Jigsaw Puzzles

Make a picture and then break it into a 100 different pieces in odd shapes and sizes. Now try to reassemble them into the original image. Lo and behold! You have just made your very own Jigsaw Puzzle!

Puzzles are questions, trivia which sound easy but always have a catch in the answers. Jigsaw puzzles are visual puzzles where in there is an image or a picture tile, which might be easy to reassemble or complicated, divided into different shaped pieces. In order to solve the puzzle, one has to reorganize the image exactly as it was before the division.

Wonder why jigsaw puzzles are called jigsaw puzzles and not visual puzzles when that is what they are? It all goes back to the origins when flat wooden surfaces were painted with pictures and then hacked into many pieces with a ‘jigsaw’ to be reassembled as a leisure activity. The name stuck and that is how they are known to date. These days they come on cardboards and are usually printed with pictures varying from nature to cartoon characters.
Apart from being brain stimulants, jigsaw puzzles are also one of the best toys a child can have as the brain activity associated with solving a jigsaw puzzle helps in the child’s cognitive development besides teaching the unconscious mind to be more constructive. Indeed, experts recommend wooden jigsaw puzzle games for children of all ages. It triggers logical thinking and hones their problem solving skills.

It also speeds up the hand to eye co-ordination while also increasing spatial awareness. It is something like on the job training where your child learns while he/she is at the game. Although this might not be true in all cases, this activity in early childhood can also instill perseverance in the child. Not to mention the loads of fun the kid would have along the way.

Jigsaw Puzzles are also helpful in teaching a child a lot of other things like names of colors, maps, planets, numbers, shapes, fruits, all other common nouns and much more. They are also used as teaching aids in all leading school courses for students of all ages.

Jigsaw Puzzles are good even for the adult mind. It helps you keep your cognitive abilities in shape. They are good stress busters and very engaging, being about as interesting to take your mind off anything that might be worrying you. They are pretty cheap, with cardboard variants being affordable by any and everyone.

These days, jigsaw puzzles are also created as works of art. They are made with all kinds of materials like plastic, wooden chips, wooden blocks, boards, glass pieces, etc. There is an entire industry that provides jigsaw puzzle accessories like roll-up mats, frames, board cases etc.

Puzzles for serious players come in varying number of pieces from 300 pieces to 1000 pieces. Puzzles also come in 3D or box forms. Plus there are other puzzles which are crosses between 2D and 3D puzzles like globes for example. In all shapes and sizes as well as dimensions, these are as stimulating and exciting to play as any simple game gets.