Daily jigsaw puzzles cut from public-domain museum art
A new browser jigsaw every day from open-access museum paintings, with the story of the artwork at the end.
- Game
- Puzzle
- Easy build
- 4-6 weekends
- Researched by ProjPilot
The problem
Online jigsaw sites draw huge traffic, but most surround the puzzle with ads and use photos or user uploads. People who like art have no daily habit that pairs a puzzle with the painting behind it. Museums publish large collections of public-domain images that few games use.
For: Jigsaw fans · Art lovers · Older adults who want a calm daily game
Why now
The Met's Open Access program offers over 492,000 images of public-domain artworks under CC0, and the Art Institute of Chicago offers over 50,000 more for unrestricted use, with a free public API.
Demand signals
Monthly Google searches in the US, pulled 2026-09-24. These are the words people with this problem actually type.
What exists already
- Jigsaw Explorer ↗Free daily jigsaw, ad-supported; puzzles are hand-picked photos rather than museum art.
- Jigsaw Planet ↗Free and ad-funded; millions of user-made puzzles but no curated daily art puzzle.
- Artizen: Art Puzzles ↗Closest match: ad-free public-domain paintings on iOS and Android, but no daily puzzle and square pieces instead of jigsaw cuts.
MVP scope
- One daily puzzle in 3 sizes (48, 150 and 300 pieces)
- High-resolution images from CC0 museum collections, with credits
- Short note about the artwork after you finish
- Resume on any device; no account needed for the daily
- Streaks and a personal gallery of finished puzzles
- Archive of past puzzles for supporters
How it could make money
- Free daily puzzle; supporters $3/month for the archive and custom piece counts
- One banner ad outside the puzzle area on the free tier
Suggested stack
- PixiJS
- Cloudflare Workers + R2 for images
- Met and Art Institute of Chicago open-access APIs
Sources
- Open Access at The Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) (accessed 2026-09-24)
- Open Access Images (The Art Institute of Chicago) (accessed 2026-09-24)
- Art Institute of Chicago API documentation (accessed 2026-09-24)
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