HOW TO PLAY
How to play, and what people ask
How Jigsaw Lounge works, and the questions that come up most. You do not need to read it to play.
How it goes
Pick a picture
Choose from 239 pictures, cut into one of five sizes, from about 50 pieces to about 1000 - each picture's count is chosen so every piece is square. The same picture is a different evening at a different count.
Build it
Drag a piece near where it belongs and it snaps in. Fingers on a phone, mouse on a desk; right-drag or two fingers to move around the table.
Build it together
While you play, the button at the top right makes an invite link. Whoever opens it sits at the same table, and you can see which piece each of you is holding. Up to eight, or fifty in a stream room.
Questions people ask
Is it really free?
Yes. No account, nothing to install - open a browser and play. Some pictures and the stream rooms are part of the full game, but the free game has plenty, and a different picture each week.
Do I need an account?
No. Pick a name and you can play. You only need a handover link if you want to carry a half-built table from your phone to your desk.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, with your fingers. The board is sized to the screen so the pieces never end up smaller than a fingertip.
Can I build one with a friend?
Yes. Send the invite link while you play. They do not need an account either. Up to eight people at one table.
Can I use it on stream?
Yes. A stream room holds fifty viewers, and there is a progress panel made for OBS so your stream can show how far along the table is.
Where do the pictures come from?
Open-access images of out-of-copyright works from the Metropolitan Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Rijksmuseum and others. Every picture links to the museum's own page for it. Some are drawn for this game.
Can I stop halfway through?
Yes. A half-built table stays in that browser, so you can close the tab and pick it up where you left it. To carry one from your phone to your desk, make a handover link and open it there.
How is "how hard" worked out?
It is measured from the picture. A jigsaw is not hard because the pieces are small, it is hard because so many pieces look like each other. So the picture is cut into about three hundred cells and each is asked how far it is from the cell that looks most like it. A wide stretch of sky or water takes far longer than a crowded street at the same piece count.