According to a study by the National Institute of Health (NIH), jigsaw puzzles can help combat cognitive decline and reduce the risk of developing dementia among older adults.
Other studies show improvement in short-term memory, problem-solving skills and other mental health benefits for seniors who regularly solve jigsaw puzzles.
Seniors love playing games and solving puzzles on their iPads because of the large screen size, lightweight and senior-friendly interface of the Apple iPads. Solving puzzles is one of the best iPad activities for older adults.
Here are the 5 best jigsaw puzzle apps for iPad that are highly rated and loved by older adults.
5 Jigsaw Puzzle Apps for iPad
Here are the 5 best Jigsaw apps to get on seniors’ iPad after it is setup for them. These apps have millions of downloads and 4.5+ ratings on the app store.
1. Jigsaw Puzzles by Easy Brain
This is one of the world’s most download jigsaw puzzle games and the best jigsaw puzzle app for iPad. The game has a large puzzle area and large puzzle pieces, making it ideal for older adults.
Millions of users love it because of the volume and categories of puzzles. More than 13000 free HD pictures without missing pieces provide unlimited fun putting puzzles together to calm down and relax.
You can choose the level of difficulty from 9 to 400 puzzle pieces. The more pieces, the harder your puzzle becomes. Here are other key features of Jigsaw Puzzles.
- Tons of HD pictures to choose from in a variety of categories like Colors, Flowers, Art, Animals, Nature, Landmarks and more
- Daily updated gallery so you never run out of puzzles
- Helpful hints to match the next piece of the puzzle if you get stuck
- Seasonal events and mystery puzzles
- Custom backgrounds to choose your favorite appearance
- Rotation mode support
This is the most downloaded jigsaw puzzle app on the App Store, used by millions of puzzle lovers to solve puzzles and make their days relaxing and fun.
Download Jigsaw Puzzles by Easy Brain for iPad
2. Jigsaw Puzzles for Adults HD
With 10,000 free jigsaw puzzles and a new puzzle every day, Jigsaw Puzzles for Adults is one of the best jigsaw puzzle apps for iPad on the app store. You can upload your own pictures to use them to create your own puzzle. You have the ability to configure puzzles as you like them. The key features of this app include
- 12 different difficulty levels. From 12 to 440 puzzle pieces
- Configure the background colors, shapes of puzzle pieces and other customizing options
- Create your own puzzles using family photos and photos of your pets etc
- 17 Jigsaw puzzles categories including Travel, Art, Animals, Landscapes, Kids, Home, Pattern and more
- Your progress is auto-saved every time you close the puzzle
- The daily free puzzle section offers a new puzzle every day
With 10,000 offline jigsaw puzzle games and more than 600,000 excellent ratings, Jigsaw Puzzles for Adults HD is the second most popular jigsaw app for seniors on App Store.
Get Jigsaw Puzzles for Adults HD for iPad
3. Jigsaw Puzzle by Critical Hit
This app has a huge collection of beautiful high-quality images of jigsaw puzzles ranging from Disney, Hasbro and more. One of the most popular and best jigsaw puzzle apps for iPad with over a billion puzzles played.
The app is designed by puzzle experts and the excellent quality of images and design detailing in the app has a fan base of millions.
The main features of this app include:
- Choose the number of pieces from 9 to 1024
- A new puzzle is released every day and new puzzle packs are released each week
- Earn reward by completing the puzzles and use the credit to unlock new puzzle packs
- Puzzles from your favorite jigsaw artists including Joseph Burgess and Nicky Boehme
- Work on more than one puzzle at a time and keep a record of solved puzzles
- Turn your personal photos into puzzles
The high quality of images and different characters from Disney make it the best jigsaw puzzle app for iPad. Have fun and put your mind to solving some high-quality jigsaw puzzles.
Get Jigsaw Puzzle by Critical Hit for iPad
4. Magic Jigsaw Puzzles
With 100 million downloads worldwide and over 30,000 HD pictures, Magic Jigsaw Puzzles is one of the largest jigsaw puzzle communities. More than 50 million jigsaw puzzles are solved each month.
The key features that make Magic Jigsaw Puzzles one of the most popular Jigsaw puzzles app of all time include.
- Exclusive collections from collaborations with DISNEY, PIXAR and NICKELODEON
- Personalize the puzzle with personal images and selected music and melodies collection that help you to relax and enjoy the game
- More than 30,000 HD puzzles with daily updated galleries
- From beginner to master. 6 levels of difficulty with up to 1200 pieces options
- Preview the finished puzzle to help you solve it
Simple controls and design make it easy and ideal for the elderly. Explore Magic Jigsaw Puzzles to solve some classic jigsaw puzzles and challenge your brain.
Get Magic Jigsaw Puzzles for iPad
5. Art Puzzle – Jigsaw Games
Art Puzzle is a unique app where coloring books meet jigsaw puzzles. Seniors can solve puzzles by fitting together the pieces of drawing and watching them build into a colorful animated painting.
Artists have created fascinating paintings; each puzzle is a unique piece of art.
The key features that make Art puzzles a unique and best jigsaw puzzle app for iPad include.
- A fun mix of jigsaw puzzles and coloring books
- All pictures are original and hand-drawn. Over 1000 puzzles.
- The puzzle animates on completion and the picture comes to life
- Helpful hints and guidance to complete a puzzle if you feel stuck
Art puzzle is very popular among puzzle lovers and an ideal and unique game for seniors who love jigsaw puzzles with a twist.
Get Art Puzzle – Jigsaw Games for iPad
There you have it. A list of 5 most popular and the best jigsaw puzzle apps for iPad. Apple’s iPad is an ideal device for seniors to solve jigsaw puzzles because of its large screen size which makes puzzle pieces bigger and clear to see.
5 Benefits of Jigsaw Puzzles for Elderly
Studies highlight the different benefits of solving jigsaw puzzles for older adults. Here are some of the well-noted effects of solving puzzles for seniors.
1. Jigsaw Puzzles Improve Memory
Jigsaw puzzles help improve visual-spatial reasoning, short-term memory and problem-solving skills among seniors, according to a study by NIH.
2. Jigsaw Puzzles can Reduce the Risks of Dementia for Seniors
The study further states that solving jigsaw puzzles regularly helps combat cognitive decline in the elderly, which can reduce and delay the risk of developing dementia.
3. Puzzling Stimulates Both Sides of the Brain
Puzzling is a mental workout for both sides of the brain (the left or logical side and the right or creative side). Studies suggest that puzzles help older adults to relax their minds and enter a state of meditation.
Read more about the best iPad brain games for seniors.
4. Puzzles Relieve Stress and Boost Mood
Puzzles combat stress, anxiety, and depression among older adults. Puzzle-solving excites the brain and releases a chemical called “dopamine” which causes happiness in humans.
Solving puzzles regularly is an ideal way to uplift the mood and avoid loneliness among seniors.
5. Attention to Details Raise Concentration Levels
Solving jigsaw puzzles requires attention to detail and abilities to differentiate between different colors and shapes.
It is a great brain workout for seniors and a way to improve concentration levels and problem-solving skills.
Puzzle-solving is ideal for improving memory and cognitive skills and developing problem-solving skills among older adults.
Putting a puzzle together brings a sense of satisfaction and achievement, uplifts the mood of seniors, and provides an ideal way to avoid depression, anxiety and loneliness.