How do I add a Puzzle?

NOTE: While browsing IPDb does not require a login. So that you can add puzzles you will need to log in: We are sorry to keep you waiting, but unfortunately, all of our agents are currently busy or away, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. What’s the best email to reach you on? register first.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE ADDING A NEW PUZZLE TO IPDb

1. Duplication prevention - check if your puzzle is already in IPDb

As time passes, more and more puzzles will be added to the IPDb data source by users like yourself.  This means that at times, the puzzle you are about to enter may have already been entered by someone else.  

So, it is at first, good practice, to search for your puzzle before entering it into IPDb. If it does return a puzzle record, please check that all the information is identical to your puzzle(s), and add any information, including your own, images, to the existing record.  

You can look here for more information about adding details to existing records. 

3. The record may not appear instantly after submission.
If you are a new user, we will verify several submissions before you can add them to the IPDb database.  This will allow us to fine-tune your submissions and guide you about the optimal way to submit puzzles.

Another reason a submission may be delayed is if it is flagged as a potential duplicate. We will first investigate whether it is a duplicate and, if it is not, we will approve it and add it to the database. If it is a duplicate our Admin Team will contact you to resolve the duplication.

4. Keep the mystery alive - no spoilers!
Those who, really love them, know what they are. You get a picture on the box, but the actual puzzle image will be either slightly or, totally different. Or you might not get a box image at all!  It's all part of the fun, trying to solve a mystery puzzle. (E.g. WASGIJ, Escape Room, Black box, Magic puzzle, etc.)

In the spirit of keeping things exciting for the fans, we ask you to only upload box images for now, whilst we investigate ways of also being able to add the finished result without spoiling the fun. We thank you for your understanding. 

ADDING A NEW PUZZLE TO THE IPDb DATABASE

Once you have established that your puzzle hasn't already been entered by someone else before, you can go ahead, and enter it as a new puzzle.

Select the puzzle+ icon

Please enter as much detail as possible. All fields marked with an asterisk * are required. 

Name of puzzle *

Enter the name/title of the puzzle as displayed on the box.
For puzzle boxes, without a name on the box, please enter (No Name) in the name field.

Note 1 - Title listed in various languages: If the title is listed on the box in multiple languages, please enter the English one first, then add the title of your language of preference in brackets behind it. (E.g.) A puzzle with a German and English title should be entered as Village Fair (Dorffest). This will ensure that people can find this puzzle in both languages.

Note 2 - If a multi-puzzle box, please use the general name for the set as printed on the box, then select "Multi-puzzle" in the special features field.  You will then be given options to enter individual puzzle titles and piece counts. See here for: "How to enter a Multi-puzzle"

Note 3 - WASGIJ puzzles have a special naming convention, so please check out the instructions for how to structure the name for these.  See  here for: "Mystery and other special puzzles"

Alternative name of a puzzle

Please use this for an English title if the original name is not in English.

Brand *

Select the puzzle brand from the drop-down list. You can start typing in the first letters of the brand, then the drop-down will automatically filter the list to brands including letters you typed for easier selection.

Hint: If your brand is not listed, select New Brand. This will allow you to add a new brand to the list. If no brand is listed on the box, please select the No Brand/Vintage option.

NOTE - at times, after adding a puzzle name, barcode, ID, brand and/or piece count, you may see a Potential Duplicate Warning pop up - this indicates that the puzzle you are entering is possibly already in the database. You can look here for more information: Duplicate warning.

Piece count *

Enter the number of pieces as displayed on the box.

NOTE - if the piece count is a multi-puzzle box, please enter the piece count of the largest puzzle in the box.  You will then get the option to list the individual puzzles and their respective piece counts in the Special Features field when the multi-puzzle is selected. See here for: "How to enter a Multi-puzzle"

Barcode on the box *

Barcode Scanning

If you have the box handy when creating a new record on a mobile device, you can press the barcode icon and point the camera at the barcode on the puzzle box. This will add the barcode to this field.

NOTE - this, will need to be done with a steady hand for the code to be read correctly.  So please double-check the number after scanning!

Manual Barcode Entry

If you can't scan the barcode (E.g. When using a laptop etc.), then you can simply click/tap on the barcode field and enter it manually.

No Barcode on the box

If the puzzle box doesn't have a barcode (in particular older puzzles), you can press the "no barcode" icon instead.

Manufacturer ID

The Manufacturer's puzzle identification (ID) or reference number is a code given to a specific puzzle by the manufacturer/brand. This is usually a unique code to identify the puzzle, and can generally be found on the side or back of the puzzle box.

Images *

• Box image: as straight and close up as possible so that it is easier to see on mobile devices. For most regular puzzles, placing it on a flat surface and taking the photo from the top will give the best result
• Completed puzzle picture: if you have completed the puzzle
• Additional box images: in particular, side/back of the box where most of the puzzle details are displayed (name/barcode/manuf ID/ dimensions/...)   This will help verify the correctness of the puzzle record
• Optional: Other photos which you think will be of interest to other users (poster, inclusions, puzzle detail pictures, etc.)

For more information, please read here: Categorising Images

NOTE -  to prevent copywriting issues, please only upload your personally owned puzzle photos 

NOTE 2 - if part of a multi-puzzle box, put the box image first and then add all the individual completed puzzle pictures if you have them.

NOTE 3 - MYSTERY PUZZLES: see the Categorising Images article - completed puzzle pictures should be categorised with the image/lock icon before uploading (this will blur the image)

Categories (puzzle categories)*

You can select as many categories as you like that apply to your puzzle.

Tags  

Tags are not a mandatory field. But, it does give you the option to add a string of info to the puzzle. Examples could be country of origin, specific category (E.g. cats, unicorns, etc.), or anything else specific to this puzzle, which is not covered by the standard fields.

To convert your input to a tag, press the space key after entering your new tag.

To delete your tags, use the backspace button or click the small x on the tag you want to delete.

Rating / Difficulty / Review (only to be filled if you have personally completed the puzzle)

Rating:    Select stars 1 - 5   (1 = not very good to 5 = excellent!)

Difficulty: Select difficulty icon 1 - 5 (1 = very easy to 5 = extremely difficult)
Review:   Enter your review of the puzzle if you have completed it.

Tick boxes

* I completed this puzzle - ticking this will add the puzzle to your completed folder

* Add to wishlist - ticking this will add the puzzle to your wishlist folder

Width / Height / Unit

Enter completed puzzle dimensions (either in inches or centimetres). These dimensions are helpful if you want to determine if the puzzle will, or won't, fit your puzzle board.

These measurements can usually be found on the side or bottom of the box.

For multi-puzzles with different size puzzles - see here for: "How to enter a Multi-puzzle"

Name of artist/photographer/designer

If the artist of the puzzle image is mentioned on the box, please enter it here.  This will enable other puzzlers to search for their favourite artist in the IPDb App.

Name of collection
A lot of puzzles are often part of a collection. E.g. Clementoni has a "Museum Collection" and a "Travel Collection". It can be left blank if not part of a collection

Release year

The same puzzle may be released and then re-released in a later year. The year may, therefore, help to identify approximately when the puzzle was manufactured. This is usually found on the side or back of the box, although not all puzzles show this information.

Real # of pieces

Did you know that a puzzle may not have exactly the number of pieces shown on the front of the box? Well, NEWS FLASH! Depending on the brand, a 1000-piece puzzle may have 999, 1000, 1008, 1026 or possibly, yet another real piece count!

Sometimes, this is also mentioned on the box (side or back - or even on the inside of the lid as Clementoni often does). Please enter it here if you can find the real piece count.

For Multi-puzzlers with different piece counts, see here for: "How to enter a Multi-puzzle"

Puzzle Shape
Select the relevant puzzle shape from the drop-down box.

Puzzle Cut

Some puzzlers prefer random/irregular cut puzzles; others swear by grid/ribbon cuts. When selecting what cut your puzzle is, you can help others search for the type of puzzle most interesting to them.

There are 3 main cuts:
Grid: This is exactly what the word means; a grid pattern, where all the pieces line up - BOTH horizontally and vertically. So each column will have the same number of pieces, same with each row. All pieces will meet up exactly in all 4  corners. A true grid pattern. Initially, these were predominantly used by European brands.

Ribbon: Whilst very similar to a grid cut (and often incorrectly attributed as such), the ribbon cut is slightly different. Ribbon cuts only have pieces lined up in 1 direction, ie; either horizontally, OR vertically, but not both. So corners of pieces might meet up on the horizontal axis, but won't necessarily meet on the vertical axis, which means the pattern looks like a bunch of strips/ribbons instead of a true grid. Whilst not as common anymore, this cut was widely used in UK brands.

Random: These are puzzles with more irregular and unpredicatble or odd-shaped pieces that don't really have any pattern compared to traditional puzzles. Pieces can be all sorts of shapes (including whimsies in some puzzles) and sizes, not just any of the standard 6 shapes commonly found in grid or ribbon puzzles. Random cuts are most commonly found in puzzles manufactured in the USA, or wooden puzzles.

Irregular: This is a non-standardised cut not, really classified, but do seem to appear more and more these days. It isn't grid, as piece corners don't meet on both axes. Nor is it ribbon, as not all pieces meet up in the corners on at least 1 axis either; yet they are also not completely random and whacky like a true random puzzle. You could call these hybrids; a mixture of all 3 cuts without any distinct pattern.

Material

The standard puzzle material tends to be cardboard. However, wooden puzzles have a big fanbase too! Listed, are some of the most common materials used.

Special Features

Puzzles can have many different features which, may or may not, apply to all puzzles. You will find some of the most common ones, listed in the drop-down box. More than one feature can be selected.

For Multi-Puzzles - see here for: "How to enter a Multi-puzzle"