'Your recipient gets an email with a link – they click and start puzzling. Clicking ‘Shuffle’ will expose any pieces that have got hidden.'

Suzanne Elvidge unearths some online puzzle and jigsaw games for you to play during the fine summer weather!

All games are free downloads or free to view online, and need the minimum of equipment. Some games require your browser to have a 'plug in' for Shockwave, Flash or Java.

To play a game, simply click on its name. If you are a parent, we advise you to try the game and the site it's on first before letting your kids play them, to make sure you're happy. Don't forget, you can also find great games for kids at Christian Aid's Global Gang website

When downloading games from the Internet, don't forget to keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date.

A jigsaw is a puzzle made from cutting a picture into many pieces, generally with a jig-saw. Jigsaws were commercialised in the UK in 1760.

Jigsaws are a great way to while away an evening, but it gets frustrating when you’re half way through and someone walks into the table and knocks it all off, or if you get to the end and you find that there’s one piece missing.

Here are ten jigsaw puzzle and picture puzzle websites where nothing can go wrong (unless of course your computer crashes…)

All Star picture puzzles
Solve the puzzle by swapping pieces around – from 24 to 84 pieces. Highlight the first piece you want to swap, and then click on the second to swap them. You can create your own from your own photos.

Sliding puzzle
I remember getting sliding puzzles in my Christmas stocking when I was a kid. Click 'Start Puzzle' to jumble the pieces, and then click on the pieces next to the open space to move them and recreate the picture. If you liked this, have a go at a huge sliding puzzle.

Maths picture puzzle
Reveal the picture by solving the maths puzzles. Drag the correct answer over to the question and see what is underneath.

Picture word game
Guess the letters of the mystery word and uncover the hidden picture.

Dog jigsaws
Are puppies your thing? Then do this rather cute online jigsaw of a collie pup. There are also loads more dog-based jigsaw puzzles on the same site.

icaPuz daily puzzle
These are puzzles with irregular and complicated pieces, which makes them very different from the traditional type of puzzles, and quite hard (especially this one).

Use the inside rectangle to assemble the puzzle – the pieces will lock in when they are in the right place (however, pieces won’t lock together outside of their designated ‘slot’, so you can’t build a separate section and move it as a whole).

Send a jigsaw puzzle postcard
Send someone a jigsaw puzzle postcard, from a 6-piece classic to a 247-piece triangles puzzle. You choose an image and a level of difficulty and fill in the details.

Your recipient gets an email with a link – they click and start puzzling. Clicking ‘Shuffle’ will expose any pieces that have got hidden.

FlashPuzzleZone
Straightforward traditional style jigsaws with a nice satisfying click as you piece goes into the right place.

Thinks daily jigsaw
Drag and drop pieces onto the board. You can change the number of pieces, and the background colour. You can even have a picture guide if it helps.

Miniclip jigsaw puzzle
A simple traditional jigsaw with a sneaky piece with a straight edge top and bottom – does it go where you think it does?

• Other games

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