Interested in Virtual Team Building Events?
10 mins 
Are you out of virtual office game ideas? Think again, there might be a blast from the past that will keep everyone engaged. We are talking about classic jigsaw puzzles, or in today’s scenario, virtual jigsaw puzzles. We all recall being occupied for hours fitting puzzle pieces by the drawing behind the box. And now, in this tech-driven world, virtual jigsaw puzzles are a great way to pass the time.
If you want to have a great time with your colleagues, virtual puzzles for team building are your go-to. This blog will give you an idea of the best virtual jigsaw puzzles and how you can host one for your team.
1. What is a Virtual Jigsaw Puzzle?
Jigsaw puzzles consist of pieces that have to be mixed up or rearranged to fit and create a picture. The very first jigsaw puzzle was made by London mapmaker John Spilsbury in the 1760s. Most virtual puzzles for teams have instructions or helpful hints to help the players move the pieces.
Virtual jigsaw puzzles may have online multiplayer or single-user versions that can be played via a phone or a computer with internet access. Some games and apps can be downloaded to play offline with teammates and friends. Engage in virtual jigsaw puzzles for an enjoyable challenge with your team. Assemble uniquely shaped pieces to reconstruct the picture, creating a fun and interactive experience.
2. Best Websites to Play Virtual Jigsaw Puzzles
2.1. Microsoft Jigsaw
Microsoft Jigsaw is one of the best free jigsaw puzzle apps available in the market. All you need is a Windows tablet or a computer that supports both mouse and touchscreen controls. There are themed puzzle virtual puzzle games that can be unlocked by completing virtual jigsaw puzzles. You can even buy them with in-game coins.
SIWOM's Take: The best thing about Microsoft Jigsaw is its Jigsaw Jam mode, which makes solving the virtual jigsaw puzzle for team building more of a race against the clock than a slow-paced activity.
2.2. Jigsaw Planet
Jigsaw Planet features thousands of jigsaw puzzles online free on the website. You can find them either on top lists or by searching in the toolbar at the top of the site. All the virtual jigsaw puzzles can be played within the website’s window or in full-screen mode. The game doesn’t require you to download or plugin to play the puzzles.
SIWOM's Take: What we like most about Jigsaw Planet is that the puzzles work well on every screen size and automatically adjust the size and number of puzzle pieces. Also, you don’t need a membership to play the virtual puzzle games. But you’ll need one if you want to rate the challenges.
2.3. Games Games
The Games Games website has thousands of free virtual puzzles for teams that can be played directly from any popular web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox. There are various themes as well like food, cities, Disney characters, etc. Moreover, you don’t have to download any plugins or apps.
SIWOM's Take: Each virtual jigsaw puzzle for team building has three difficulty levels to choose from. The easiest ones have fewer larger pieces while the harder ones have several smaller pieces making this perfect for all levels.
2.4. Jigsaw Explorer
Jigsaw Explorer is another website for free online jigsaw puzzles. It features virtual puzzle games in an easy-to-read style and has almost no ads. To play the virtual jigsaw puzzles, you can type the category in the search bar. Users can also upload their own images to the site to create new puzzles that can be shared with friends.
SIWOM's Take: We just had to scroll through the website and explore all the puzzles. Moreover, the puzzles also showcased the popularity level, so we could choose better. However, there weren’t many categories to choose from, so the limited selection was a bit disappointing.
2.5. Jigsaw Puzzle
Jigsaw Puzzle has a mix of free jigsaw puzzles and also several paid puzzle packs. The website has HD resolution for all of its imagery and also allows you to specify exactly how many pieces you'd like to have in a jigsaw via a slider.
SIWOM's Take: When downloaded, the app comes pre-installed with several virtual puzzle games. You can even download the rest of the library with the tap of a button.
2.6. Magic Jigsaw Puzzle
Magic Jigsaw Puzzles is by far one of the best-designed free jigsaw puzzle apps in the Google Play Store. The app has an interactive interface and you can begin playing without the need for navigating through multiple menus or screens. The app has a range of virtual puzzles for team building that can be purchased. The lowest package is valued at $1.45.
SIWOM's Take: New jigsaw puzzles get added at least once a month. Players have the choice of downloading puzzle packs that suit their tastes. What’s more, you can create puzzles with 650 pieces and play with your friends.
2.7. JigZone
JigZone has a dynamic layout and showcases the many online puzzle games for employees. All you need to do is move your mouse's cursor over the background images to select a puzzle, choose a difficulty level and begin playing.
SIWOM's Take: One drawback is that these online puzzles for adults are not mobile-friendly and it doesn’t support touch gestures at all.
2.8. Ravensburger’s Puzzle
This puzzle has a simple setup. All you need to do is go to the website and decide if you’d rather join an active game or start a new one For instance, if you choose an active game, it will show you the percentage completed, the number of pieces, and the players currently playing. Otherwise, if you start a new puzzle, you’ll have to start from the beginning.
SIWOM's Take: The app download is free which is great. But what we really liked about this online jigsaw puzzles free game is the color-coded tiles. If you put two tiles together correctly they change color. All the others remain black and white till the time you place them correctly.
2.9. ePuzzle
We gave the ePuzzle online puzzle game a shot as well. Five of us logged in to the website and chose a category. The website showcased the rules of the game such as the 3-minute time limit and limitations on moves as well.
Before entering the game, we gave our names, country details, and email addresses. After the game started, the pieces started moving and it took us about 1 minute to get the image in our minds. But with a team, we managed to complete the jigsaw puzzles online for teams within the next 2 minutes.
SIWOM's Take: This is one of the best free online jigsaw puzzles that we tried out. It was easy to play the game and the instructions were clear for everyone to understand.
2.10. Jigidi
All you need is to sign in and create a profile to play online jigsaw puzzles in Jigidi. There are a variety of best online jigsaw puzzles for adults that you can choose from.
You can even play this online puzzle game without signing in. But you won’t be able to save your progress or chat with the community behind the site. The site allows you to create your puzzle as well.
SIWOM's Take: We like the fact that you can create your own puzzles on this website and do not need an account to be able to play.
2.11. JSPuzzles
JSPuzzles offers a plethora of jigsaw puzzle online free. Starting from 9-piece puzzles to puzzles with 100 pieces. Moreover, the site has a lot of categories. Users can even create their own puzzles.
You can compete with others as well. Besides, there's also a leaderboard that lets you compare the time it takes you to complete a puzzle with the best time so far, as well as the average times.
SIWOM's Take: What sets JSPuzzles apart is the competitive edge - teams can engage in friendly competition and track their puzzle-solving times on a leaderboard, and even create personalized puzzles.
2.12. I'm-a-puzzle
While Im-a-puzzle has thousands of virtual jigsaw puzzles to play and solve, it has unique features that set it apart. You can solve trivia puzzles, where you have to answer questions to unlock puzzle pieces. For even more fun, you can create your puzzle by uploading an image, and then share it with your friends to solve.
SIWOM's Take: The platform allows users to create personalized puzzles by uploading images and also users to share and solve each other's creations.
3. How to Host Awesome Jigsaw Championships for Your Remote Teams?
3.1. Plan the Event
Begin by setting a date for the event and compiling a list of invitees, ensuring you send out invitations via email or phone. Select a suitable virtual meeting platform, such as Zoom or Skype, to facilitate smooth communication during the event.
3.2. Select Teams
After you have planned the event and invited the participants. You can create groups or teams of players who will be competing. Following that, you have to inform them about the teams. To make it more lively, you may give creative names to the teams and also define the roles and responsibilities of the members. For instance, every team can have puzzle masters, team commanders, or game leads.
3.3. Select The Puzzles
On the day of the event, you have to share the virtual jigsaw puzzles with the teams. You can get help from the websites or apps and send puzzle links to the teams. All you need to do is look through the websites or apps and find the best online jigsaw puzzles for employees. Following that, you have to explain the rules of the game. Some websites even let you create your own puzzles.
3.4. Set a Time Limit and Enjoy!
When everything is said and done, now is the time to start the online jigsaw puzzle
event. You can set the time limit for each phase and eliminate one team after each phase. It will notch up the competition. Ultimately, the team that finishes the final round first will be declared the winner.
4. FAQs
4.1. Is doing jigsaw puzzles good for your brain?
When you play a game of jigsaw puzzle, it helps in improving your focus. Moreover, it assists in enhancing the problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making skills of the individual. So yes, like brain teasers, jigsaw puzzles are also good for your brain.
4.2. What is the best free jigsaw puzzle app?
Rather than one, there are various free virtual puzzles for teams. Some free jigsaw puzzles for adults are Microsoft Jigsaw, Jigsaw Puzzles, Magic Jigsaw Puzzles, and Ravensburger’s Puzzle.
4.3. How do I host virtual jigsaw puzzle events for free?
To host virtual jigsaw puzzle events for free, start by selecting a cost-free virtual meeting platform like Zoom or Google Meet. Set a convenient date and invite participants through email or messaging. Explore online platforms offering free jigsaw puzzle games, such as Jigsaw Explorer or Jigsaw Planet, suitable for team engagement.
4.4. Do virtual jigsaw puzzles actually help with team building?
Jigsaw puzzles are a great team-building exercise. It allows participants to interact with each other and get into a friendly competition while they put the pieces together.
