some are commercially available.
Steel puzzles have become popular recently due to high-precision machining with a programmed laser and finishing by a metal polishing craftsperson so that the pieces fit perfectly and the spaces between them are almost invisible such as in the Zirel puzzle (https://hobby-metal.com/products/list?category_id=8). This cherry blossom is actually a 15-piece jigsaw puzzle but the spaces between pieces can hardly be seen.

Digital Jigsaw Puzzles

There are also jigsaw puzzles that can be done on a smartphone or computer. There are also free puzzle game sites that are easy to play such as Jigsaw Planet (https://www.jigsawplanet.com).

Benefits of Jigsaw Puzzles: Are Puzzles Good for Your Brain?

1. They improve focus.
2. They provide a sense of accomplishment.
3. Using hands improves mood and provides relaxation.
4. Completed puzzles can become interior decorations.
5. They stimulate memory, logic, and imagination. In the process of completing a puzzle, memory and analytical skills are developed by thinking "This piece has a certain pattern..." while imagination and inspiration are fostered by thinking "Maybe it fits here!"

Some Unique Jigsaw Puzzles

3D Puzzles

There are three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles which include ones that create things such as animals, buildings, or Ferris wheels by assembling the pieces, ones for children that stick together with magnets, and 3D puzzles in which 2D puzzles are layered on top of each other around a central pillar.

chrisyatesstudios, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jigsaw Puzzles Without Pictures of Patterns

There are also blank puzzles. Since the pieces are pictureless, you have to rely only on their shapes. Because of that they are even more difficult.

Puzzle_Krypt.jpg: Munsderivative work: Schlurcher, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Spherical Puzzles

A typical example of a spherical puzzle is a puzzle globe. Puzzles that are assembled into spherical shapes such as the Earth or the Moon are known for their strong pieces with firm joints that don't come apart when pressed. Once completed, they can be enjoyed as interior decorations.

Spherical Jigsaw Puzzle Globe

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg#metadata

Puzzles With Over 40,000 Pieces and a Guinness-Winning 550,000-Piece Puzzle

As of 2022, the world's largest commercially available jigsaw puzzle has 60,000 pieces and is called What A Wonderful World.

The total area of the completed puzzle is over 21m² so you'll need to make plenty of space in your home before buying one.

Also, the largest jigsaw puzzle is about 5,429m² and has 21,600 pieces. The jigsaw puzzle with the world's largest number of pieces according to Guinness World Records contains 551,232 pieces. A picture of the record being set is below.

A Puzzle Made with an Aim to Be the World's Most Difficult: Only 15 Pieces But Extremely Difficult!

Even though there are only 15 pieces, it's really hard to find the single correct solution! This is a new type of puzzle being hailed as the world's most difficult.
This 15-piece jigsaw puzzle is cut with a high-precision laser and polished by metal-working craftspeople. It is so precisely made that the spaces between pieces are nearly invisible.

All the pieces will appear to fit together but microscopic differences in size will build up until they will eventually no longer fit together. This is because the human eye can barely detect the differences in shape, but there truly is only one correct solution.

The soft luster of the metal and its simple design give off a calming feeling, making this product perfect for a decorative puzzle to keep around the home.

 

A Puzzle Made with an Aim to be the World's Most Difficult: Only 15 Pieces but a Difficult Puzzle

Zirel

 

 

That concludes "What are Jigsaw Puzzles? Why do People Like Puzzles?"

Jigsaw puzzles use both the right side of the brain (intuition, inspiration) and the left (analysis, memory) and have been brain-training toys for thousands of years. The focus and sense of accomplishment that comes from doing them may be why people are so drawn to them.