🧩 ARTISAN JIGSAW

HOW TO PLAY ARTISAN JIGSAW

Example of the Aananto Artisan Jigsaw with loose shaped pieces, open tabletop space and partially joined clusters

ARTISAN JIGSAW – PLAYER HELP AND INSTRUCTIONS

Artisan Jigsaw is AANANTO’s full tabletop digital jigsaw experience.

Loose pieces, open space, sorting boxes and classic shaped cuts let you tease real jigsaw forms into place at your own pace.

Your aim is simple: join all the pieces together on the tabletop and complete the picture.

Unlike the fixed-board modes, Artisan behaves more like a real tabletop jigsaw.

Pieces begin loose. You move, sort, compare, join, store, restore, and gradually build the image.

ARTISAN JIGSAW – CONTROLS

STARTING A PUZZLE

When Artisan opens, you may see a full preview image first.
Select Play This Puzzle to begin, or choose another picture from the gallery.
Before the first move, you can adjust:
Pieces – changes the puzzle size.
Chaos / Edge Wiggle – changes how irregular or lively the jigsaw cuts feel.
Once play begins, these settings are locked until you restart or choose another image.

MOVING PIECES

Drag any loose piece around the tabletop.
When compatible pieces are brought close enough together, they join automatically.
Joined pieces form a cluster and can then be dragged together.
Clusters are treated as part of the developing jigsaw.
They are not placed into Sorting Boxes and are not captured by marquee selection.

GHOST IMAGE

Use Ghost to show or hide a faint reference image behind the puzzle area.
This can help you judge where pieces may belong, especially with larger or more complex puzzles.
Hide it when you want a cleaner tabletop or a purer challenge.

STATS

Use Stats to show or hide the compact progress display.
Stats may include elapsed time and joined-piece progress.
They are optional and can be hidden for a cleaner tabletop.

PAUSE

Use Pause to pause gameplay after the first move.
While paused, the tabletop is protected from accidental piece movement.
Use Resume to continue from where you left off.

RE-SCATTER PIECES

Use Re-Scatter Pieces to spread loose pieces around the tabletop again.
This affects loose single pieces only. Joined clusters remain together.
Re-scatter is useful when pieces become crowded, hidden, or difficult to inspect.

SORTING BOXES

Use Sort / Show Boxes to show or hide the Sorting Boxes.
Sorting Boxes sit at the sides of the tabletop.
They let you temporarily store loose pieces so the tabletop becomes less cluttered.

You might use them for:

edge pieces
sky or water
dark areas
strong colours
text or signatures
“maybe later” pieces

Only loose single pieces can be stored. Joined clusters stay on the tabletop.

STORING PIECES IN SORTING BOXES

Drag a loose piece onto a Sorting Box and release it.
The piece disappears from the tabletop and the box count increases.
You can also use marquee selection to gather several loose pieces, move them as a group, and drop the group into a Sorting Box.

VIEWING STORED PIECES

Click a non-empty Sorting Box to open its viewer.
The viewer shows the stored pieces as true jigsaw-shaped pieces, not simple rectangular thumbnails.
This makes it easier to inspect piece shapes, colours, and image detail.

In the viewer, you can:

Click a piece – return that piece to the tabletop.
Return All – return every piece in that Sorting Box.
Small / True / Large – change the display size of pieces inside the viewer.
Drag the viewer header – on tablet and desktop screens, move the viewer aside to see more of the tabletop.
Returned pieces appear on top of the tabletop pieces so they are easy to find.

RENAMING SORTING BOXES

Open the controls menu and choose Edit Sorting Boxes.
You can rename the visible Sorting Box labels for the current play session. For example:

Edges → Borders
Maybe → Later
Sky → Pale
Colour → Reds

Renaming a box does not affect the pieces stored inside it. It only changes the displayed name.
Use Reset to restore the default names.

MARQUEE SELECT

Use Select to turn on marquee selection.
When Select is active, drag across empty tabletop space to draw a selection rectangle.
Loose pieces inside the rectangle will glow.
You can then drag one selected piece to move the selected loose pieces together as a temporary group.

Important:

only loose single pieces are selected
joined clusters are not selected
selected pieces do not become a cluster
selection is a temporary movement aid
dropping a selected group into a Sorting Box stores the selected loose pieces

Use Select when you want to quickly gather a group of pieces by area, colour, or type.

PICTURE INFO

Use Picture Info to view information about the current image, such as name, author, dimensions, and copyright details.

FULL SCREEN

Use Full Screen for a more immersive tabletop.
This is especially useful on tablets, laptops, desktop screens, and larger monitors.

CHOOSING ANOTHER PICTURE

Use Choose Picture to open the gallery and select a new image.
Starting a new picture resets the current puzzle state.

RESTART

Use Restart to begin the current puzzle again.
Stored pieces, joined pieces, and current progress are cleared.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

On devices with a keyboard, some shortcuts may be available:

F – Full Screen
C – Controls
R – Re-Scatter Pieces
P – Picture Gallery
Esc – close open panels or overlays

TIPS FOR ENJOYABLE PLAY

Start by sorting obvious pieces: edges, strong colours, sky, water, shadows, text, or signatures.
Use the Ghost image when you want guidance, then hide it when you want a purer challenge.
Use Sorting Boxes to clear space, but open the viewer when you want to inspect stored pieces carefully.
Use Select to gather several loose pieces quickly, especially in larger puzzles.
Re-scatter loose pieces when the tabletop becomes crowded.
Most of all, take your time. Artisan Mode is designed for looking, sorting, remembering, and discovering – the quiet pleasure of a jigsaw puzzle brought to the screen.

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