Who invented puzzles. Types of puzzles. What is a puzzle? (overview). Make your own puzzle

jigsaw puzzle) is a puzzle game, which is a mosaic, which you want to compose from many fragments of a picture of various shapes. It is one of the most affordable toys that develop logical thinking, attention, memory, imagination. Such wonderful pictures are very useful for the development of thinking and cognitive abilities person. According to psychologists, playing puzzles contributes to the development of figurative and logical thinking, voluntary attention, perception, in particular, distinguishing between individual elements by color, shape, size, etc.; teaches to correctly perceive the connection between the part and the whole; develops fine motor skills arms.

Puzzle types

Currently, there are a large number of different types and modifications of puzzles. The goal when collecting them is the same - to get a single picture from the disassembled elements. Puzzles are divided by the size of the elements and the size of a single picture. The complexity of the puzzle is determined by the pattern, but the main criterion is the number of elements - the higher it is, the larger and more difficult the puzzle is. The classic size of a small puzzle is 54 elements (puzzles with this number of elements and more (up to about 260) are for children and are intended for the development of children as individuals).

On children's puzzles, heroes of fictional characters, cars, frames from cartoons are usually depicted.

As a rule, there are the following sizes of puzzles:

  • 54 (standard)
  • 10 000
  • 12 000
  • 13 200
  • 18 000
  • 24,000 (world's largest puzzle)

These sizes are relative and there are many puzzles with the number of elements close to this category.

Puzzles with sizes exceeding 260 pieces are no longer intended for children to collect. Accordingly, the heroes of children's cartoons are not depicted on them and serious life scenes can be depicted: geographical places, fantastic scenes, erotic photographs. Very large puzzles (over 6000) usually depict scenes from the Bible, paintings by famous artists (Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo), old geographical maps.

Large puzzles are a serious hobby. It takes a lot of time to assemble them.

In addition to classic puzzles, there are also 3D puzzles and "soft" puzzles designed for small children. There are also many computer puzzles.

Exists different kinds puzzle pieces. The most common and classic ones are rectangular (with protrusions and notches), but there are also puzzles with triangular, round, oval pieces, as well as pieces of other shapes.

  • The weight of puzzles with the number of elements of about 10,000 is more than a dozen kilograms.
  • The more elements, the less detail - but this diagram is usually valid only for mosaics with sizes up to 200 elements. Above, the dimensions of all elements of the mosaic with the number of parts in 500 and 10,000 are the same.
  • Mosaic sizes vary from small (about 50 cm²) to very large (several square meters). For example, the standard size of a mosaic of 500 elements is 47×33 cm. There are also mosaics of a small number of elements (for example, 70) with the same size - especially for young children.

Links

  • Jigsaw Puzzle Paradise (eng.) (puzzles online; no registration required)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Puzzles" are in other dictionaries:

    This article is about board game; about the genre computer games see: Puzzle (computer game genre). Assembled puzzle with a historical map Folding picture or Puzzle (from the English jigsaw puzzle) is a puzzle game that is a mosaic that ... ... Wikipedia

    This article is about the board game; for the genre of computer games, see: Puzzle (genre of computer games). Assembled mosaic with a historical map ... Wikipedia

In childhood, many people liked to collect pictures from many different pieces. It could be small images of characters from books and cartoons, or huge landscapes. Everyone knew perfectly well what it was, but the process of borrowing words continued inexorably. As a result, some are interested in what a puzzle is.

The answer to the question is very simple - it's a mosaic, the same simple mosaic, so loved by many children. It's just that in English it is called puzzle, and, over time, this word began to be used in Russian-speaking countries.

What is a puzzle?

So, the puzzle - what is it? This is the name of the puzzle, the purpose of which is - assemble, using the existing sample, a finished picture from many small pieces. They must match each other not only appearance, but also in structure - nothing should interfere with the adhesion of elements.

Often the word puzzles is used as a direct synonym for the concept of a puzzle. It, in turn, has a number of different meanings, including the genre of computer games. In this case, the puzzle will denote a project, the purpose of which is to solve some logical problem.

As a rule, the player is required to possess logic, although it is often necessary to build a strategy or simply rely on intuition. In most cases, jigsaw puzzles are understood as simple toys, like Tetris or Minesweeper, but there are also larger projects.


Myst and The Witness

These games are prime examples of puzzles inside a full game (the second one is larger than the first one). Game process is to move around open world with the ability to find books or videos that slightly open the veil of secrecy common history. The gameplay is based on solving puzzles - puzzles, often acting as labyrinths, although there are other options.

Myst is considered a graphic quest, so the concept of a puzzle cannot fully apply to it. This game also has item interaction, while The Witness focuses almost entirely on puzzles. One way or another, both projects require the player to solve many puzzles, although it is not necessary to find them all in order to see the final.

Mindfulness, logic and ingenuity act as the main weapon of the player. Often it is not enough just to solve a puzzle that you encounter - first you still need to find it.


Puzzle types

As a rule, people are interested in what a puzzle is in the classical sense. It is interesting that such a simple thing as a mosaic has several types and modifications. Fortunately, the goal is always the same - using many elements, you need to get a full-fledged image.

First of all, mosaics are divided according to the number of components. The more of them, the more difficult the assembly process. Since childhood, many have come across options consisting of approximately 12-20 pieces, but 54 is considered a classic number.

It is interesting that the mosaic, which has less than 260 elements, belongs to the children, while not every adult will be able to cope with such a puzzle.


The number of pieces can determine the final size of the puzzle. If it does not exceed 50 cm, then it is considered small. In the world there are especially large options, the size of which reaches several meters. The classic dimensions include pictures of 500 elements, reaching 47 × 33 centimeters.

Of course, the number of pieces does not always determine the size of the picture. It can be quite small, but consist of a huge number of elements, or, conversely, have impressive dimensions both in general and in the components. As a rule, the largest puzzles (the number of elements exceeds 6 thousand) are images from the Bible, copies of famous paintings or ancient maps.


Finally, today many are faced with modern types of mosaics:

  • Options with a three-dimensional image;
  • soft baby,
  • Computer puzzles.

Three-dimensional mosaics are often used in the field of architecture, as well as to demonstrate landmarks and technology.


1 In our language there are quite a lot of concepts and jargon that came to us from abroad. Most of them are quite understandable and do not raise questions, but there are those whose meaning is hidden in the fog. Today we will talk about another word, this Puzzle which means you will read a little below.
However, before continuing, I would like to recommend you some interesting publications on random topics. For example, what does Chevapchichi mean, who is Chimera, what does the word Bubnit mean, who is Khaivan, etc.
So let's continue what does puzzle mean? This term was borrowed from in English "puzzle", which can be translated as "puzzle", "difficulty", "bewilderment".

Puzzle is a puzzle game that consists of a picture or photograph cut into many pieces. The point is that you need to connect the fragments of the mosaic so that the image becomes whole again.


It is stated that such entertainment can improve imagination, memory, thinking, attention, etc. The game develops fine motor skills of hands, perception, helps to distinguish between individual fragments, and allows you to correctly understand the connection between the part and the whole.

For the first time, puzzles appeared in England in 1761 year, they were invented by a map dealer from London, John Spilsbury. Originally, puzzles were part of educational material when the kids had to collect from pieces, various geographical atlases.
John made mosaics for wealthy students, so the materials he selected were not the cheapest. He took black and white prints and glued them to a thin panel of mahogany and Lebanese cedar, then cut his work into small pieces. fragments the most bizarre form.

The price of such a novelty was equivalent to the monthly salary of a London worker, and despite this price, Puzzle gained popularity.

In the 19th century, enterprising Americans learned how to make puzzles based on cardboard, as a result, these puzzles have become noticeably cheaper. Later, black and white drawings were replaced with color ones. However, this game gained the greatest popularity in the 20th century. This puzzle was played by both adults and children in the salons of Europe at that time, it occupied a place of honor.

As for Russia, this fashion has not bypassed our country either. Before the revolution, this puzzle was called " Puseli", and it was imported from the UK.
By the way, this foreign product was very expensive at that time, so very wealthy people indulged in this entertainment.

Concerning the USSR, then the industry did not produce them, however, this overseas miracle was on sale, although it was a large deficit. CMEA countries, which they just did not produce for children, including puzzles.
By the way, instead of those same puzzles, the children of that time collected cubes with pasted pictures, which, of course, was not an equivalent replacement, but also gave a kind of pleasure.

Now the puzzle is a puzzle familiar to us since childhood. But have you ever wondered how it occurred to a person to cut a sheet with an image into pieces, in order to then put it back together again and again, creating a whole picture?

There is a version that the very first puzzle was invented not at all for entertainment, but for teaching and testing the knowledge of students. And it was not made of paper or cardboard, but of wood. It was not technically possible to put a bright color picture on the puzzle, so the students had to be content with a black and white image.

It happened in the sixties of XVIII in England. A member of the Royal Geographical Society, John Spilsbury, made a puzzle with which you could test your memory and assemble a geographical map from fragments. According to one version, it was a map of England and Wales, and according to another, it was a map of the world, which was cut along the borders of countries. John Spilsbury used thin panels of red cedar or Lebanese wood as the basis for his puzzles. Black-and-white engravings depicting maps were pasted on them. The puzzle was quite expensive, but because of its novelty and originality, it gained immense popularity among both children and adults. The disadvantage of wooden elements was that they were not firmly fastened to each other and the finished picture could be easily destroyed by an awkward movement.

This method of teaching was also supported by representatives of other sciences. In the form of puzzles, they began to make the alphabet and the multiplication table. But soon the puzzle became not only a teaching tool, but also entertainment, so puzzles began to be created in the form of portraits and landscapes.

John Spilsbury received a patent for his invention and is officially considered the founder of this trend in the field of games and puzzles. But we cannot fail to mention another person who may have become the first inventor of puzzles. This version The origin of toys also belongs to the pedagogical field.

Frenchwoman Jeanne Marie le Prince de Beauman was the manager of a private school in England. Madame de Beauman was interested in various original teaching methods and, probably, it was she who came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a puzzle. There is evidence that she promoted the method of teaching geography with the help of geographical maps cut into pieces of various shapes. Thus, it can be assumed that John Spilsbury simply picked up the idea of ​​​​creating a puzzle and brought it to the masses.

Be that as it may, the popularity of puzzles increased every day, and at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Parker brothers opened the Parker Brothers factory, which produced cardboard puzzles in large volumes. Unlike their wooden counterparts, the elements of cardboard puzzles fit together better and were cheaper.

Cardboard puzzles have not lost their popularity today. Their manufacturers compete with each other, trying to create something outstanding. For example, in 2010 in Germany, Ravensburger released a puzzle that consists of 32,256 pieces. The puzzle is based on illustrations by artist Keith Haring. The puzzle is not a single picture, but 32 images that are independent of each other. Each fragment consists of only six colors. The assembled puzzle covers an area of ​​5.44 x 1.92 m. Not everyone has the patience to assemble such a giant puzzle.

Bright puzzles never go out of style. Now you can even order a puzzle based on your own photos and collect images, remembering the happy moments of your life. The puzzle will always be a good gift and a great way to entertain guests.

Tell me, do you collect pictures from pieces - puzzles? Awesome for kids and adults. For many years they have become the favorite puzzle toys of many children. Most importantly, puzzles can be chosen for children of any age, even for adults! In addition, it is a great pastime - to collect a puzzle, time passes with benefit, and brings together those who play together ...

And what an extensive selection of these mosaics today: electronic, magnetic, wooden, association games ...

What is a puzzle?

Puzzle is a picture cut into many parts. "Puzzle" comes from English word puzzle, which means a puzzle. Puzzle is a wonderful puzzle for adults and children. Available for any pocket toy develops imagination, memory, thinking, fine motor skills, perseverance and attentiveness.

Puzzle origin

Puzzle was born in England in 1761 and was originally a textbook for studying geographical maps. And the creator of the puzzle is considered to be John Spilsbury, a London dealer in geographical maps, who began to stick geographic Maps on a wooden base and cut the resulting sandwich into pieces of a bizarre shape. Collecting the entire map in this way, the student comprehended all the subtleties of geographical science.

Puzzle types

Today, these most bizarre pieces live in every home. There are puzzles for every taste and color. Modern manufacturers produce countless variants of puzzles from the most various materials, shapes and sizes. By the way, this toy can grow with the child.

The choice of puzzles today is not only the classic cardboard mosaic of a picture. For the littlest inquisitives, you can find voluminous puzzles, soft rugs, wooden planks in which you need to find a place for different animals, vegetables or fruits. For older children, there are glow-in-the-dark puzzles, and even those that need to be collected and viewed with 3d glasses. For girls there are puzzles with rhinestones. For older children and adults, three-dimensional pyramids, balls, ships, castles, cars are offered.

Puzzle application

Puzzle- undoubtedly a useful toy that trains attention and memory. And as the creator of the cut pictures was right, the puzzle is a wonderful teaching aid. With it, you can acquaint preschoolers with the classification of objects, with shapes and colors, with an account, with letters, foreign language. Schoolchildren can be taught the composition of a sentence, the multiplication table, reading, geography, as in the original, and much more.

Many people turn collecting pictures into a hobby, which eventually turns into an art. In the museums of the country you can find mosaics made of glass fragments, bottle caps, and even garbage.

Original gift - puzzle

Today, many photo salons offer services to their customers in making a puzzle from a photo. It's wonderful and original gift both adult and child.

And recently I came across an interesting Internet resource http://puzzleit.org/. Here you can assemble a puzzle online from any picture you want. for this you just download it from your computer and enjoy the game.

Why are pictures from pieces useful?

Puzzles develop imagination, spatial orientation, coordination of movements, fine motor skills of hands, thinking, patience, perseverance, attentiveness ... And these skills will definitely come in handy for the crumbs during kindergarten and school activities, games, communication with peers and competitions.

For children from one to 3 years old, puzzles with empty places, which need to be filled with large figures. The child determines by the contour what to put where. These are the so-called frame inserts. It can be animals, fruits, vegetables.

How to play with puzzles?

Imagine a fairy tale!

To interest a child in assembling a picture, you can come up with an unpretentious one. For instance:

Collecting a picture, in this way, will also develop speech, imagination, and the ability to express one's thoughts.

Arrange a competition!

Older children can be attracted to puzzle games with the help of competitions with ... parents! Buy several identical pictures and see who can complete the picture the fastest. Playing with mom and dad is a great opportunity to have fun, and it will also help unite the family with a common hobby.

Make your own puzzle!

Making a puzzle on your own is no less interesting, and also quite simple. To do this, you need to find a beautiful bright picture (cut out from a children's magazine, or take a child's drawing for this) and glue it on a sheet of A4 cardboard. Then cut your picture into several geometric shapes.

Having made the game with his own hands, the child will collect it with even more enthusiasm!

Jigsaw puzzles made from a family photo have a stunning effect. Today, you can order a service to create a puzzle from a photo in almost any city.

The main thing is to choose a puzzle according to the age of the child. The task should be moderately difficult and interesting for the child.

And after the theory, I suggest that you and your child assemble a digital puzzle right now! Such puzzles are also useful and interesting!

Amazing communication with children!

Warmly