Highlights

Easy to Learn

Simple drag and drop interface that works for adults and children. A simple tutorial on "How To Play" is included.

Hard to Master

Puzzles range from easy (solve in minutes) through to very hard (an hour or more). But don't worry, your placed pieces are automatically saved so you can do the puzzle over several sessions. You can also turn on and off useful guides like outlines or a ghost image depending on how challenging you want it to be.

Fun and Educational

The maps span time from ancient eras to the modern day. A range of map types are also represented including world, country, city, story, constellations, geological and weather. Once a puzzle is completed you can explore a zoomed in version to read the fascinating details on the map.

Where is my data stored - can anyone else access it?

All of the app data is stored on your local device or your own personal Apple iCloud account.  It is not shared with the developer or available to anyone else.  Only those that have access to your devices have access to your data. 

By default your puzzle data is kept on your local device.  However, you can also choose to share your puzzle progress data between your devices using iCloud. 

Where do the puzzle images come from?

Every puzzle image has been sourced with licensing that allows commercial usage (e.g. WikiMedia Commons with appropriate Public Domain or CC licences).  Every image source is linked so the player can access all the original metadata including attribution and licensing information if desired.  When playing any puzzle, tap the "Image Details" button (to the left of the image title).  A Safari window will be opened displaying the original source page.

How do I turn Sound Effects on and off?

You can choose to turn off the background music by tapping the 'Settings' button on the Home screen (see the first image below) and then tapping the On or Off buttons as desired on the first setting (see the second image).

What is shared between the Mac and iPad versions of Map Puzzles?

Map Puzzles can be played on both your Mac computer (desktop or laptop) and your iPad.  

If you have both device types and use the same AppleID on each, then there is some special linkage between the two versions:

• Puzzle progress can be synched between your devices.

You can synchronise puzzle completion progress between your devices. You turn on iCloud synching on and off on the Setting screen.  See above (for Sound) on how to open the Setting page and then use the On and Off buttons next to the last 'Sync Between Devices with iCloud' option (see below).

TURN ON iCloud synching  to:

• Synchronise puzzle progress and puzzles completed between your iPads and Macs.

• Each device needs to be logged onto the same AppleID with iCloud enabled.

• Other settings (e.g. sound) are set separately on each device and not synchronised.

• This also saves your progress so it is not lost if you upgrade your iPad or Mac.

TURN OFF iCloud synching if:

• You want to keep puzzle progress separate on each of your devices.

Note: the above only applies between the same Puzzle App - i.e. Map Puzzles on both or Anatomy Puzzles on both. 

I'm Left Handed. How can I set this in Map Puzzles?

Map Puzzles uses the mechanic of dragging a puzzle piece with your finger to the correct place in the puzzle.  By default the apps assume you are right handed and offset the piece to your left so your finger and hand do not obscure the piece while you are moving it.  But what if you are left-handed?

Not to worry, all the puzzle apps have a left or right handed setting.  

How are the Puzzles Created?

It may come as a surprise to some but there is a lot of work involved in creating the puzzle files used in my Anatomy Puzzles, Art Puzzles, Map Puzzles, Poster Puzzles and Window Puzzles apps.  All up it takes around 30 - 40 hours to create the 14 puzzles in a single pack.

Here's a quick summary of the process used for each and every puzzle:

1. First of all I need to search the web for interesting images that are:

   • relevant to the pack being built, 

   • high enough resolution (at least 2000 pixels on the longest side), 

   • available for use in my apps (public domain or available under a suitable Creative Commons licence), 

   • and most importantly be interesting and beautiful.  

2. The above step alone can take some time and I will often search out at least 20 potential images for each pack - some don't make the grade in later steps.

3. Next, I use the "Affinity Designer" program on a Mac (or the iPad app "Procreate" for earlier puzzles):

   • prepare the image - crop out unwanted portions, improve brightness if needed etc.

   • resize the image to the required size for the puzzle apps

   • remove or add a background as needed - some images (particularly in Anatomy Puzzles) come with a transparent background.

   • add a new layer on top of the image - this will be the outline or frame which determines the shape of all the pieces in the puzzle.

   • examine the image to understand the best difficulty level (large pieces for easy and small details for hard puzzles).

   • understand the artistic decisions made by the original artist. Are the component edges distinct (Stained Glass windows have very well defined lines between segments but oil paintings do not)? Is the image geometric? What media did the artist use etc?  It is important that the shape and selection of pieces is in tune with the style of the original image.

   • then comes the most creative part of the process.  I hand draw curves in the new layer that define the edges of all the various pieces that will be created in the puzzle app.  This process can take a long time for very detailed puzzles.

   • once completed, I then look at the outline layer in detail to ensure all lines are smooth, joined up properly and any extraneous components erased.

   • I then save the image and the outline as separate files.

4. The image and outline files are gathered together into a pack and included in the appropriate version update of the puzzle app.

5. Meta-data about each image also needs to be recorded in the update, including:

   • Short title

   • Long description

   • Image attribution link

   • Colour to use for the background so the pieces stand out

   • Piece count

6. Then comes the testing.  I play each puzzle manually in the app to ensure that it works properly. I will sometimes need to fix something back in Affinity Designer and recreate the files used in the app.

7. And finally, all the coding in the App and setup in the App Store needs to be done to setup the In-App purchase so you lovely players can access the puzzles once the update has been reviewed and approved by Apple.

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into how a new puzzle pack is released.