Jigsaw Puzzle Missing Piece Guide

A complete step by step guide to obtaining that dastardly missing piece!

If you have even a moderate amount of experience with jigsaw puzzles, you've probably encountered the horror of realizing  that your beloved puzzle is nearly complete... all except for a MISSING PIECE! [Noooooooooooo!]

Fear Not! -- The good news is: with modern manufacturing methods, a missing piece at manufacturing  time is really quite rare. It's likely your piece is within reach! Follow the instructions below and your chances of finding the absent puzzle piece will be quite good.

STEP 1 :: The Oh Duh's

It may seem silly, but it's easy to misplace or overlook a missing piece. It happens all the time; even to the most meticulous puzzlers among us!

•  Double, triple, and maybe even quadruple check your box to verify the missing piece isn't in there. It's possible the  piece could be stuck in the flap or a corner. It could have happened during production, packaging, or transport.
•  Do a thorough search of the room or any rooms that you have used for opening, constructing, glueing, transporting,  storing, or even thinking about the jigsaw puzzle. Check under chairs, inside open garbage cans, between the rug & molding; don't be afraid to scour the surroundings for the  missing piece.
•  If you've vacuumed recently, check the vacuum bag or garbage can.
• If you have pets or small children, then your  boundary for scanning and searching is far far wider! Check your pets' beds; puzzle pieces like to stick to paws!
•  It could be a practical joke -- a tricky spouse or a child keen on finishing the puzzle may have absconded with the  missing piece in the hopes of laying the final piece. Or, they could simply enjoy rendering you confounded on your hands and knees looking for a tiny piece of cardboard.  Either way, don't rule out the possibilty of hijinks!
•  Make sure that all of the pieces you've placed so far belong where they are. Some puzzle manufacturers  create pieces that appear interchangable at first glance. It's good practice to double-check your placement before assuming  a piece is missing. It's very possible that a piece you've already placed may not actually go where you think it does.

STEP 2 :: Catch your breath, and start to accept the possibility that it's...  GONE...

If you believe you've lost a jigsaw puzzle piece and it can't be found, or that your puzzle is defective and the missing piece was never there -- then your first & best course of  action is to CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER (see list below).  They will be able to help you with the next step and will want to know if there is a production issue to be aware of.

Please note that while **most** manufacturers are not able to replace individual pieces (due to replacing or rotating cutting dies for reasons such as service, sharpening, or production availability), they may be able to replace your entire puzzle for you.

We do encourage you to complete your jigsaw puzzle before contacting the manufacturer about a missing piece, keeping in mind that the piece count on the jigsaw puzzle box is more often than not an estimate, rather than an exact number.

You can find your manufacturer's name on your puzzle box, then locate their contact info in the list below: 

STEP 3 :: For SeriousPuzzles.com Customers

If you're having difficulty communicating with a manufacturers or getting a satisfactory solution to your issue in either Step 1 or Step 2, AND you placed your original order for the item with SeriousPuzzles.com, then you may contact us and we will try to provide a proper solution.

Please be prepared with your order # so that we can locate your order in our system.

STEP 4 :: A not-too-shabby last resort

You're at the end of the line -- but there's still a fairly reasonable solution! You can order a specially crafted replacement missing jigsaw puzzle piece from The Jigsaw Puzzle  Doctor^TM. It's a paid service that will actually construct your missing piece! Their prices are extremely reasonable considering how cool the service is. They'll make your  missing piece and send it to you - how neat is that?! [SeriousPuzzles.com is not affiliated with the Jigsaw Doctor]