How to Sort Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces: Five Methods and When to Use Each

Tip a thousand pieces onto the table and the first ten minutes decide the next ten hours. There is no single right way to sort jigsaw puzzle pieces, but there is usually a right way for the puzzle in front of you. Here are the five methods experienced puzzlers use, and how to spot which one to reach for.

How to sort jigsaw puzzle pieces: start by turning them all over

Before any sorting, turn every piece picture side up. It feels slow, and it is the single biggest time saver there is, because you cannot sort what you cannot see. Spread them out in a single layer rather than a heap, and pull out edge pieces as you go: anything with a flat side goes to one corner of the table. By the time the last piece is turned, the frame is already waiting for you.

Whether you build the frame first is up to you. It gives the puzzle a size and a shape, which helps on a big scene. On a picture with a busy border and a plain middle, some people leave it until later and start with the most interesting part instead.

Method one: sort by colour

This is where most people start, and for good reason. Pick the four to six strongest colours in the picture and give each its own tray or patch of table. Anything that mixes two colours goes in whichever pile it has more of; a piece that belongs to a boundary between colours is often the one that joins two sections later.

Colour sorting works best on scenes with clear blocks of colour. Hintersee Lake from Bluebird is a good example: red and gold autumn slopes, snowy peaks, mist on the far shore and still water below. Each of those makes a pile of its own.

Method two: sort by shape

When colour runs out, shape takes over. Most pieces in a standard cut have four sides, and each side is either a tab (sticking out) or a blank (cut in). Group pieces by that pattern: two tabs and two blanks, three tabs and one blank, and so on. Then, when a gap in the puzzle needs a piece with tabs top and bottom, you only search one small pile instead of the whole sky.

Shape sorting is the answer to large areas of one colour. The Hintersee water, where the mountains are reflected twice over, is exactly the sort of section where you will end up doing it. It is also the method that makes the Ravensburger Challenge Batman puzzle possible at all: masses of repeated Batman poses in black, grey, blue and yellow, so colour alone will not get you far.

Method three: sort by feature

Rather than colours, sort by the things in the picture: every piece with a boat on it, every piece of the bridge, anything with lettering. Features are easier to recognise than shades, and a small feature pile often goes together in minutes, which is a good early win on a long puzzle.

Scenes with lots of separate subjects suit this best. Ravensburger's Forth Bridge at Sunset has the red bridge, vintage cars, fishing boats and a steam engine crossing overhead: four feature piles before you have even thought about the sky.

Method four: sort when there is no picture to follow

A Wasgij turns sorting upside down. The picture on the box is not the one you are building: in Wasgij Original 32: The Big Weigh In! you are putting together what the judge at a vegetable contest can see, and the box only shows the crowd's surprised faces. So you sort by colour first, then by anything recognisable as you find it, and let the scene tell you what it is. People often keep a separate pile for faces and hands, because they are easy to spot and they anchor the picture.

If you are new to them, our Wasgij collection has the Original, Mystery, Destiny and Retro ranges side by side.

Method five: combine them as you go

Most finished puzzles use all of the above. A typical 1000 piece build goes: edges out while turning pieces over, then colour piles, then features within those piles, and finally shape sorting for whatever big plain area is left at the end. The trick is to re-sort as the puzzle changes. A pile that was useful at the start becomes clutter once its section is built, so fold the leftovers into the next pile and keep the table tidy.

You cannot sort what you cannot see, so turn every piece over first.

Tools that make sorting easier

You do not need anything special: saucers, baking trays and box lids all work. But sorting trays that stack are a genuine help if the puzzle has to share the dining table. Cobble Hill's 6 Puzzle Sorting Trays include a sifting tray to shake out the loose dust from the bag, and they nest together when you stop for the night.

If the whole puzzle has to be cleared away between sessions, Puzzle & Roll from Jumbo lets you build on a felt mat and roll the lot around a tube, for puzzles from 500 to 1500 pieces. You will find more in our puzzle accessories.

Common questions

Should I always do the edge pieces first?

No. Edges first gives the puzzle a frame and is a good habit on large scenes, but on a puzzle with a plain border it can be the hardest part. Pull the edge pieces out as you turn pieces over, then start wherever the picture is most interesting.

What is the best way to sort pieces for a puzzle with lots of sky or sea?

Sort those areas by shape. Group the pieces by how many tabs and blanks they have, then fill the gaps one shape at a time. It is slower to set up and much faster to finish.

How do I sort a puzzle when I cannot use the box picture?

Sort by colour first, then pull out anything you recognise, such as faces, hands, lettering or animals. With a Wasgij, those small recognisable piles are what reveal the hidden scene.

Do I need sorting trays?

Not at all: plates and box lids do the job. Stackable trays help most when the puzzle has to be cleared away between sessions, because the piles stay sorted.