🧩 A New Jigsaw Puzzle!

Dear Reader,

You’re reading the monthly newsletter from Amuse Labs, covering the world of
puzzles, publishing, and updates to PuzzleMe™, the most advanced digital
platform for smart games.

People Magazine Launches App-Exclusive Jigsaws

People Magazine is bringing its iconic magazine covers to life through “People Pieces,” a new jigsaw puzzle series available exclusively within their mobile app. The series gives the magazine’s audience an interactive way to engage with their work. Pieces will join Puzzler, the magazine’s beloved pop-culture crossword, in the Games section on the People app. The flexibility of the jigsaw format made it easy for People to create a simple puzzle offering that feels native to their brand. Download the People app today to start piecing together your favorite celebrity moments one tile at a time.

A Giant Crossword For Your Next Weekend

We recently collaborated with The Globe and Mail to deliver their Giant Holiday Crossword 2025, a massive grid designed to provide the ultimate seasonal challenge. Our focus was ensuring a frictionless online solving experience, optimized for both desktop and mobile devices. This puzzle serves as a perfect weekend activity for dedicated solvers, offering a smooth interface that handles large-scale grids with ease. PuzzleMe’s multiplayer mode enables friends and family to tackle this daunting crossword together in real-time. We also introduced a special “clue-hover” feature specifically for crosswords of this size. As solvers navigate the large grid, clues automatically appear when hovering over cells. This eliminates the need for constant scrolling, keeping the focus entirely on the game.

Netflix Focuses on Daily Habits with “Puzzled” Launch

Netflix has spent 2025 rethinking its gaming strategy, shifting focus toward mobile-first daily puzzles to sit alongside giants like Wordle in a user’s morning rotation. The new “Puzzled” collection is available on Android, iOS, and the Tudum website. The suite includes eight different daily titles, ranging from word games like “Crossover” and “Keysmash” to logic challenges like “Starstruck”.

Of course, the puzzle content often revolves around new releases on the streaming platform. Solvers might find themselves playing puzzles themed around Stranger Things or K-Pop Demon Hunters. With this launch, it’s clear Netflix sees habit building with puzzles and games as a key part of its subscriber retention strategy.

1. “How to Play” for New Solvers

PuzzleMe now reduces friction for first-time solvers by presenting the “How to Play” section right on the start modal. The section provides a clear, concise guide to the puzzle’s rules and mechanics before the timer starts, ensuring that new players feel confident and capable.

Retention patterns on PuzzleMe games have shown that people who complete the first puzzle they try are much more likely to come back for another. With enhancements like this one, we aim to boost completion rates and encourage casual visitors to become regular players.

PuzzleMe’s smart hints for Sudoku have always been popular with regular solvers, nudging them in the right direction when they’re stuck. No matter what stage in the puzzle they are at, PuzzleMe’s smart hints guide solvers towards the next logical move. This works across difficulty levels and on different variations of Sudoku, like Killer Sudoku, Picdoku, and Wordoku.

Our research has shown that the most useful hints aide solvers in the context of their in-game progress. We’ve now enhanced the smart hint function to show hints based on the solver’s last entry and the cell they are currently on. This means that smart hints will feel more natural, following the solver’s chain of thought. Try smart hints on PuzzleMe’s Sudokus today to experience it for yourself.

About Us

Amuse Labs is the creator of PuzzleMe™, the leading digital platform for Smart Games. It is a B2B SaaS company trusted globally by brands and publishers, powering Crosswords, Sudokus, Jigsaws, Quizzes, Word Searches and more. Explore opportunities to partner by sending a note or applying if you’d like to work with us!