Ok, so I like some of the mindless games on my smartphone. Waiting for my daughter to come out of swim practice allows me a few minutes of quiet (sometimes) and I have recently found that spending some time with Planet 316 and their Daily Bible Jigsaw is a fun way to use my brain, get a little Bible, and kill some time.
You can download Daily Bible Jigsaw from Planet 316 for iPhone in the iTunes store or for Android in the Play Store; you can also get the app on Facebook. The app is free but there are in-app purchase possibilities. Each day you get some coins. These coins can be used to do additional puzzles or use shortcuts in the Daily Bible Jigsaw. I found that I rarely use the shortcuts, I like the complete the puzzle like a traditional puzzle. But then, I was a puzzle girl back in the day or long summer days and at-home weekends (sigh).
It’s exactly what it sounds like a daily puzzle available in the smartphone app for you to complete each day of the year. When you open the app, the loading begins and then you see you have a new puzzle for the day. The date is displayed with a “name” for the day like Wonderous Wednesday or, during the Easter season, Resurrection Sunday, etc. Then the app tell you to click to play for FREE. Or you can purchase or earn new coins by selecting the GET COINS button.
Once you select PLAY your Daily Bible Jigsaw is loaded and then you typically receive a PUZZLY TIP explaining some of the features in the app like the features you can purchase with coins to help you speed through the puzzle or a tip about how to work through the puzzle more efficiently. You can select the app to no longer show you the PUZZLY TIPS if you wish. I kept mine on.
Then you get your puzzle loaded and the timer starts. All puzzles are timed. The puzzle pieces are randomly dispersed across the screen. You use the screen to touch screen move your pieces around. For instance, the first thing I do is start separating the edge pieces from the center pieces and the corner pieces from everything else. I just do it quickly, going side to side.
Across the top of the screen displays the number of coins, a PLUS sign to click if you want to purchase or earn more coins, 5 buttons that cost coins to use to move through the puzzle more quickly, and the timer, which a PAUSE sign if you want to pause the puzzle when working on it.
The buttons that cost coins include ROTATE, GUIDE, SWEEP, MAGNET, and EDGES. These, for the cost of a specific number of coins, help you through the puzzle. For instance, the ROTATE tool allows you, for 2 coins, to rotate ALL the puzzle pieces the correct way. The GUIDE took, for one coin, shows you what the final puzzle looks like, like looking at the front of the puzzle box. The SWEEP took
The SWEEP tool, for one coin, sweeps all the puzzle pieces to each side of the working space that is in the middle of the screen. The MAGNET tool, for one coin, puts 2 pieces together for you. The EDGES tool, for 2 coins places only the edges available on the screen and sweeps away the center pieces until you have constructed all the edges and then the center pieces fly in to the sides for you to complete the puzzle.
You can EARN FREE COINS by clicking the EARN FREE button. This entails watching a 30 second video advertisement. After that you earn 2 free coins. You can only do this twice per puzzle. Otherwise, you can purchase coins through in-app purchases.
Once you have completed the puzzle the puzzle will display a Bible verse over the puzzle. This is nicely displayed and you can share the puzzle picture with the Bible verse on social media or save to your phone. You can also see how other friends that have the app (if you registered with Facebook) have done on that puzzle with their time or challenge other Facebook friends to the puzzle. You can complete the puzzle again for a better time if you wish.
You can NOT work ahead on the calendar but you can go back and do previous puzzles from previous days you missed or months. However, past puzzles cost coins so you will have to earn them to play them. You only get one free puzzle per day. Once you have completed all the puzzles on a calendar the calendar also displays a beautiful picture.
At the top of the monthly calendar, you can see AWARDS, VERSES, TOURNEY, BONUS and ARCHIVE. Awards are awards that the app gives the player for accomplishments in the game. These include SOCIAL SOLVER for signing up with Facebook, PUZZLE PERFECT for solving your first puzzle, and PROFICIENT SOLVER for solving 100 puzzles, DEPENDABLE for solving 5 Resurrection Sunday puzzles, EARNEST for solving 5 Tuesday puzzles, etc. You get the picture. You earn coins for these awards as well.
The VERSES icon allows you to view the verses used that month and share them if you wish. The TOURNEY is a Weekly Tourney that shows the number of puzzles completed that week by whom as well as how many you have completed and your rank among all Daily Bible Jigsaw users.
The BONUS button allows you to play bonus puzzles. Some are free and some cost coins. This is noted in the BONUS PUZZLES section on each individual bonus puzzle. And the ARCHIVE button allows you to go back to previous months and view them easily.
I REALLY LOVE THE APP! I like doing puzzles and they typically take me, without assistance from the tools buttons, about 4 minutes to complete. I like to do them when i’m waiting on the kids or just sitting down for a few minutes during the day. And sometimes, the verses are exactly what I need – you know how God does that sometimes! And then I can share on Facebook or with a friend that might need the verse. I like that option.
My daughter likes doing them too and I have her hooked. I think it’s a nice way to include a little thinking time (puzzles are good for that) with some Bible time by seeing and reading a verse each day.
You can see what other Homeschool Review Crew thought of the app by clicking the banner below. And check out Planet 316 and the Daily Bible Jigsaw in the App Store or the Play Store.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Planet316/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/planet_316 @planet_316
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