About Jigsaw Puzzle Die Pieces

  Most jigsaw puzzle dies are square, rectangular, or round, with edge pieces that have one side that is either straight or smoothly curved to create this shape, plus four corner pieces if the puzzle is square or rectangular.

  Some jigsaw puzzle dies have edge pieces that are cut just like all the rest of the interlocking pieces, with no smooth edge, to make them more challenging. Other puzzle dies are designed so the shape of the whole puzzle forms a figure, such as an animal. The edge pieces may vary more in these cases.

The most common layout for a thousand-piece puzzle is 38 pieces by 27 pieces, for a total count of 1,026 pieces.

The majority of 500-piece puzzles are 27 pieces by 19 pieces = 513 pieces.

A few puzzles are made double-sided, so that they can be solved from either side. This adds a level of complexity, because it cannot be certain that the correct side of the piece is being viewed and assembled with the other pieces."