Choosing a size
The same picture can be a two-minute break or a long evening, depending on the size you choose. All pictures here have a 3:2 shape, and the games keep pieces and tiles close to square, so the real numbers are these:
| Game | Setting | Grid | Pieces or tiles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jigsaw | 12 | 4 × 3 | 12 |
| Jigsaw | 24 | 6 × 4 | 24 |
| Jigsaw | 48 | 8 × 6 | 48 |
| Jigsaw | 100 | 12 × 8 | 96 |
| Jigsaw | 200 | 18 × 11 | 198 |
| Sliding tiles | 3×3 | 3 × 3 | 8 |
| Sliding tiles | 4×4 | 4 × 4 | 15 |
| Sliding tiles | 5×5 | 5 × 5 | 24 |
| Sliding tiles | 6×6 | 6 × 6 | 35 |
| Swap tiles | 3 | 3 × 2 | 6 |
| Swap tiles | 4 | 4 × 3 | 12 |
| Swap tiles | 5 | 5 × 3 | 15 |
| Swap tiles | 6 | 6 × 4 | 24 |
| Swap tiles | 7 | 7 × 5 | 35 |
| Swap tiles | 8 | 8 × 5 | 40 |
| Rotate tiles | 3 | 3 × 2 | 6 |
| Rotate tiles | 4 | 4 × 3 | 12 |
| Rotate tiles | 5 | 5 × 3 | 15 |
| Rotate tiles | 6 | 6 × 4 | 24 |
| Rotate tiles | 7 | 7 × 5 | 35 |
| Rotate tiles | 8 | 8 × 5 | 40 |
Jigsaw
12 and 24 pieces suit a short break or younger players. 48 pieces is the everyday size and the standard daily. 96 pieces takes noticeably more patience, and 198 pieces is a long puzzle best enjoyed on a larger screen, although zoom makes it playable on a phone.
Sliding tiles
3×3 teaches the movement in a minute. 4×4 is the classic size and the default here. 5×5 and 6×6 mostly add length: the method is the same, but there are many more rows to build.
Swap and rotate
Up to 5 columns these are relaxed games. With 7 or 8 columns there are 35 or 40 small tiles, and plain areas become a real test of the eye.
Match the size to the picture
Pictures with detail everywhere — the red cottage, the autumn stream, the berries — stay pleasant at large sizes. Pictures with big plain areas — night skies, fog, snow — are better started small. Aerial views are fine as jigsaws but hard as rotation puzzles at any size.