A jigsaw puzzle is a puzzle that requires a group of small oddly shaped pieces that fit into or are interlocked with each other. Each piece has a part of a picture and when the picture is complete the puzzle is also finished. These puzzles were created by painting a picture on a flat piece of wood and cutting it into pieces. However, nowadays the puzzles are made of cardboard with the picture being pasted on one or both sides and then cut up into pieces. The pictures used on the puzzles are usually of nature or buildings. However one can use any picture to create the puzzle.
Most of the jigsaw puzzles have 500 pieces but the number can be increased to any amount. The size of the puzzle depends on the number of pieces and this brings variety to the puzzle. There are some puzzles that have pictures on both sides. This makes the game more complex as one cannot be sure about the correct pieces. There are also three dimensional puzzles that are even more complex as in these kinds of puzzles you have to follow a certain order while solving the puzzle. Some of the pieces may not fit in if the right order is not followed. The pieces that are uniform in their shape is perhaps the most difficult puzzle to solve because there is very less difference between the pieces of the puzzle. Some puzzles that have weird shapes also make the puzzle more interesting.
The standard shape of the puzzle is square, rectangular or round. The pieces around the edges are straight on one or two of its sides. However there are some puzzles where even the edge pieces are not straight and the puzzle when solved will have the shape of animal or other things. With recent development the processes of making puzzles have become simpler and it is now possible to make puzzles that are of various different types.
