How to do a jigsaw puzzle, step by step

1. Set up your space

Pick a flat surface a little bigger than the finished puzzle (the size is usually printed on the box). A table you won't need for a few days is ideal; a large board or puzzle mat lets you move it.

Good, even light matters more than you'd think. Many colours only look different under bright light.

2. Turn every piece picture side up

It feels slow, but flipping all the pieces first saves time later — you can see every colour at a glance. Pull out any edge pieces (one straight side) as you go.

3. Build the border

Find the four corners (two straight sides), then join the edge pieces. The frame shows you the exact size of the picture and gives every other piece something to attach to.

If the border won't close, a piece is usually still hiding in the pile — or sitting upside down.

4. Sort the rest into groups

Make piles by colour, pattern or texture that match areas on the box: sky, water, trees, buildings, text. Trays, plates or muffin tins keep the piles apart.

5. Build easy areas, then join them

Start with the most distinctive parts of the picture — faces, signs, bright objects. Build them as small islands and place them inside the border using the box picture as a map.

Leave large plain areas (sky, sea, fog) for last. By then you'll have far fewer pieces to try.

6. When you're stuck

Sort the leftover pieces by shape — count the knobs and holes — and try them in order instead of at random. Or take a short break; stuck pieces often jump out when you come back.

PuzzlePal can help here: photograph the box, then snap the piece you can't place, and it shows the row and column on the picture where it most likely belongs.