Jigsaw
Puzzles and Maker
Barbara J. Feldman
"Let me try!"
"I wanna play!" There is something very engaging about these
online jigsaw puzzles. Try playing one,
and see what happens when a family member walks by and sees what's on the
screen. The puzzles vary from easy to
ridiculously difficult – and either require the free Shockwave download
(http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/)
or a Java-enabled
browser.
It is well worth your while to download this free software
because it is being used more and more each day. You'll understand what I mean once you view it.
Freddi Fish Jigsaw Rambler
http://www.humongous.com/channels/freddistuff/hoedown/ff4_puzzles/jigsawIntro.htm
These four timed-play
Freddi Fish Shockwave jigsaws range from Tadpole (twelve easy pieces) to
Shark (fifty-six puzzle pieces.)
There's even a contest, so you can enter your fastest times to be
displayed on the Top Wranglers board.
For more Freddi Fish fun (brought to you by kids software publisher
Humongous
Entertainment), click on "Back to the Hoe Down."
Jigsaw Puzzle Maker
http://www.shockwave.com/bin/shockwave/main/frame_set.jsp?keyword=puzzlemaker
Wow! Shockwave
Jigsaw Puzzle Maker not only allows you to solve their jigsaws, but also to
create jigsaw puzzles from your own photos.
And after you've created your personal jigsaw puzzle, you can save it
locally to play offline (using the free Shockwave Shockmachine download) or
email it to friends and family. Now,
instead of simply emailing your baby pictures (or wedding photos or vacation
pix), you can send them as jigsaw puzzles!
There is a fine line, however, between delight and frustration, so use
this feature with caution.
Jigzone
Jigzone is the grand daddy of online jigsaw puzzle
sites. They have a huge inventory of
Java puzzles at all levels of difficulty, feature a new picture daily, and
allow you to email puzzles to friends. But what I liked best was being able to
control both the number of pieces and their shape. For example, start with their
puzzle of the day.
Is the sixty-seven piece classic a tad too difficult or perhaps too
easy? Click on Shapes and choose your own
level of difficulty from among thirty-three choices, ranging from a six-piece
classic (preschool easy) to 240 square pieces (for serious puzzle enthusiasts
only!)
MaMaMedia Jigsaw Puzzles
http://www.mamamedia.com/activities/jigsaw/home.html
This collection of colorful children's Java jigsaws is
arranged into twelve topics (such as Aliens, Pet Parade and Big Sports.) Many of the puzzle illustrations were
created by other MaMaMedia kids. You can submit your own computer-created
drawing via email too, as long as you register first. All of the puzzles are a
twelve-piece design, and you can choose among four
different shapes by clicking Change Shapes.
If you need a bit of help, click Hint to get the puzzles pieces outlined
on the puzzle board.
Scrambler for Kids
http://www.edbydesign.com/kidsact.html#Scrambler
Scrambler is a Java tiled-jigsaw that is fun for the whole
family because you are timed as you play at one of three levels of difficulty.
Easy divides the picture into nine tiles, medium into twelve, and hard into
sixteen tiles. Little ones will need
help
choosing a picture, then pressing "Load" and
"Scramble". But as soon as they see the scrambled tiles, they will
understand what to do next. Can you beat your preschooler? Those little mouse clickers
can be fast!