Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘Magic Jigsaw Puzzles’

Review Fix chats with Rustam Bekmuradov, Executive Producer of “Magic Jigsaw Puzzles,” who discusses the innovative mobile game with over 25 million fans and how it’s not only fun, but it’s also beneficial to your health.

For more on the game, click here.

Review Fix: Why are puzzle games having such a resurgence lately?

Rustam Bekmuradov: Well, for starters, a big part of the resurgence has to do with how much people use their smartphones and tablets for gaming nowadays. Just last year, the gaming apps reached $34.8 billion in revenue across the globe, accounting for 85 percent of mobile app market revenue.

The other reason why puzzle games are having a resurgence is because they offer players a digitized form of their favorite pastimes. Many players solve puzzles as a way to destress and unwind, while at the same time keeping their minds active. Also, puzzles are generally associated relaxation or “me-time,” so they help people unwind from busy workdays without the sometimes overbearing stimulus of television and movies.

Review Fix: What games inspired this one?

Bekmuradov: Well, the most obvious answer is that traditional jigsaw puzzles inspired us to create Magic Jigsaw Puzzles. Classic games like mahjong and solitaire also played a part in inspiring us to create Magic Jigsaw Puzzles – talk about three games that have withstood the test of time!

Magic Jigsaw Puzzles as a game draws inspiration from beautiful destinations, animals and historical landscapes providing players with a visually-stunning and varied gaming experience.

Review Fix: How is this one different?

Bekmuradov: What sets Magic Jigsaw Puzzles apart from many other puzzle apps are its unique and robust offerings. The game allows players to customize their puzzle-solving experience through its user accounts, point system, puzzle shop and social network feed. However, one of the biggest differentiators is probably Magic Jigsaw Puzzles’ gamification of users’ camera rolls. Through the Magic Jigsaw Puzzles app, players can either snap photos on the spot or select images from their camera rolls to create their own personalized puzzles.

The other key differentiator is Magic Jigsaw Puzzles’ global, social network. Through the “Jigsaw Feed,” players can share their personalized puzzles with a community of players worldwide, including their friends and family. This way, other players on the app can also view and solve these puzzles. The social feature of the app has proven to be a very strong differentiating factor for Magic Jigsaw Puzzles.

Review Fix: What has development been like?

Bekmuradov: Magic Jigsaw Puzzles started as a simple mobile puzzle game in 2011, and has evolved over time to be so much more. The game now has over 20,000 high-quality puzzles and a strong and active community of 25 million players around the world.

When developing the app, we knew the path to success required us to envision it as more than a simple mobile app, but as a complete gaming experience. When Magic Jigsaw Puzzles first launched, each puzzle pack stood alone as a separate app, united only by the name. These limitations spurred the company to create what is now the “Puzzle Shop,” which provides a central location for all puzzle packs. This was the app’s first step to becoming a full-game service. Now, Magic Jigsaw Puzzles players have the ability to earn coins by completing puzzles, sharing them with friends and completing various difficulty levels in order to unlock additional puzzle packs along the way. A big milestone for our development was our successful launch on Facebook in February of 2015, and our launch on iOS in September of 2015.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why must someone play this game?

Bekmuradov: In addition to providing endless hours of stimulating entertainment, Magic Jigsaw Puzzles allows people to share their own puzzle creations and solve those of their friends. It’s a great feeling to know you are playing a crucial role in the development of the game’s infrastructure by interacting with the app and its users worldwide.

Review Fix: How do you want this game to be remembered?

Bekmuradov: Magic Jigsaw Puzzles was created as a family-friendly game that unites a global community of over 25 million people. Our aim is to help people of all ages relax, stay mentally active and enjoy themselves by bringing the long-standing pastime of jigsaw puzzles to the digital age.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this game?

Bekmuradov: Our goal for Magic Jigsaw Puzzles is to further increase our puzzle offerings in order provide an even more dynamic and challenging gaming experience for our users. While the app has successfully developed a strong user base thus far, we look forward to increasing our global reach to a greater number of puzzle lovers around the world.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Bekmuradov: Well, we do have some very exciting licensing partnerships in the pipeline, that will elevate the content of the app significantly, but our first priority is always to make continual updates and improvements to the app. From refining the app’s interface to the social network capabilities, we have some great updates in the works to enhance the user experience.

Review Fix: Anything else you want to say?

Bekmuradov: A puzzle a day keeps the doctor away! Puzzles have actually been found to be an excellent way to help keep the brain sharp by challenging dexterity, spatial reasoning and logic. They also work both sides of the brain simultaneously, which is something very few other activities do. The creative side works to see the finished product, while the logical side works to fit the pieces. Nothing teaches you to focus and concentrate on a task like finding the right piece to fit a puzzle. Puzzles can also help with patience since it can take quite some time to plug away until it all comes together. Working a puzzle allows your mind to rest and think about other things beyond day-to-day tasks.

The Magic Jigsaw Puzzles team is also a strong advocate for giving back to the community. Thus, we frequently partner with nonprofit organizations and help raise funds by offering special puzzle packs that users can purchase for a small fee. Most recently, we partnered with World Vision USA to help raise money for their child protection movement. In just two weeks, we were able to raise $25,316 through our puzzle pack offerings.