Keep your brain sharp with these puzzles and games you can play on your phone.
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!
1
Puzzmo
Free
A collaborative game platform, Puzzmo's site offers an extensive library of puzzles and brain teasers, including all kinds of crosswords and Apple Arcade favorites like Flipart. It's also designed to be community-forward, with the option for multi-player modes and a points-based ranking system.
2
Totally Free Jigsaw Puzzles
Free
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.
3
2048
Free
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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4
Two Dots
Free
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.
5
Jigsaw Puzzles Real Jigsaws
Free
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.
6
Block! Hexa Puzzle
Free
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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7
Jigsaw Puzzle
Free
Over 392,000 people have given this puzzle app 4.6 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.
8
Agent A: A Puzzle In Disguise
$5.99
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.
9
Jigsaw Puzzle ++
Free
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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10
Disney Jigsaw Puzzles
Free
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.
11
Jigsaw Puzzles - Puzzle Games
Free
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.
12
Jigsaw Puzzles Epic
Free
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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13
Jigsaw Puzzles Clash
Free
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.
14
Jigsaw Puzzle Collection HD
Free
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.
15
Magic Jigsaw Puzzles
Free
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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16
Titan Jigsaw Puzzles
Free
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.
17
Jigsaw World
Free
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.
18
I Love Hue
Free
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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19
Poly4u
Free
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.
Martha Sorren
Martha Sorren isa freelance writer for Bustle, Refinery29, Woman's Day, and INSIDER.
