Completing jigsaw puzzles is a challenging and popular hobby, but now scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S. and Tel Aviv University in Israel have for the first time developed a probabilistic graphical model to solve a jigsaw puzzle consisting of 400 square pieces.

The graphical model, developed by Taeg Sang Cho and colleagues can solve puzzles of any image or photograph with a full range of colors, while the previous jigsaw solvers could only handle sharp images of limited colors. The previous record for jigsaw-solving by a computer was achieved [Read More...]

So you live in a really, really expensive house. Or a really, really modern art sort of house. You’d like something odd, something nice, something wild. You’d like to try to find something made entirely out of metal, and shaped like a puzzle piece. Perfect! Here it is! The new Dondola furniture set by Defne Koz for Megaron. Made of stainless steel formed in a way that makes it suitable for the domestic environment.

These furniture bits use a new welding technology that allows completely seamless volumes with “no part-lines, no visible welding  [Read More...]

It’s a puzzler! How do you make bathing a fun experience for all ages? Simple. With our Puzzle Piece Soap Set, getting clean has never been more fun! Each individual soap puzzle piece fits together to create one giant puzzle soap. Sharpen your mind and soap up your skin all at the same time!

Our fruit scented Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Soap Set contains six assorted color, hypoallergenic, glycerin, vegan soaps that interlock with one another. Great for kids learning colors and hand/eye coordination or makes for an delicious [Read More...]

Picnic in the Park 100-piece Jigsaw Puzzle Game is part jigsaw puzzle part educational game.

The WackyWorld “Picnic in the Park” 100-piece Puzzle Game teaches kids to see and understand differences. Put together the puzzle then play the Observation Game.

The full-color game sheet looks like the puzzle, but there are actually 20 differences between them. Can you find them? For ages 5-12 years. Completed puzzle size of 24″x18″.

Available from Amazon.com for $29.99 Happy Puzzling!

Tags: Jigsaw

Customers who visit any A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts store during the March 1st through April 17th time-frame will be able to donate $1 to Easter Seals’ Act for Autism campaign at checkout. The money raised will support Easter Seals autism services in those same local communities, giving thousands of children and adults with autism access to critical services that help them live, learn, work, and play.

At the culmination of these efforts, A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts will host free in-store “Make and Take” craft events at its 135 locations on April [Read More...]

TDC Games, a well-known maker of board games and unusual jigsaw puzzles, just released Green Pieces. Earth Friendly Jigsaw Puzzles is a series of four 500 piece jigsaw puzzles that have been laminated with a special paper that contains the seeds of various wildflower species.

“Planting the pieces will actually grow flowers,” says Larry Balsamo, president of TDC Games. “They take a while, but if you water them regularly, they will look pretty and also reduce your carbon footprint.”

Aside from having the capability of growing everything from Evening Primrose [Read More...]

The New Yorker has recently turned 85 years of magazine covers into online jigsaw puzzles.

Choose a level of difficulty from 1 to 3 and an easy-to-use app will randomly pick a cover going back to 1925 for you to tackle. From Saul Steinberg’s ‘View of the World from 9th Avenue’ to the Obama family terrorists, you can assemble hundreds of cover illustrations without ever repeating. Happy Puzzling!

Tags: Jigsaw