Piece together a jigsaw of city streets in this browser-based daily puzzle game

I find myself reminiscing about the peak of Wordle mania, not necessarily because of the game itself, which I still enjoy playing from time to time, but because of the flood of creative and fun browser-based puzzle games that emerged in its aftermath. From Worldle and Octordle to Moviedle, Waffle, Who Are Ya?, and Cloudle, the surge of new games was a wave I happily rode.

Scrambled Maps brings back fond memories of those days. While it may not be directly related to Wordle, it offers a daily puzzle challenge in a browser-based format that is equally engaging and enjoyable.

The premise is simple: a map of a specific region of the world is divided into 18 equal squares and then scrambled. Your task is to reconstruct the map by piecing together the roads, rivers, train lines, and place names like a jigsaw puzzle.

It’s more challenging than it appears at first glance. Unlike traditional puzzles, maps lack clear edges or corners, making it a unique and engaging experience. You’ll need to match colored roads, buildings, and fields, and pay attention to road shapes and text details.

During my first attempt, I connected several tiles seamlessly but struggled to position them correctly within the larger image. It took me 25 minutes to realize that I had assembled the map perfectly, but with the two halves reversed: the tiles on the left should have been on the right, and vice versa.

As I corrected my mistake and placed each tile in its proper place, a green border appeared around them, indicating correct placements. This confirmation feature was helpful and rewarding.

Similar to Wordle, Scrambled Maps presents a challenge that is more about time and patience than difficulty. While it may be tempting to cheat using resources like OpenStreetMap or Google Maps, the true satisfaction comes from solving the puzzle authentically. Like Wordle, I find myself eagerly anticipating each new puzzle every day.

You can play Scrambled Maps here.