# Assembling a jigsaw puzzle starting at the center **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 1, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assembling-a-jigsaw-puzzle-starting-at-the-center/929443 "2021-01-01T15:48:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assembling-a-jigsaw-puzzle-starting-at-the-center/929443/21 "2021-01-03T22:37:12Z")
I think respect would be the appropriate term rather than taboo. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assembling-a-jigsaw-puzzle-starting-at-the-center/929443/22 "2021-01-03T23:15:09Z")
I’ve commissioned hand cut jigsaw puzzles, and the artist never cuts up faces. There’s something weird and disconcerting about it. (Obviously, a puzzle that’s just a picture of a face would be different. Mine have been images where a face is about the size of a typical piece.) ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assembling-a-jigsaw-puzzle-starting-at-the-center/929443/23 "2021-01-03T23:37:17Z")
Generally when I think of a puzzle it’s cut into roughly equally sized pieces (aside from the border which is flat). The puzzles I’ve done (nothing fancy - the kind of puzzle box you get at Target) are mostly landscapes, but a few did have people or animals, in which case I’ve never noticed any relationship between what’s on the picture and where the puzzle is cut. But I haven’t done any fancy or specialty puzzles, so I’m certainly no expert! As far as custom puzzles go – FWIW my cousin got my grandparents a picture of all their grandkids as a puzzle, years ago when we were kids, at one of those stores where you bring in a picture and they print it on a puzzle for you, and it was cut into small pieces without regard for faces - but the people were rather large in the picture. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assembling-a-jigsaw-puzzle-starting-at-the-center/929443/24 "2021-01-04T03:42:01Z")
If the puzzle maker uses a standard die (or other cutting scheme) for the picture, then sure, faces may be cut up. But if the cut is designed for the picture, even in a small way, and the faces are small enough to fit within a standard piece, it’s normal to avoid cutting up faces. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assembling-a-jigsaw-puzzle-starting-at-the-center/929443/25 "2021-01-04T11:27:42Z")
Well, that explains it, and that’s what I get for weighing in when I’ve only done cheap mass-produced puzzles! I certainly won’t argue the matter against someone with the screen name “Puzz Legal” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assembling-a-jigsaw-puzzle-starting-at-the-center/929443/26 "2021-01-04T19:10:49Z")
You Sir, are probably going to Puzzle Jail over that crack! The jailers, though female, are _not_ nice. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assembling-a-jigsaw-puzzle-starting-at-the-center/929443.md?page=1)