How to Download and Play Jigsaw Puzzles

By Jan K., The Proofer

© Copyright 2008

Jan's Reading Room, in partnership with Moms Break, Print Me Free, Military Printables (and other Moms Break operate websites) provides this helpful tutorial so that you can use and enjoy the free printables and downloadable activities available on those websites!

"Before" view of jigsaw puzzle

Go to Step 1!

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The downloadable jigsaw puzzles available from Moms Break and Print Me Free are fun activities for kids and grown-ups! You can put together the jigsaw puzzles just for fun, or you can play against the clock to see who can put the puzzle together the fastest!

These instructions will help you to download and put together the jigsaw puzzles!

"After" view of jigsaw puzzle

It is fun---and easy---to put together the downloadable jigsaw puzzles that are available from Moms Break and Print Me Free (and other Moms Break operated websites).

To work the jigsaw puzzles you must first download the game. You do not need any special software as this is a download directly from the secure server used by Moms Break and Print Me Free and (other Moms Break operated websites).

These instructions will help you to download and put together the puzzles.

Find the jigsaw puzzle that you want to download by visiting Moms Break and Print Me Free and (other Moms Break operated websites), and clicking on the "Puzzles & Games" category.

Go to the page, and read through the helpful information included with the puzzle. At the bottom of the puzzle information, you'll find the link to the downloadable puzzle. Note that the link includes ".exe" at the end of the link name. (The link is usually found below some advertisements.)

Click on the download link. A pop-up window will appear. There are three options: Run, Save, Cancel.

Option 1: Run. Click on the Run key. The jigsaw puzzle will download and you can play the game right away. (You may get another pop-up window with an alert regarding the fact that the software is not a Microsoft product. The download is safe, but read the alert and then proceed to download at your own risk.)

Option 2: Save. Click on the Save key, and save the jigsaw puzzle to your computer. After it is finished saving, you will need to click on the file to run the game.

Option 3: Cancel. If you are unsure about whether you want to run or save this game, you can hit the Cancel button. However, the software for this game is located on a secure server (hosted by RackSpace, which is one of the major website hosting services in the world). Downloading the puzzle is safe, but you do so at your own risk.

After you "Run" the puzzle, or "Save" and then run the puzzle, the puzzle will appear. The jigsaw puzzle pieces are scrambled, and you must now move them in order to put together the puzzle picture.

You can "move" the pieces in any direction: left, right, up, down. This is illustrated in more detail below.

You can "rotate" the pieces. This is illustrated in more detail below.

Moving the Puzzle Pieces

Position the cursor on any piece. The cursor will change to a gray arrowhead.

Click and hold down the mouse button. Move the mouse, and the picture will move in the same direction. When you have the piece about where you want it, simply let go of the mouse button. The puzzle piece will stay where you have moved it.

You can move the pieces again and again.

Rotating the Puzzle Pieces

Position the cursor on any piece. The cursor will change to a gray arrowhead.

With the cursor on the puzzle piece, right click the mouse. The puzzle piece will "rotate" 90 degrees to the right (that is, the puzzle piece will rotate to the right, one side at a time). If you right click four times, then the puzzle piece will rotate around to the same position it was in.

Compare the illustration at left to the illustration in Step 5. Note that the piece in the middle of the picture has been rotated once, to the right.

Assemble the Puzzle

If you have never put together a jigsaw puzzle, then you might find it easiest if you look for the "corner" or  "edge" pieces first.

A corner piece has two straight sides that form a corner. There are four corner pieces per puzzle. An edge piece has one straight side, and there are numerous pieces, depending on the size of the puzzle.

In the illustration to the left, a corner piece has been found, and appears in the middle of the puzzle so that you can easily visualize it.

This illustration shows an edge piece, in the middle, just to help you see what an edge piece looks like.

See more instructions below to help you assemble the puzzle!

Now, you can begin to put the puzzle together! You must move the pieces, and rotate the pieces, until you find two pieces that go together.

It might help if you move the pieces so that you can see each one, by itself. It is easier to do this if you make the puzzle window bigger. One of the icons across the top of the puzzle is "Increase window size" (there is a little pop-up window as shown in the illustration to the left). Move the cursor over each icon until you find this one (it is the fourth icon from the right).

Click this icon once or twice until the puzzle is as big as your computer screen.

Now you can see all the pieces.

It is easiest if you find the four corner pieces first.

Then find all the edge pieces.

See Step 11.

The four corner pieces are along the top row.

The edge pieces are the next two rows.

The miscellaneous pieces are in the bottom row.

First, try to put the corner pieces in the correct corners!

You will have to play with this, to try to find what corner pieces belong in which corners!

Hint: Look for "www.MomsBreak.com" or "www.PrintMeFree.com" in one of the corner pieces. This goes in the bottom right corner of the puzzle (as shown to the left).

Now, start moving puzzle pieces around, rotating them, trying to find two pieces that go together.

One way to do this is to try to find the color, or some type of shape, that matches from one piece to another. You can also move any two pieces together, and then rotate one piece around to try to put the two pieces together.

When you do find two pieces that go together, the pieces will "click" together (and you should here a snapping or clicking sound).

In the illustration to the left, the two bottom right pieces look like they will go together...

...and they do!

Continue to move pieces, and to rotate them, until you find more pieces that go together!

Look for colors: try to find the same color in two or more pieces. Rotate those pieces to try to find two that go together.

Look for lines or shapes. Try to find two pieces that have a line or shape that matches together.

Remember that there are corner, edge, and miscellaneous pieces. The corner pieces go in the top left, top right, bottom left, and bottom right corners. The edge pieces go along the outside, with the straight edge facing out. The miscellaneous pieces go in the inside of the puzzle.

The puzzle is just about done!

When you put the last piece in, then you get a chance to put your name in!

Once you put in your name, you'll see a list of who put the puzzle together and how long it took each time.

You can play a game with the family or friends to determine who can put the puzzle together the fastest, or you can play against yourself, and try to beat your best time each time you play!

These puzzles are fun and it is a good exercise of hand-eye coordination, along with using logic to help determine what pieces go together. And when you are done, you have a pretty picture to look at as well!

You can get the Elephant Puzzle at:

• Mom and Baby Elephant Puzzle

 

This illustrated tutorial or craft may not be used as free content. For free content for your website or in your newsletter go to Jan's Free Content (http://www.jansfreecontent.com).

Jan K., The Proofer owns the copyright on all tutorials and crafts. © Copyright 2005 to present.