Double-Sided Jigsaw Puzzles

A double-sided jigsaw puzzle is like a regular jigsaw except that when all the parts are put together it has a picture on each side (front and back) instead of one. Each piece is therefore two-sided with an image on both sides with which you must determine which side of the piece belongs to which jigsaw picture/side. This type of challenge gives you two pictures/sides to complete which is an upgrade on a normal jigsaw that just give the one picture/side to put together. The images on both sides can be completely different using different colours or the images can be very similar using similar colours or the image can even be the same just at different angles. The images on both sides could be related or completely unrelated to each other but they do often tend to be related to fit with the fact they are connected physically.

The level of difficulty for a double-sided jigsaw can vary just like a one-sided one can from easy to extremely difficult and they differ in difficulty because their features, which will determine their difficulty, can differ. One of these features that can differ is the images that need assembling as some images will be more difficult to put together than others, for example, a picture of a sky can have pieces that are very similar looking because skies can be mostly or entirely the same colour with repeated patterns so the pieces are going to look very similar and therefore can be hard to distinguish from one another. A double-sided jigsaw can be of differing number of pieces with the more pieces one has often the more difficult it will be to put together and the longer it will take to sort through the pieces and finish the puzzle. Determining which way round the pieces go can sometimes be very difficult and frustrating especially when similar or the same colour is used on both images and similar or the same images are on both sides of the jigsaw. Some of the most difficult jigsaw puzzles out there of any type are the double-sided kind especially when the image is the exact same on both sides but not the same way up but rotated 90 degrees which can be a nightmare to solve. A more challenging or different jigsaw challenge such as a double-sided one can be ideal when you are bored of doing standard single-sided challenges and can be an opportunity to improve your jigsaw and puzzle skills further. The level of difficulty on one side of a double-sided jigsaw may even be higher than on the other side and significantly so because the images or colours on each side can be different although it is more common that both sides of a double-sided challenge will be of a similar degree of difficulty. The shape and size of the pieces will also determine how difficult the jigsaw will be because with larger pieces you can see clearly and distinctly their shape which makes finding the other larger ones that connect to them easier. The shape or cut of the parts impacts the difficulty level because as with any jigsaw if it has pieces that are of different shapes and that are unique from each other it makes it easier to spot/find the matching or fitting ones as the matching pieces will also have a different and unique shape whilst on the other hand if a lot of the pieces are the same shape then you will be mainly reliant on just the image on them to aid you. Not knowing at all what the images or pictures are of a double-sided challenge beforehand and not looking at the box at all whilst putting it together can also make it more difficult to solve and assemble and you may also want the enjoyment and thrill of discovering what the pictures are by solving the puzzle first. Likewise doing it from only memory can be challenging which means you have seen the images of the double-sided jigsaw you need to complete beforehand but whilst assembling it you will not use the images on the box it came in at all as a guide just what you can remember of the images and the pieces themselves.

A double-sided jigsaw can be practised with single-sided ones to an extent as both types of jigsaws demand a lot of the same techniques in order to put them together and solve them so if you have extensive experience of single-sided challenges then you should be well prepared for most kinds of double-sided ones. However, there are some double-sided jigsaws that are very unique in the challenges they present and therefore could only be really be practised by actually doing them and you will, therefore, be learning as you go along. The first helpful task is to put all the pieces the right way up for the side/picture of the double-sided jigsaw you want to work on and spread them out so you can see them all clearly and if it is difficult to know which way up the pieces go then just ensure all of them are spread apart and can be observed clearly. When starting to put together a double-sided jigsaw, just like with a lot of other types of jigsaws, border parts are very helpful as they can be the easiest pieces to put together. Border parts are easy to identify as one of their edges will no be connectable and they are usually only a small percentage of the total pieces in number so shouldn't take too long to put all together and by putting all the border parts together you will have a framework to build on and go off. Dividing up and categorising the remaining non-border parts can be a very useful next step in which you could arrange them into categories of different colours, shapes, patterns or sizes so that they are easier to locate and sort through which can save a lot of time. Assembling inside the border the different parts of the picture separately from each other is a useful tactic in order to make what could be a big task into a series of little tasks, for example, with a picture of a house it could be that you assemble the roof pieces together separately and then likewise for the windows and door. Once these parts of the picture have been put together they can be positioned inside the border where they are supposed to go so that you can see the total picture taking shape and then you can start adding pieces or connecting these separate parts together or connecting these separate parts to the border with the other pieces you have left. Hopefully, by this point, you will have used up a lot of the pieces and the remaining potentially tricky ones (usually these are pieces or groups of pieces that have the same or similar image on them e.g. grass or sky as it can be very difficult to find corresponding connecting ones from a bunch of pieces that look the same especially when there are lot of them that are difficult to differentiate) are few in number and therefore manageable by trial and error if that is required. When there are a number of pieces that have very similar or identical looking images on them that are hard to differentiate then it can be worth it to check if there is a very small bit of the image that is located on the edge of the piece that is of a different colour which can be sometimes enough of a clue to know where it connects to and it may be helpful to get a magnifying glass to spot this possible small detail or any other minute detail that might differentiate it. For the rest of the pieces that have identical or similar-looking images on them then the shape of them may be enough to help you find corresponding connecting pieces as the tabs or sockets on them could vary in terms of how many there are on the pieces. The shape of the tabs and sockets could also vary or be unique which may make it clear which piece they connect to or the total size of the pieces may make it obvious or helpful as to where they go. It may come done to trial and error if you can't spot any clues as to where these pieces that have a similar or the same image on them go and by just seeing if they connect well with another piece without any force required. When jigsaw pieces fit together without force this is usually a good sign that they are a correct match but sometimes pieces that fit together well are not the correct match especially when a lot of the pieces are the exact same shape or don't vary in shape much. Looking at the picture on the box of the jigsaw you are trying to complete constantly to build a clear image of the jigsaw picture in your head can be a useful tip and make it easier to identify key pieces or where pieces go. The double-sided jigsaw that has the same picture on both sides but one picture is rotated 90 degrees from the other can be one of the most difficult challenges you can face when it comes to jigsaws and the task can seem overwhelming at first as it may seem impossible to tell which face of a piece belongs to which picture. However, it will be possible and there is a solution as the parts will only fit together correctly one way but it can just take a lot more time to sort through them than it would with a double-sided jigsaw of the same number of pieces that have different images on either side and that these images are the same way up. This is because you will not only be checking both sides of the pieces to find the one with the image you are looking for but then checking it is correct by seeing if it matches the images on both sides of the one you are connecting it to as every image on every piece will have a duplicate image on a different piece but these pieces that have the same duplicated image on one side of both of them can have different images that don't duplicate on their reverse sides due to fact that the picture on one side of the jigsaw is rotated 90 degrees from the other picture on the other side. What can make this particular type of double-sided challenge even more of a nightmare to solve is if there are on both pictures that need putting together images which look the same or are very similar looking that appear many times and the more times they appear the more difficult the challenge can be. When this occurs it will be any differentiation between these images that look the same or are similar however small that can help to know where pieces go and this can become a spot the difference challenge. Key skills required for difficult double-sided challenge are going to be patience and thoroughness as you search through and examine all the parts and also organisation to help find the pieces you are looking for more easily

Flipping a completed double-sided jigsaw over to see the other completed image on the reverse side can be a tricky task and one way to do this is to ensure that from the beginning until completion it is on a mat of some sort (one that doesn't bend and is solid) and that the whole completed jigsaw will fit on it. Then sandwich the puzzle between the mat and another flat sheet (something which is solid and doesn't bend like cardboard or another mat ) that covers the whole jigsaw and then flip it over whilst holding the 'sandwich' together at opposite ends tightly at all times so the jigsaw can't slip out and lay it down flat again. This may require a bit of practice to master and should be trialled with something that is not a jigsaw (another sheet of flat cardboard should suffice) first which doesn't have separate parts that will scatter everywhere whilst you get the hang of it and can do it successfully as doing it incorrectly with a jigsaw could lead to all the pieces being scattered everywhere. It may be that you don't want to flip a completed jigsaw over but that you have built up separate parts of a jigsaw apart from each other and that one of these separate parts needs flipping over as it belongs to the other side of the double-sided jigsaw. When this is the case you can gently slide the part/section of the jigsaw that needs flipping over onto a piece of paper that is big enough to fit this part of the puzzle on whilst trying not to disturb the other pieces. Then next carefully lift the paper with the part of the puzzle on it keeping the paper horizontal at all times by holding it at opposite ends and then carrying it to and then placing it flat onto a sheet of cardboard (that is solid and doesn't bend) which is bigger than the part of the jigsaw you want to flip over and that is away from the rest of the puzzle. Now place a sheet of cardboard (that is solid and doesn't bend) to sandwich the part of the puzzle you want flipping over with the cardboard sheet it is laying on ensuring this top cardboard sheet is bigger than the part of the jigsaw it is laid on. Then firmly grip the 'sandwich 'at opposite ends whilst turning it over and then place it down flat and remove what is now the top cardboard sheet. Then you can lift the jigsaw part with the cardboard that it is on and ensure they are kept horizontal at all times by holding it securely at opposite ends and take it back to where the jigsaw part originally was and just let it slide off slowly or gently push the puzzle part off the cardboard whilst not disturbing any of the other jigsaw pieces.

There are some distinct differences between doing two separate one-sided jigsaws and doing a single double-sided jigsaw such as you can do the two separate one-sided challenges together at the same time and actually see both pictures taking shape but with a double-sided challenge you will only see one side taking shape. Two one-sided jigsaws can each have different shaped pieces and borders which can make them two very different challenges whilst a double-sided jigsaw will have the same border and shaped pieces for each side of it. Likewise how two one-sided jigsaws pieces connect together can feel very different for each jigsaw but with a double-sided jigsaw, both sides when connecting the pieces together will feel the same. Obviously, you won't have to examine both sides of the pieces of one-sided jigsaws as you would with a double-sided one which can make them far less time consuming to put together and a less irritating process to do so. The image on one side of a double-sided jigsaw will have an impact on the difficulty level of the other side but with two separate one-sided challenges, they have no impact on the difficulty level of each other unless you mix them together.

In summary, if you are looking for a new jigsaw challenge then double-sided ones can provide this and this specific type of jigsaw, in particular, can be one of the most challenging you will try but there are easier ones for beginners that are essentially just two single-sided challenges in one jigsaw.