Happy National Jigsaw Puzzle Day!
As the weather hit -30-degrees C here in the Free State of Minnesota this past week, I was thrilled to see this day arriving soon. Puzzles are how we socialize without talking in the winter in these parts during the winter.
This was the fastest “map” I’ve created yet this year. Took about five minutes to get it working. I used regular ol’ ChatGPT to create the puzzle maps using screen grabs from Open Street Maps (and Contributors) website.
Maybe you’ll recognize some of the places. Maybe you won’t. Have fun!
Credits
ChatGPT Prompt
Hi, I would like to make a puzzle out of this Ope Street Map image I have for International Jigsaw Day. Could you create a simple website for me that does the following: – When a user visits the site, they will see this image broken up into a variety of scattered jigsaw pieces on a faux wood background. The pieces will be scattered and not necessarily oriented correctly — though all face-side up. On the table will be an outline of the size and location of the rectangle map area they must fill in with the pieces. They will then select pieces and drag them to the correct spot. They may rotate pieces by right-clicking or left-clicking with the Alt key pressed down and pulling up or down. All pieces begin in random 45-degree orientations. Rotations move in 45-degree increments when users rotate. It must be possible to align all pieces correctly to eventually fit. The pieces of the map should be roughly equal height and width. Use standard jigsaw cuts. Try to make them unique enough to allow a user to discern when pieces go together by looking at the cuts. But some duplicate cuts are permitted. Please make the puzzle 25 – 40 pieces. Whatever works best for the image and layout. On mobile devices, ask the user to rotate their phone before beginning. Ensure that the puzzle feature is above the fold when the mobile device rotates and gets resituated in the browser window. There should be a simple title under the pieces but when the puzzle is finished above the puzzle: Happy Jigsaw Puzzle Day! Elsewhere on the site, perhaps in the lower-right or upper-right, you decide, there should be a hamburger menu. When clicked, a small pop-up shows bulleted: (https://openstreetmap.org) and [ChatGPT](https://www.chatgpt.com) – For [#365DaysOfMaps](https://mapdesign.icaci.org) – Source: Open Street Maps, OSM, and Contributors, 2026. – Specific map scene available [here](https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=14/50.08042/8.24172)
