How long does a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle take?

Par here is about 2 hours: the time your score is measured against at this size. The pictures at the top of the list above sort by colour and go faster; the ones at the bottom are mostly shape work.

Do I have to finish a 500-piece puzzle in one go?

No. Your board is saved as you play and the clock pauses while you are away, so you can come back to it in another sitting.

500-Piece Jigsaw Puzzles

Five hundred pieces is an evening's puzzle. On most pictures colour stops being enough at this size, and the knobs and holes do the rest of the work.

Par at this size is about 2 hours. Once a picture is cut into 500 pieces, about 9 in 10 pieces have a near-twin by colour on average, so the pictures below run from the easiest at this size to the hardest.

Playing at 500 pieces

Five hundred pieces suits a long sitting at a desk with a mouse, or two shorter ones. It can be played on a phone, but zooming in and out becomes part of the work.

The cut is 20 rows by 25 columns, and only 86 of the 500 pieces are edges, about 1 in 6. The board has twelve sections, four across and three down. On 50 of the 53 pictures, 7 or more pieces in 10 have a near-twin by colour at this size. Par allows about 16 seconds a piece.

Sort by shape as much as by colour. The cross in the piece finder filters by the shape of each side, sticking out, cut in or flat, and it works where colour has run out. Finish one section before opening the next, and leave the big areas of sky or water for the end, when few enough pieces remain to try each one in turn.

Questions people ask

How long does a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle take?: Par here is about 2 hours: the time your score is measured against at this size. The pictures at the top of the list above sort by colour and go faster; the ones at the bottom are mostly shape work.
Do I have to finish a 500-piece puzzle in one go?: No. Your board is saved as you play and the clock pauses while you are away, so you can come back to it in another sitting.