100, 300, 500 or 1000 Pieces? How to Choose

The piece count decides how long the puzzle lasts, how much table it occupies, and whether the person you are giving it to enjoys it or resents it. It matters more than the image.

How long each takes

For one adult working steadily, with a photo of average difficulty:

| Pieces | Typical time | Table needed | |--------|--------------|--------------| | 100 | 20–40 minutes | a tray | | 300 | 1–2 hours | a coffee table | | 500 | 3–5 hours | a dining table for an evening | | 1000 | 8–14 hours | a dining table for a week |

Two people working together are faster than one, but not twice as fast — you spend some of the time looking for pieces the other person is holding.

Which to give

• 100 pieces — children under about eight, or an adult who wants a single satisfying sitting.

Also the right choice for a portrait, which puzzles harder than it looks.

• 300 pieces — an evening. The safest gift if you do not know how much someone likes puzzles.
• 500 pieces — the default gift. Long enough to feel substantial, short enough to finish.
• 1000 pieces — for someone who has said, unprompted, that they like puzzles. Given to anyone

else it becomes furniture.

The thing people get wrong

Piece count and difficulty are not the same thing. A 1000-piece photo of a bookshelf is easier than a 500-piece photo of a beach, because difficulty comes from how much of the image is distinguishable. If you are choosing a photo with large flat areas — sky, water, snow — drop one level from what you were going to pick.

Size is decided by piece count

More pieces means a larger finished puzzle, not smaller pieces. Our 500-piece board finishes at 480 × 340 mm. That matters if the puzzle is destined for a frame, and it matters for the photo: a larger print needs more resolution to stay sharp. We check yours automatically when you upload it, and tell you the largest count it will carry.