Develop a Puzzle Plan

When you're staring down hundreds or thousands of pieces, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. However, instead of diving in blindly, take a few minutes to study the puzzle image and map out your strategy. This little bit of prep can make the whole process much smoother and more enjoyable.

Three critical mistakes that doom beginners

1. 1. Chaotic Sorting. The number one cause of burnout.

   2. Ignoring Puzzling Tools: Amateur setups cause completion times to more than double.

   3. Underestimating Workspace Needs: Most first-time puzzlers use undersized tables.

Developing Your Puzzle Plan

Before you even touch a single piece, really observe the puzzle image on the box. Then look for key features that will guide your strategy:

• Large Areas of Color and Color Variations: Identify the dominant hues and any subtle shifts or gradients within them.

• Well-defined Objects and Shapes: Identify distinct elements such as buildings, faces, animals, or unique patterns.

• Lines that Continue Over a Large Area: Notice continuous lines, such as horizons, roads, or architectural details, that span across many pieces.

• Colors, Designs, and Features that Might Help Identify Edge Pieces: Pay attention to unique patterns or colors along the perimeter of the image that could correspond to the puzzle's border.

• Size of the Puzzle: Double-check the overall dimensions to ensure your workspace is adequate.

Use this information to:

• Decide the Best Starting Orientation of the Puzzle: Decide which side or section you want to begin with, often based on the most distinct features.

• Formulate a Plan to Solve the Puzzle: Combine different strategies based on the puzzle's specific image and your personal preference.

Strategies To Use In Formulating Your Puzzle Plan

Here are some effective strategies to use when developing your puzzle plan. You'll often find that combining these works best!

Expert Mindset

Adopting the right mindset can make a significant difference:

• • Patience and Persistence: Accept that puzzles are a marathon, not a sprint. Take your time and enjoy the process.

  • Attention to Detail: Develop a keen eye for detail.

  • Continuous Learning: Always be open to learning new techniques and strategies. Each puzzle hones your skills and prepares you for the next one.

Sort the Edge Pieces First

This is a popular and effective way to begin any puzzle, regardless of size or complexity. Edge pieces can be located easily because of their distinctive straight sides.

• • Initial Scan: When looking at pieces in the box or piled on your table, check for face-down pieces. It's often easier to see the flat edge of these.

  • First Pass: Quickly pull out all the face-down edge pieces you can find.

  • Agitate and Repeat: Give the remaining pieces a gentle shake or stir to expose new ones, and repeat the process of finding flat-sided pieces a few more times.

  • Flip and Sort: Start flipping the remaining pieces face up. As you do this, sort them onto your work surface or into sorting boards. You'll likely spot more edge pieces as you handle them.

  • Assemble the Border: Once you have a good number of edge pieces, use them to assemble the entire border of the puzzle. This creates a helpful framework that defines your workspace and gives you a solid starting point.

Sort the Color Groups

Once the edges are complete (or even while you're sorting them), arrange the remaining pieces into color groups using the box image as your guide.

• • Distinctive Colors: This strategy works well for images with well-defined, separate color areas, such as a vibrant toy store interior.

  • Subtle Grouping: Even if the image has many similar colors (think of a forest scene), you can still make limited groups. Pieces with subtle color variations can be put together.

  • Recognizable Features: This method also helps sort pieces by specific features within color zones. For example, if there are distinct faces, their pieces will often visually stand out from the background, creating more useful piles.

Color Gradients and Transitional Areas

Handling color gradients and transitional areas can be tricky but rewarding:

• • Identify Gradients: Separate pieces into gradient groups. For example, pieces transitioning from dark blue to light blue should be grouped.

  • Work on Transitions: Assemble gradient sections separately and then integrate them into the main puzzle. This method helps manage large sections with subtle color changes.

Create a visual timeline of color changes using small samples from the puzzle image. This can serve as a guide when assembling gradient sections.

Rotation and Perspective

Rotating pieces and changing your perspective can reveal new possibilities:

• • Rotate Pieces: Physically rotate pieces to see them from different angles to help identify fits that aren’t immediately obvious.

  • Change Viewpoint: Stand up, walk around the table, or look at the puzzle from different angles. A new perspective can break mental blocks and reveal solutions.

Work from the Corners Inward

Once your puzzle's outline (border) is complete, picking a corner and building from it is a natural next step that complements other strategies.

• • Reference the Box Image: Keep referring to the box image to guide your assembly from the corner you've chosen.

  • Consider Image Content: In puzzles where corners might have similar backgrounds (like a beach scene with sky and sea), use your color groupings to tell them apart. You might even decide to work on an entire top or bottom half rather than just one isolated corner, combining areas that look visually similar.

Work Edge and Interior Simultaneously

Experienced puzzlers can handle multiple areas of the puzzle simultaneously:

• • Edge Pieces First: Begin with the border to create a defined workspace.

  • Interior Clusters: While working on the edges, start building small clusters of interior pieces. Focus on distinct areas with unique patterns or colors.

Rotate between different areas to avoid frustration and keep the process dynamic. This also allows for fresh perspectives on challenging sections.

Work with High-Contrast Areas

High-contrast areas are sections of the box image that have clear features that jump out. This strategy pairs perfectly with color grouping.

Look for pieces that contain these distinct features:

• • Text: Words on signs, posters, or books are often easy to spot.

  • Buildings: Architectural elements like windows, doors, chimneys, or flagpoles often have distinct shapes and colors.

  • People's Faces: Look for recognizable features such as eyes, noses, or mouths.

  • Animals: Animals with distinct color patterns (like zebras, tigers, or giraffes) are excellent places to start.

  • Terrain: Prominent slopes, mountain peaks, or the distinct tops of trees.

By completing these high-contrast areas first, you'll see immediate progress and create more room in your sorting areas. This allows you to spread out the more monotone background pieces, which usually don't have strong features and are best saved for later when you have more space to study their shapes and connections.

Working Large-Scale Puzzles (over 5,000 pieces)

• • Dedicated Space: Ensure you have a large, dedicated space that won’t be disturbed for a long period of time. 

  • Time Management: Set realistic goals and timelines. Large puzzles can take weeks or months to complete, so manage your time effectively to maintain motivation.

  • Work in Quadrants: For large puzzles, breaking the puzzle into quadrants can make the process more manageable:

    • • Divide the Puzzle: Mentally or physically divide the puzzle into four quadrants. Focus on one quadrant at a time, using the box image or a printed reference.

      • Use Reference Points: Identify key elements or distinct areas within each quadrant from which to begin. This helps anchor your progress and provides a clear direction.

  • Segmented Approach: Break the puzzle into smaller, manageable sections. Work one section at a time and then combine them.

  • Commitment: Large-scale puzzles require commitment and patience, but he sense of accomplishment upon completion is worth the effort.

  • Collaborative Puzzling: Working with others, especially on large puzzles, can bring new insights and make the process more enjoyable:

• Divide and Conquer: Assign sections or tasks to different people based on their strengths. For example, one person can focus on sorting while another assembles specific areas.

• Communicate: Maintain open communication and share progress regularly. This helps keep everyone working together and can lead to collaborative problem-solving.

Pattern Recognition and Piece Shapes

Enhance your pattern recognition skills and use piece shapes to your advantage:

• • Study the Image: Study the image to identify repeating patterns, textures, and color gradients.

  • Piece Shapes: Familiarize yourself with the various shapes and how they fit. Recognize the types of tabs and blanks, and use this knowledge to predict piece placement. Some brands use distinct piece shapes that can help guide you even without strong color differentiation.

Work in Small Sections

You can effectively manage a large puzzle by dividing it into smaller, more manageable sections. This isn't about drawing arbitrary grid lines; instead, divide the puzzle based on its actual image layout.

• • Image-Based Divisions: Break the puzzle into quarters, thirds, or other fractions, or organize it by distinct features or regions in the image (e.g., a specific building, a group of characters, a particular part of the landscape).

  • Distinct and Identifiable: Ensure each section is clear and easily recognizable within the overall image.

  • Manageable Size: Don't make any one section too big. Working in smaller, self-contained sections helps you finish your puzzle faster and gives you a great sense of accomplishment along the way.

Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering involves working backward from known elements to discover new connections:

• Known Elements: Identify and assemble pieces that form recognizable parts of the image first.

• Expand Outward: Work outward from these known elements, using their edges and neighboring pieces to build adjacent areas.

Keep completed sections intact and use them as anchors to expand the puzzle. This technique is particularly useful for puzzles with multiple distinct areas.

Combine Strategies for Success

To complete a large puzzle, you'll almost certainly need to mix and match multiple strategies. The trick is figuring out which ones work best for you and your specific puzzle. For instance, sorting edge pieces and then working from the corners inward is a highly effective combination. By building the border first, you create a defined workspace and four clear starting points (the corners). Then, you choose a corner and build outward, possibly adding color grouping or high-contrast areas as you go.

Combining strategies strengthens their effectiveness, providing you with a systematic and enjoyable way to conquer even the most challenging puzzles.

Final Thoughts

Assembling a difficult jigsaw puzzle is not just a test of your puzzle-solving skills but also a journey of patience and perseverance. Use these strategies, and you’ll find yourself solving even the most challenging puzzles. Remember the 7P's of success: "Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance."