The Best Puzzle Apps That Are Just As Good As the Real Ones

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20 Puzzle Apps for Your PhonePixelsEffect - Getty Images


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A great way to pass long amounts of time at home is to complete a puzzle or play a game. But if you don't have a physical one on hand, phones and tablets have the ability to become tabletops for thousands of different jigsaw puzzles and online games. There are so many puzzle apps that allow people solve pictures in their own time, collaborate with friends online, and even create personalized puzzles.

If you're craving even more mental stimulation, this list also includes some brain teaser apps that'll keep you just as entertained. (One of them is even a virtual escape room designed to test your observation and code-cracking skills — how cool is that?) So if you're looking for something to do that will keep your brain sharp, check out the following puzzle game apps. Your brain will thank you later!

Totally Free Jigsaw Puzzles

Free

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Most of the apps on this list are free to download but have in-app purchases of extra puzzles. But not this one. As its name suggests, it's totally free and offers thousands of puzzle images to choose from.

jigsaw puzzle
Courtesy of Totally Free Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw Puzzles Real Jigsaws

Free

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This app is fun because it looks like you're doing a puzzle on a real table. You can sort through pieces on the sides of the puzzle before placing them in the picture itself, just like you would at home. Its catalogue of 2,400 photos is also completely free.

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Courtesy of Jigsaw Puzzles Real Jigsaws

Jigsaw Puzzle

Free

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Over 340,000 people have given this puzzle app 4.7 stars, and for good reason. There are more than 20,000 puzzle options, including a new free puzzle every day. If you have an iPad, you can complete puzzles up to 1,024 pieces. For phones, it goes up to 400 pieces.

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Courtesy of Jigsaw Puzzle

Jigsaw Puzzle ++

Free

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There are thousands of photos to choose from, and you can select the difficulty on each one depending on your puzzling mood. If you get stuck on a particularly hard piece, the game will also offer hints — something you can't get that with a real life jigsaw.

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Courtesy of Jigsaw Puzzle ++

Ravensburger Puzzle

Free

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For over a hundred years, Ravensburger has been producing real board games and puzzles. Choose from more than 2,000 pictures as well as different tabletop backgrounds for your perfect puzzle experience. No internet connection is required to play, making it perfect for traveling as well.

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Courtesy of Ravensburger Puzzle

Disney Jigsaw Puzzles

Free

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Disney fans, this one's for you. The pictures offered on this app are all Disney-themed, from movie stills to park photos. The more you play, the more free puzzles are unlocked — including free daily puzzles.

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Courtesy of Disney Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw Puzzles - Puzzle Games

Free

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The puzzle collection in this app is updated weekly, so you'll never run out of new pictures to complete. The app also offers hints for tricky puzzles and challenging mystery puzzles where you don't know what the picture is in advance.

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Courtesy of Jigsaw Puzzles - Puzzle Games

Jigsaw Puzzles Epic

Free

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Choose from over 10,000 HD photo puzzles in this app. It also features daily free puzzles, 11 difficulty settings, and the ability to even create your own puzzles with your personal photos.

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Courtesy of Jigsaw Puzzles Epic

Jigsaw Puzzles Clash

Free

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This multiplayer puzzle game allows you to challenge your friends on the same puzzle — whoever gets the most points wins. There's also a solo puzzle mode for days you just want to complete a picture in your own time.

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Courtesy of Jigsaw Puzzles Clash

Jigsaw Puzzle Collection HD

Free

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With tons of puzzles to choose from, including realistic photos and beautiful art, you'll be busy with this app. You can solve multiple puzzles at a time and save your work as you go along to return to at any time. You can also create your own custom puzzles with your photos.

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Courtesy of Jigsaw Puzzle Collection HD

Magic Jigsaw Puzzles

Free

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The pictures on these puzzles were curated from National Geographic and Sony Pictures, so they're simply stunning, and there's over 25,000 to choose from. But if you prefer your own customized puzzle, you can upload personal photos as well.

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Courtesy of Magic Jigsaw Puzzles

? Jigsaw Puzzle

Free

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With over 1,000 puzzles to choose from, you'll never get bored on this app. The available pictures are fun for adults or even kids to play.

puzzle-apps-star-Jigsaw Puzzle
Courtesy of * Jigsaw Puzzle

Titan Jigsaw Puzzles

Free

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This unique puzzle app offers multiple ways to solve the pictures. There's the standard jigsaw, a slider option, a puzzle piece swap mode, and one that requires rotating the pieces into place. There are over 5,000 photos to choose from that go up to 1,600 pieces.

puzzle-apps-titan-jigsaw
Courtesy of Titan Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw World

Free

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Jigsaw World offers puzzle competitions so you can test your skill alongside others. There's also an option to create your own puzzles if you get tired of the 10,000 options already in the game. The pictures can be up to 1,000 pieces each, which will keep you entertained for hours.

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Courtesy of Jigsaw World

I Love Hue

Free

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This puzzle app is a little different. Instead of completing a photo, you're supposed to arrange the colored squares in a gradient. This makes it a little more on the challenging side, but it's very soothing to take a totally mixed up bunch of colors and make them into a beautiful ombré.

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Courtesy of I Love Hue

Poly4u - 3D Polysphere Puzzle

Free

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Complete 3D pictures by sliding or rotating a bunch of fragments around your screen until they slot perfectly into place. There are hundreds of pictures to complete, and it's so addicting you'll always want to complete just one more.

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Courtesy of Poly4u

Block! Hexa Puzzle

Free

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This game seems simple enough. You get a handful of pieces and you have to make them fit into a shape. But, like with Tetris, there's a best way to place each block, and the challenge lies in finding that out. Fortunately there's no time limit, so you can take as long as you need to find the winning combination.

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Courtesy of Block! Hexa Puzzle

Agent A: A Puzzle In Disguise

$5.99

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Can't make it out to a real escape room? No problem. For $6, you can bring the escape room experience to your phone or iPad with this fun game. The escape room's theme is secret agent, and players must infiltrate an enemy spy's hideout using clues you pick up as you go.

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Courtesy of Agent A: A Puzzle In Disguise

Two Dots

Free

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This game is so simple and totally addictive. The goal is to connect lines of similarly colored dots in a set number of moves. As you clear each level, the game gets a little harder, and it's a totally fun challenge for your brain.

puzzle-apps-two-dots
Courtesy of Two Dots

2048

Free

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Swipe number blocks to add their values to attempt to reach 2048. It sounds easy, but it's a definite brain game. You don't need to be quick at math to play, though, you just have to be willing to sit and swipe away.

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Courtesy of 2048

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