Jigsaw puzzles are a wonderful way to spend leisure time. They have always been a very popular entertainment for all kinds of people. Jigsaw puzzles are not only fun but they are also a nice way to develop focus and an eye for detail.

There are hundreds of providers of jigsaw puzzles today, made for anyone from amateurs to hard-core professionals who design jigsaw puzzles to mystify even the most experienced players. Even though physical jigsaw puzzles still have their own appeal, online puzzles have captured a chunk of the players. Online jigsaw puzzles have as much appeal as the regular puzzles, if not more. Colorful animations, varying difficulty levels in a single game, and availability of hundreds of patterns are attracting a lot of players.

Online jigsaw puzzles can be downloaded on to the PC or they can also be played online. They are also available in CD-ROMs. The minimum basic hardware and software configuration required for online jigsaw puzzles are a Microsoft-compatible mouse; Windows 95/98/2000/XP; 32 or 64 MB RAM; 2X speed CD ROM; Netscape or Internet Explorer version 4 or higher with Java; and a Pentium 166 or 266 MHz processor. Most have specific software that has to be downloaded along with the puzzle.

Some of the online jigsaw puzzles are free and can be easily downloaded onto the PC, while others are for sale. These come with different difficulty levels such as easy, average, and difficult. The designs varied, and there are also 3-dimensional jigsaw puzzles and interactive puzzles with colorful and appealing animations.

Free puzzles usually come as an offer and are for a limited period only. Or, they have limited options for the players. The rest of the game has to be purchased. Other ways to get a free puzzle include signing up for certain offers in the site, or going for the buy-two-get-one-free or other such kinds of offers.

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Back in the old days when computers were still in their infancy, games were simple and not too many. The concept of internet was still to come and games were mainly standalone. They were being played on simple black and white screens and were falling short in terms of entertainment levels. These puzzle games were too simple, but were very enjoyable.

The world today has the internet at its threshold and games have gone online. They are being played by many players all over the world. The concept of the online game may be a unknown phenomenon to many. For them the online game is thus defined as a game that is being played simultaneously by many players all over the world. Hence online games are a world-wide craze.

The genre of online puzzle games is very interesting. There are many games that have gained major popularity in terms of the maximum number of times they get played. Games like Handy's Car involve assembling a car from the given parts by putting the parts in correct order. Then there is also another fantastic game called Rome Puzzle. The game involves clicking two squares in order to swap them and the major objective is to collect the maximum number of gems by lining up 3 gems in order to collect them. There are also many other puzzle games like Mahjong, Crab Jigsaw and many other games which are addictive to the next degree of insanity and fun. The puzzle games are not only fun to play but also sharpen up the aptitude and the reasoning power of the player. There are also some games which other than sharpening up the aptitude increase the decision making skills of the gamer.

For mathematicians there has existed a game which is a logic-based number replacement puzzle. This game known as Sudoku has the major objective to fill up a 9 x 9 grid so that each row as well as each column and each 3 x 3 box has digits from 1 to 9. This though sounds very simple is actually very complex as the digits must not be repeated in each of the boxes. The genre of online puzzle games has the online version of this game and therefore the 'Online Sudoku' is very famous and popular. There are different Sudoku puzzles like 'Auway Sudoku' and 3D Sudoku which have a large number of players playing them.

Puzzles are always very interesting to solve and online puzzle games make a lot of gamers hooked up to their computers in their homes or on PC's in the cyber cafes for hours and hours.

Jigsaw puzzles have always been fascinating; the concept of putting small pieces together to make a beautiful picture provides a certain thrill. The more difficult the puzzle, the greater the sense of adventure and challenge. Jigsaw puzzles are still one of the most popular games even on the Internet. With colorful animations, varying difficulty levels in a single game and availability of hundreds of patterns, jigsaw puzzles are attracting a lot of new players as well. These puzzles come with different difficulty levels such as easy, average, and difficult.

The three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles are the most challenging as well as exciting. The designs are unique and include almost any theme under the sun like fairytale fantasies; natural beauty comprising of flowers, globes, maps, space, landscapes, ocean, beaches, plants; festivals such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween; or everyday things like school, automobiles, sports, summer, traveling, weather; and movie-based themes like Lord of the Rings, Mickey Mouse, Finding Nemo and Winnie the Pooh; as well as enthralling castles, buildings, airplanes, ships, world-famous landmarks, and even huge forests, whole cities and even the Empire State building! Some even glow in the dark. The sizes also vary greatly ranging from 150 pieces to 3000 pieces or even more, with varying difficulty levels. Prices range from $8.00 to $45.00 or more. The smallest puzzle measures around 6”x7”x8” while the largest may be as large as 60”x50”x25”.

Another model is the wooden 3-D jigsaw puzzle. Wooden puzzles are made of high quality plywood and are suitable for people of all ages. They also make unique gifts. Some of the popular designs in this are whales, air crafts, carousels, roosters, crocodiles, elephants, dolphins, cars and buildings. Prices of these puzzles start from $5.00.

Most of these 3-D jigsaw puzzles can be bought from games stores. They can also be purchased online. There are several sites that are offering these puzzles for sale. These can be viewed, compared, and even ordered online.