Online jigsaw puzzles for seniors: easy to see, free, no ads

What makes an online jigsaw easy to use

Plenty of puzzle sites are hard work before the puzzle even starts: adverts that cover the table, pop-ups, sign-up forms, tiny pieces and a clock counting up in the corner. For anyone who just wants a calm puzzle, especially someone less used to phones and tablets, these are the things to look for:

• No adverts and no pop-ups. Nothing should jump in front of the pieces or ask for anything mid-puzzle.
• No account or password. Open the page and play.
• Pieces you can see. A sensible piece count for the screen, and a way to zoom in close.
• Forgiving pieces. Pieces should join when you drop them roughly in the right spot, not to the exact pixel.
• No time pressure. A clock you can hide, and no penalty for taking all week.
• Your place kept. Close the tablet, come back tomorrow, and the puzzle is as you left it.
• A picture of the finished puzzle, like the box lid, always to hand.

Yuzool's Jigsaw was made to work this way. It is free, runs in the web browser on a tablet, phone or computer, needs no account, shows no adverts and saves every piece's place as you go.

Choosing a piece count you can see

The number of pieces is the single biggest choice. On a small screen, more pieces means smaller pieces. As a guide:

Those ranges come from measuring the app with the whole table in view: on a phone a piece is about 47 pixels across at 24 pieces and 34 at 48; on a tablet, 59 at 48 and 46 at 80; on a laptop, 51 at 80 and 33 at 200. Apple suggests 44 points as the smallest comfortable thing to touch, so past those counts it is worth zooming in.

Start smaller than you think. A 48-piece puzzle is a pleasant quarter of an hour on a tablet, and it is easy to go up a size next time. Jigsaw's start sheet shows the real number of pieces and the grid for each choice (for example 80, 10 × 8), and remembers the size you used last.

Setting it up for someone else

If you are setting up a tablet for a parent, grandparent or a resident in a care home, it takes a couple of minutes:

1. Open the page. Go to yuzool.com/jigsaw in the tablet's browser.
2. Add it to the home screen. In the browser's Share or menu button choose Add to Home Screen, so it opens from an icon like any app. It works without a connection once it has been opened.
3. Pick a first puzzle together. Choose a picture from the gallery and a size, perhaps 24 or 48 pieces to begin with.
4. Add a few family photos. Tap Add a photo and choose pictures of grandchildren, a garden or a favourite place. They stay on that tablet and are never uploaded. Our guide to making a jigsaw from a photo has tips on which photos work best.
5. Adjust the settings. In Settings (the cog), turn off Show the clock if a timer would feel like pressure, and turn Sound or Vibration off or on to taste. The table colour can be green baize or slate, whichever makes the pieces stand out more.

Up to 12 puzzles can be on the go at once, each kept with every piece where it was left, so a puzzle started on Monday is still there on Friday.

The helpers: picture, ghost, edges and sort

An online table can do a few things a real one can't, and they are the difference between a puzzle that is fun and one that is frustrating:

A piece dropped in its right place on the board locks there and can't be knocked out of place by a stray finger. Dragging over finished work moves the view instead, which is easier than it sounds and stops accidents.

Pieces join when they are dropped close to where they belong, not only when exactly lined up, and the game gives a finger a little more room than a mouse. A soft click, and a small vibration on phones that have it, says that two pieces have joined.

Tips for shaky hands, tired eyes and small screens

• Zoom in to work. Pinch outwards with two fingers to make the pieces bigger, or use the mouse wheel on a computer. Tap Fit to see everything again.
• Use a stylus. A cheap rubber-tipped stylus can be easier than a fingertip on a tablet.
• Prop the tablet up. A stand at a slight angle is easier on the neck and wrists than a tablet flat on a table.
• Use a keyboard instead of dragging. On a computer, press Tab to reach the table, then the arrow keys move a cursor, Space picks up and puts down a piece and N jumps to the next loose piece. + and − zoom.
• Choose a picture with strong colours. The Patterns pack (a patchwork quilt, painted tiles, a button box, a bookshelf, pick and mix) has bold, distinct colours all over, which are easier to tell apart than soft landscapes.
• Turn the screen brightness up, and pick whichever table colour gives the pieces the most contrast.

A puzzle a day

Many people like a small daily habit. The Daily jigsaw is one picture a day, about 60 pieces, the same for everyone. It counts your days in a row, and it is free every day. It makes a good shared conversation too: everyone in the family can do the same puzzle and compare times, or simply say they have done it.

For a change from jigsaws, the same kind of calm, no-pressure play is in Solitaire and Word Search, both free on Yuzool and both working on a tablet.