Puzzle PointerJigsaw solver for iPhone

Difficulty report · 6,601 puzzles measured · October 2026

How hard is a 1,000-piece puzzle?

We cut 6,601 box pictures into 1,000 pieces each and counted the ones that give you nothing to go on.

coral: plain violet: lookalikeThe Great Wave as a 1,000-piece puzzle: 353 dead pieces. Tap to toggle the grid.
6,601box pictures measured
44dead pieces in a typical 1,000-piece puzzle
62%are hardest in the top row (chance: 33%)
15 ptsbetween the hardest and easiest brand medians

Key findings

What the score means

The score counts dead pieces.

A dead piece is one flat colour, or looks like at least eight others. The score is mostly the share of dead pieces, nudged up when one colour fills the picture. It describes the picture, not how long the puzzle takes.

DemandingBrutal01020304050+The Kiss 10Starry Night 16Great Wave 36Mona Lisa 48

Famous paintings as puzzles

We cut 12 famous paintings into 1,000 pieces.

Ranked easiest to hardest and scored like the 6,601 real boxes, from a museum scan rather than a box print. Open one to see why.

  1. Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent van Gogh

    8/100

    Wheatfield with Crows

    Vincent van Gogh, 1890

    0 dead pieces: score from colour alone · scores above 36% of real boxes

  2. The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

    16/100

    The Starry Night

    Vincent van Gogh, 1889

    57 dead pieces · scores above 73% of real boxes

  3. The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai

    36/100

    The Great Wave off Kanagawa

    Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1831

    353 dead pieces · scores above 96% of real boxes

  4. Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

    48/100

    Mona Lisa

    Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503

    539 dead pieces · scores above 99% of real boxes

  5. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

    58/100

    Girl with a Pearl Earring

    Johannes Vermeer, c. 1665

    592 dead pieces · scores above 99%+ of real boxes

  6. Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet

    69/100

    Impression, Sunrise

    Claude Monet, 1872

    795 dead pieces · scores above 99%+ of real boxes

See all 12 paintings
  1. A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

    10/100

    A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

    Georges Seurat, 1884

    67 dead pieces · scores above 45% of real boxes

  2. The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

    10/100

    The Kiss

    Gustav Klimt, 1908

    10 dead pieces · scores above 47% of real boxes

  3. The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

    17/100

    The Hunters in the Snow

    Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565

    126 dead pieces · scores above 74% of real boxes

  4. Water Lilies by Claude Monet

    48/100

    Water Lilies

    Claude Monet, 1906

    429 dead pieces · scores above 99% of real boxes

  5. Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh

    55/100

    Sunflowers

    Vincent van Gogh, 1888

    459 dead pieces · scores above 99%+ of real boxes

  6. Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich

    67/100

    Wanderer above the Sea of Fog

    Caspar David Friedrich, c. 1818

    733 dead pieces · scores above 99%+ of real boxes

The scores

Most puzzles are easier than The Starry Night.

Every puzzle we measured, by score. A typical box scores 10; only one in ten scores above 28.

5620–52,6355–101,38010–1570315–2077620–3033130–4019940–601560+Starry NightGreat WaveMona LisaImpression, Sunrise
20%23%19%4%6%5%8%7%8%

Where it gets hard

It's the sky.

Among puzzles with any dead pieces, the hardest ninth is in the top row 62% of the time; chance would be a third. The bottom row, where the detail lives, only 23%.

Tip: build from the bottom up and leave the sky for last, when the border and its neighbours trap it.

By brand

Your brand matters.

Median score of each brand's 1,000-piece pictures. Brands differ because of what they print, not how they cut: photographs and paintings at the top, dense illustration at the bottom.

The Op Games21Laurence King Publishing20Clementoni18New York Puzzle Company16Prime Time Puzzles16Trefl15Educa15Bits and Pieces14Eurographics14Final Piece Puzzles12Otter House12Heritage Puzzle12Schmidt Spiele12Anatolian12SunsOut12Karmin International11Willow Creek Press11Heye11Cobble Hill10Castorland10Ravensburger10Magic Puzzle Company10Ceaco10Vermont Christmas Company10Buffalo Games9MasterPieces9Pomegranate9JaCaRou Puzzles9Springbok8Gibsons8Goodway Puzzles8Cross & Glory Jigsaw Puzzles8Galison8RoseArt7Hart Puzzles6White Mountain6The Op Games21Laurence King Publishing20Clementoni18New York Puzzle Company16Prime Time Puzzles16Trefl15Educa15Bits and Pieces14Eurographics14Final Piece Puzzles12Otter House12Heritage Puzzle12Schmidt Spiele12Anatolian12SunsOut12Karmin International11Willow Creek Press11Heye11Cobble Hill10Castorland10Ravensburger10Magic Puzzle Company10Ceaco10Vermont Christmas Company10Buffalo Games9MasterPieces9Pomegranate9JaCaRou Puzzles9Springbok8Gibsons8Goodway Puzzles8Cross & Glory Jigsaw Puzzles8Galison8RoseArt7Hart Puzzles6White Mountain6
Tap a brand to see its hardest and easiest pictures.
Brand table with plain and lookalike shares
BrandPuzzlesMedian scorePlainLookalike
The Op Games242115%16%
Laurence King Publishing322014%15%
Clementoni403189%7%
New York Puzzle Company143166%8%
Prime Time Puzzles301611%2%
Trefl255158%4%
Educa122157%4%
Bits and Pieces36147%4%
Eurographics507142%4%
Final Piece Puzzles30124%2%
Otter House49126%6%
Heritage Puzzle23122%5%
Schmidt Spiele483125%2%
Anatolian135123%2%
SunsOut174125%3%
Karmin International45117%3%
Willow Creek Press26114%2%
Heye61113%2%
Cobble Hill147103%2%
Castorland26105%1%
Ravensburger867104%2%
Magic Puzzle Company16101%0%
Ceaco93103%0%
Vermont Christmas Company170103%1%
Buffalo Games31192%2%
MasterPieces82192%0%
Pomegranate15390%2%
JaCaRou Puzzles2793%2%
Springbok38782%0%
Gibsons9681%0%
Goodway Puzzles1882%0%
Cross & Glory Jigsaw Puzzles2082%1%
Galison16680%0%
RoseArt11071%0%
Hart Puzzles2961%0%
White Mountain44361%0%

Hardest and easiest

The boxes at both ends.

The highest and lowest scores among the 6,601. Open one for the breakdown.

Hardest

  1. 82/100

    MasterPieces · Rainbow Gradient

    94% plain 46% lookalike

    Hardest: top right

  2. 78/100

    Eurographics · Penguin & Chick

    81% plain 85% lookalike

    Hardest: bottom right

  3. 76/100

    Ravensburger · Quietscheenten

    72% plain 58% lookalike

    Hardest: top right

  4. 74/100

    Eurographics · Lighting Striking Tree

    51% plain 71% lookalike

    Hardest: middle left

  5. 72/100

    Eurographics · Giraffe Mother's Kiss

    0% plain 66% lookalike

    Hardest: bottom right

  6. 68/100

    Eurographics · Cupcakes

    37% plain 66% lookalike

    Hardest: bottom right

Easiest

  1. 3/100

    Ravensburger · Zauberhafte Begegnung

    0% plain 0% lookalike

    Hardest: no hard region

  2. 3/100

    Anatolian · Chief Seattle

    0% plain 0% lookalike

    Hardest: no hard region

  3. 3/100

    Schmidt Spiele · Josie Lewis: Kunterbunte Dreiecke

    0% plain 0% lookalike

    Hardest: no hard region

  4. 3/100

    Pomegranate · David Galchutt: Tropical Trio 1000-Piece

    0% plain 0% lookalike

    Hardest: no hard region

  5. 3/100

    Vermont Christmas Company · Monster Mashup

    0% plain 0% lookalike

    Hardest: centre

  6. 3/100

    Eurographics · Mediterranean Windows

    0% plain 0% lookalike

    Hardest: middle right

The full twelve at each end
HardestScorePlainLookalikeHardest region
MasterPieces · Rainbow Gradient8294%46%top right
Eurographics · Penguin & Chick7881%85%bottom right
Ravensburger · Quietscheenten7672%58%top right
Eurographics · Lighting Striking Tree7451%71%middle left
Eurographics · Giraffe Mother's Kiss720%66%bottom right
Eurographics · Cupcakes6837%66%bottom right
Eurographics · Polar Bear & Baby6642%69%top right
Schmidt Spiele · Christian Ringer, Lockstein, Milchstraße6545%63%top middle
Clementoni · Paris Eiffel Tower6564%62%top left
Eurographics · Creation of Adam (Detail)640%64%top right
Educa · Shanghai6355%46%top left
Schmidt Spiele · Ashley Rader: Wilderness – Tiger, Im Zeichen der Freiheit6249%58%top right
EasiestScorePlainLookalikeHardest region
Ravensburger · Zauberhafte Begegnung30%0%no hard region
Anatolian · Chief Seattle30%0%no hard region
Schmidt Spiele · Josie Lewis: Kunterbunte Dreiecke30%0%no hard region
Pomegranate · David Galchutt: Tropical Trio 1000-Piece30%0%no hard region
Vermont Christmas Company · Monster Mashup30%0%centre
Eurographics · Mediterranean Windows30%0%middle right
White Mountain · Flower Crochet30%0%no hard region
Ravensburger · Myths & Legends30%0%no hard region
White Mountain · State Trivia30%0%no hard region
Vermont Christmas Company · Day of the Dead30%0%no hard region
MasterPieces · Wonderous Worlds - Feeling Bubbly30%0%bottom left
Magic Puzzle Company · Big Rock City30%0%top middle

A score near zero means detail everywhere, not a quick puzzle. Tiny repeated illustrations can still take a weekend.

How we measured it

The method

Each box picture is the catalogue reference Puzzle Pointer uses to place pieces (most are 1,200 to 3,000 pixels wide). We trim any flat frame, then divide it into a grid from the stated piece count and the picture's shape: 27 rows by 37 columns for a typical 1,000-piece landscape.

Plain: almost no edges (mean gradient under 4 on a 0–255 scale) and nearly one tone (luminance spread under 12). Lookalike: at least eight other cells, not adjacent, within a small colour distance at 6×6 thumbnail size. Score: 80 × the share of plain or lookalike pieces, plus 20 × the share taken by the dominant colour family. Puzzle-page bands are percentiles among the 6,601: Brutal is the top 15%, Demanding the next 25%, Moderate the next 30%, Relaxed the bottom 30%.

It cannot see the die cut, piece shapes, finish or glare. Products that share a picture are counted once; a few catalogue images that were not the puzzle picture are left out and flagged. The paintings are public-domain images from Wikimedia Commons (Wheatfield with Crows, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, The Kiss, The Starry Night, The Hunters in the Snow, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Mona Lisa, Water Lilies, Sunflowers, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Impression, Sunrise), measured the same way; they are not the box picture of any product. Catalogue snapshot v1-941753faa98a82565de8: 13,457 products, 11,154 pictures profiled, 6,601 of them 1,000-piece.

Other piece counts

Share of dead pieces by piece count, for counts with at least a hundred measured puzzles. Finer grids put less of the picture on each piece, so these are not directly comparable with the 1,000-piece figures.

Piece countPuzzlesMedian dead piecesPuzzles over 20% deadHardest region in the top row
2001282%7%67%
3007252%12%60%
5002,1344%13%62%
5502614%8%64%
7501902%11%58%
1,0006,6014%15%62%
1,5003667%24%71%
2,0003105%16%65%
3,0001069%21%76%
What makes a 1,000-piece puzzle hard?

Two things in the picture itself: plain areas, where pieces carry no detail to match, and repeated areas, where many pieces look like each other. Large skies, water, foliage and single-colour backgrounds produce both. The cut, the piece size and the box photo quality matter too, but the picture sets the floor.

How do you measure puzzle difficulty?

We take the box picture, divide it into a grid the size of the stated piece count (27 by 37 for most 1,000-piece puzzles), and test each cell. A cell is plain when it has almost no edges and nearly one colour. A cell is a lookalike when at least eight other cells elsewhere in the picture are nearly indistinguishable from it at piece size. The score is mostly the share of pieces that are plain or lookalike, nudged up when one colour family dominates.

Is this the same as how long the puzzle takes?

No. It is a description of the printed picture at catalogue resolution. It cannot see the cut, the piece shapes, the finish or your table. Treat it as a guide to which puzzles and which regions will slow you down.

What is a dead piece?

A piece whose printed surface gives you nothing to match: either one flat colour with almost no edges, or nearly identical to at least eight other pieces elsewhere in the picture. Sky, sea and dark backgrounds produce most of them.

Which brands make the hardest puzzles?

Among brands with at least fifteen measured 1,000-piece puzzles, The Op Games (21), Laurence King Publishing (20), Clementoni (18) have the highest median scores, and White Mountain (6), Hart Puzzles (6), RoseArt (7) the lowest. The difference comes mostly from what they print: photographs and paintings score higher than dense illustration.

How to find where a piece goes → Browse puzzles by brand →