Zen Jigsaw Puzzle.
Jigsaw Puzzle is, very simply, a jigsaw puzzle game. An immensely confusing title, to be sure. It was developed by MobilityWare, one of those companies that makes mobile game versions of things like solitaire. So, they are perfectly positioned to make something else that is rather difficult to screw up: a jigsaw game.
There is not much that can necessarily be said about Jigsaw Puzzle other than that it does precisely what you would think it does. There are thousands of images to choose from, and those images are then automatically cut into jigsaw pieces that you can then put back together. Jigsaw Puzzle is elementary. But this works in its favor, as that may be exactly what you’re looking for from a simple mobile game to play while chilling at home and half-watching a movie you don’t wholly want to commit to.
You can choose from a practically endless array of puzzles to do, many of which are standard jigsaw-type affairs. Pictures of animals or flowers or scenic backgrounds, but there is also a big push, judging by the fact that the app icon has Mickey Mouse on it, to have a certain company’s images as puzzles. Jigsaw Puzzle is a Disney-filled game.
The vast majority of images are not Disney-oriented, yet that appears to be where they have put the majority of their focus. But it would be a lie to say that it isn’t great to have an entire album of puzzles to do that is literally filled with only Disney villains. So, that’s a sell already. You can make puzzles out of Scar, Ursula, Jafar, and many others. Who wouldn’t want that? Well, probably people who don’t like jigsaw puzzles. So, if you don’t like jigsaw puzzles, then a game called Jigsaw Puzzle will not be for you. There’s nothing else to the game; no unlocks, no levels, nothing but jigsaws.
There are, however, achievements for some reason. But in all likelihood, if you’re into puzzles, then you won’t need arbitrary achievements to fake progression. Jigsaw Puzzle is not challenging, it is not an ordinary game, and it is there for you to relax. You could even say that Jigsaw Puzzle is zen. It’s a highly relaxing experience to lean back, choose a random picture, and fiddle away until the puzzle has been reassembled.
So, by now, we should have the attention of those who want a puzzle experience, and we have scared off those who do not want that. What about those quality-of-life features, then? Jigsaw Puzzle is tailored to work on mobile devices, but it would probably work better on a tablet than a phone. However, this review was done on the phone, which is simply speculation. The inherent nature of a smaller screen means that you need to zoom in and out quickly, and thankfully you can do precisely that. It is simple and effective to move around the puzzle, looking closely at pieces if need be, and then pull out again.
Jigsaw Puzzle even hands you the additional quality of life things for those who want it. For instance, you can flip a switch that makes all the centerpieces disappear. Then you can do that thing practically everyone does with jigsaws: do the edges first! The feature does not have to be there, but it is an added convenience if you struggle to find those edge pieces.
Furthermore, you can get hints or look at the finished image whenever you want to help you along. Jigsaw Puzzle does not want you to struggle. It wants you to have a quiet time. It wants you to get help if you need help. Sure, there’s a timer, but you don’t need to care about the timer.
Furthermore, any picture can be any size in Jigsaw Puzzle. This means that you can make any picture be a 9-piece puzzle if you want something incredibly easy, or you can go up to 400 pieces. Now, for real jigsaw veterans, 400 bits are not that big. But on a screen, a 1000-piece puzzle may be a little unwieldy. And Jigsaw Puzzle does not want to be unwieldy. It even calls this puzzle size function “difficulty”, but a 400-piece puzzle is not “harder” than a smaller one. It just takes longer. And you might be waiting in a bank line and need to kill some time, so a longer jigsaw is a plus!
Also, and this is important for some people, you can listen to their music (which is all classical), or you can put on your own music. Your device will not automatically eliminate your music because of the game’s sounds. So yes, you can play Jigsaw Puzzle, a game that is zen, chill, and calming while listening to heavy metal. But only if you want!
Stay tuned to GamesCreed’s mobile games section for more Apple Arcade reviews in the future.
