Jigsaw Surprise

Free · 3 difficulties · Portrait

Jigsaw Surprise: loose pieces, no frame, three difficulty levels

Jigsaw Surprise is a portrait jigsaw puzzle game from TapLab Games in which you assemble a photo from pieces spread loose across a blue table. There is no board outline and no piece tray: every piece starts face up somewhere on the table, and you drag pieces into place against each other. The title screen offers three difficulties — Easy, Medium and Hard — and our first Easy puzzle was a close-up of piano keys. A timer runs in the corner, a slider zooms the table in and out, and an eye button shows the finished picture. Compared with Favorite Puzzles, the other jigsaw on What Games Play, it trades custom piece counts and hint tools for a faster start: pick a difficulty and the pieces are already out.

Quick facts

Developer: TapLab Games (logo on the settings screen)
Genre: jigsaw puzzle on a freeform table
Difficulties: Easy, Medium, Hard
Screen: portrait, 600 × 800 embed; HTML5
Input: drag with a mouse or a finger
On GamePix since December 9, 2021

How to play Jigsaw Surprise

A round is one photo cut into pieces and scattered at random. There is no frame to fill, so the picture takes shape wherever you build it.

1
Choose a difficulty
Press EASY, MEDIUM or HARD on the title screen. GamePix notes that finishing puzzles unlocks tougher ones.
2
Preview the photo
Tap the eye button to see the complete image, then close it and compare the loose pieces with it.
3
Join the pieces
Drag a piece with the mouse or a finger and set it against a matching neighbor. Zoom in with the slider to line up small pieces.
4
Complete the picture
Keep joining groups until the photo is whole. The timer in the top-left corner shows how long you took.

Controls

Desktop

Click and drag a piece to move it across the table
A slider with + and − buttons zooms the table in or out
Eye button shows the finished photo; the menu button opens settings

Phone & tablet

Drag pieces with a finger, as GamePix's instructions describe
Jigsaw Surprise is portrait, so hold the phone upright
Zoom in with the + button when pieces are too small to grab

What Jigsaw Surprise offers

No frame, no tray

Pieces lie loose on the table from the start. You build the picture wherever you like instead of filling a fixed outline.

Three preset difficulties

Easy, Medium and Hard replace a piece-count picker, so a new puzzle starts with one tap.

A timer you can hide

The clock starts as soon as the pieces appear. A Time switch in Settings turns the display off.

Preview whenever you need it

The eye button dims the table and lays the whole photo over it, which helps with large areas of one color.

Tips for Jigsaw Surprise

Start with straight edges. GamePix's hint for Jigsaw Surprise is to find the straight-edged pieces first, since they form the border.
Sort by color. On the piano puzzle, the black keys, white keys and wooden case each form their own color group.
Zoom out to find pieces. Pieces are scattered over the whole table, and zooming out shows them all at once.
Play fast for more points. GamePix states that speed earns more points, so leave the timer on if you are chasing a score.
Clear a work area. Drag the pieces you have identified into one corner of the table so matching neighbors sit close together.

Who is Jigsaw Surprise for?

Casual jigsaw players

One tap on a difficulty starts a puzzle, with no setup screen.

Phone users

The portrait layout fits a phone held upright, and pieces are moved by finger.

Players who like a clock

A visible timer and GamePix's speed bonus give a reason to replay a picture faster.

Time and points

Jigsaw Surprise shows a running timer in the top-left corner during every puzzle, and GamePix's description says faster solves earn more points. We did not see a points counter on screen while playing, so the timer is the number to watch. The Settings panel can hide the timer with its Time switch and also has Music and Sound toggles, a home button and a restart button. According to GamePix, finishing a puzzle unlocks tougher ones.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jigsaw Surprise?+

Jigsaw Surprise is a portrait jigsaw puzzle game by TapLab Games. You pick Easy, Medium or Hard and assemble a photo from pieces scattered across a table.

How do you move pieces in Jigsaw Surprise?+

Drag a piece with the mouse, or with your finger on a touchscreen. Place it next to its matching neighbor to join them.

Is there a timer in Jigsaw Surprise?+

Yes, a clock in the top-left corner starts when the pieces appear. You can hide it with the Time switch in Settings.

Can you see the full picture in Jigsaw Surprise?+

Yes. The eye button in the top bar shows the complete photo over the table, which helps when many pieces share similar colors.

Which is easier, Jigsaw Surprise or Favorite Puzzles?+

Jigsaw Surprise is quicker to start, with three preset difficulties and no setup. Favorite Puzzles gives more help, including hints, an edge filter and a piece tray, and lets you choose up to 600 pieces.

Privacy

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