Frequently asked questions
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Frequently asked questions

Everything people usually ask before their first puzzle, in one place. If it is not here, the how to play page goes deeper on the controls.

The basics

Is Pieceware free?

Yes, all of it. There is no paid tier, no ads and nothing to unlock.

Do I need an account?

No. Nobody on the site has one. You pick a display name when you join a puzzle and that is the extent of it.

Do I have to install anything?

No. It runs in a normal web browser on a computer, tablet or phone. Everything is drawn on a canvas, so it works in any current browser without plug-ins.

Why does it look like Windows XP?

Because the person who built it grew up with it, and because a jigsaw on a Luna-blue desktop with a taskbar clock is a calmer place than most of the modern web. It is a theme, not a requirement: the puzzle engine is new.

Playing together

How do I play with friends?

Make a lobby on the home page and send people the link. Everyone who opens it joins the same board and sees everyone else's cursor. See jigsaw puzzles with friends for the details.

How many people can play at once?

A room accepts up to 50 players. Two to eight is the comfortable range for a normal puzzle; beyond that people start reaching for the same pieces.

Can two people grab the same piece?

No. A piece is locked for whoever picked it up until they drop it, so there are no tug-of-war glitches. You see other players' pieces move live under their cursors.

Is there a chat?

Yes, a small text chat inside the room. Most groups keep a voice call open in Discord, Zoom or a phone call as well; the puzzle only sends cursor positions and piece moves, so it is light on bandwidth.

Can I play alone?

Of course. A lobby with one person in it is just a jigsaw. You can also drop into the global puzzle, one ~300 piece puzzle that everyone on the site solves together; it starts a new picture when it is finished or after 15 minutes.

How long does a room last?

As long as somebody is in it, plus 12 hours. A room is deleted after 12 hours with no players. The server also saves every room every 30 seconds, so a restart on our side does not lose your puzzle.

Can I come back later?

Yes. Keep the link. As long as someone visited within the last 12 hours, the puzzle is exactly where you left it. For a puzzle that should live for a week, have someone open it once a day.

Can I make a room private?

Rooms are unlisted: the link is eight random characters and is never published anywhere. Anyone who has the link can join, so share it only with the people you want in.

Can I change the piece count of a running room?

No. A room is one picture at one size and shape. Make a new lobby with different settings; it takes a few seconds.

Pictures and uploads

Where do the pictures come from?

The catalog is built from public-domain and openly licensed images: paintings, nature, animals, cities, space imagery and retro patterns. Every picture page lists its author, licence and a link to the source.

Can I use my own photo?

Yes. Upload a JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF or AVIF of up to 20 MB and at least 300 pixels on its long side; it is resized to at most 1600 pixels and stays on our server only as long as the room that uses it. Details here.

Is my uploaded photo public?

It is not listed anywhere, but everyone who has the room link sees it, and the image itself is served from an unguessable address to anyone who knows it. When the room is deleted (12 hours after the last player leaves) the image is deleted with it.

Sizes, shapes, rotation

Which piece counts are there?

24, 48, 100, 200, 300, 500, 750, 1000, 1500. The wizard also accepts any number in between, up to 1500. The size guide has time estimates for one to four players.

Why did I ask for 300 pieces and get 294?

The grid is chosen so pieces come out roughly square for the picture's proportions. A 17×17 grid is 289, 18×17 is 306, and so on; you get the closest good grid.

What is the difference between the piece shapes?

Classic has ordinary knobs and holes, so every piece has its own silhouette. Twisted has wobbly, uneven cuts that make pieces look alike. Square has no knobs at all; only the picture tells you where a piece goes. See how to play.

What does rotation do?

Pieces start turned by random quarter turns and must be rotated (toolbar buttons) before they snap. It adds roughly half again to the time at any size, so it is a good way to make a small puzzle hard.

Is there a 2000 piece option?

No. 1500 is the maximum: pieces are cut from an image of at most 1600 pixels, and above 1500 pieces they stop being recognisable.

Devices and privacy

Does it work on a phone?

Yes, in the browser. Drag with one finger and use the toolbar buttons to zoom and rotate. 100–300 pieces is a comfortable phone size; big puzzles are nicer on a tablet or a computer.

Do you track me?

There are no accounts, no ads, no analytics scripts and no tracking cookies. The browser keeps a random token so a reload brings you back as the same player. The full story is on the privacy page.

Who makes this?

One person, as a side project. See about.