White Jigsaw

White Jigsaw

Browser - Screenshot - Title.

Developer Gamedesign Publisher Gamedesign Published 2006-10-?? Platforms Browser Genres Jigsaw puzzle, Passive puzzle, Puzzle, Single-screen

White Jigsaw is a puzzle video game developed and published by Gamedesign as a browser game in October 2006. The original game has been taken offline and was replaced by White Jigsaw 2.

The game is just a simple all-white jigsaw puzzle with fully-interlocking pieces. It starts at a simple 4x3, but, each time you solve the current puzzle, it is replaced by one of the same size, but at a higher piece-density. The second puzzle is 5x3, then 6x4, 7x5, 8x6, and so on. Each puzzle takes exponentially longer to solve as the all-white design doesn't give any hints as to how the pieces fit, so you must rely on their cutout shape. However, as the pieces get smaller, this becomes harder to identify and you must use Flash's zoom feature.

Personal

When I found out about Gamedesign, I found this game as well. I remember getting up into the teens in an attempt to finally find the end, but eventually giving up. In 2022, I found an old messageboard where a player mentioned they were spending several days on a single puzzle and reached 42x31, which was pretty good evidence that the game wouldn't end. After that, I figured out how the save game file works and tried increasing through a number of levels. Eventually, I put myself on a level that had pieces so small they were just a bunch of black dots. Unless the game checks for a victory condition upon finishing a level, I'm pretty confident that it never ends. In a way, this made me both happy and annoyed. Happy to know that I don't have to keep trying to beat it, but annoyed that the developer didn't make it clear from the beginning. I also discovered that, by hacking the save file, you can generate non-integer ratios!

This game is free. It can't be beaten.

Review

4	5	3	1	5

Best Version: Browser

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The game is an enjoyable calming experience... for awhile.
• Unlike a lot of puzzle games, the game engine doesn't automatically connect pieces, it only snaps them to the grid. This prevents you from being able to "cheat" by quickly moving pieces all over the place.
• The generation code is quite nice. The pieces are all unique and look like legitimate jigsaw pieces.

Bad

• As you get further into the game, the pieces keep getting smaller, and they eventually become too small to see clearly. You can use Flash's built-in zoom feature, but this is a pain to deal with.
• Since Flash is no longer supported by modern browsers, you'll have to play it in a Flash emulator. Also, the original version of the program was replaced with version 2, and there is no longer a link to it on the publisher's site.
• The game saves into your browser's storage area, making it difficult to backup or transfer your save game, and, if you ever clear your cache, it gets deleted!

Ugly

• As far as I can tell, the game never ends. Online, commenters have claimed to have reached 42X31 with tiny pieces, and I have hacked the saved game file to put myself on 160x120 (while it was loading, Flash warned me several times that the program had stopped responding). A never-ending game that isn't declared as such from the get-go is not good game design.

Media

Screenshots

• 

  The title screen is rather zen.

• 

  It starts with a 4x3 puzzle, a mere 12 pieces.

• 

  At 8x6 features (48 pieces), we're beginning to be challenged.

• 

  Your tired eyes will be squinting if you can make it to 20x15 (300 pieces).

• 

  By hacking the save game file, you can witness sheer terror! 64x48, 3,072 pieces!

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	There are no characters.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There are no characters.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	There are no characters.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no characters.

Download

There is no longer a link to the original White Jigsaw on the developer's Web site (though it still exists if you know the exact URL). Because of this, I'm making it available for download here. You can run it in the Flash Player Projector Content Debugger.

• Download (Info) - White Jigsaw.

Links

 

• jayisgames.com/review/white-jigsaw.php - JayIsGames review.