A surprise trip they have to solve

The photo is the answer to “where are we going?” Phuzzles scrambles it, so they work the answer out a piece at a time, and the dates you folded underneath appear when the last piece lands.

How to do it

1. Pick the photo that names the place. Not a beach: the beach. The castle, the stadium, the cabin you booked, the sign at the trailhead, the boarding pass with the airport code still on it. If a stranger couldn't tell where it is, neither can they.
2. Then make it harder, not easier. A landmark gives itself away from one corner piece, so go 6×6 and let them sit with it. Keep 3×3 for a photo that only means anything once it's whole.
3. Put the details in the message. Up to 200 characters, hidden until the puzzle is solved: the dates, who else is coming, what to pack, whether they need to ask for the week off.
4. Send it. Pick someone who has Phuzzles by their username, or start a group and send one puzzle to the whole family; everyone gets the same puzzle. Or send it as a link, from an iPhone or from Android, that opens in any phone's browser, so the person you send it to doesn't need the app.
5. Wait. You get a notification when it's solved.

Telling a whole family at once? Send it to a group. Everyone gets the same puzzle at the same time, so nobody hears it secondhand.

What it won't do

There is no scheduled send and no timer: a puzzle goes the moment you send it. If it has to land on a particular morning, send it that morning.

Worth knowing

Only the people you send it to can open it, or anyone you give its link to. Nothing goes on the public Feed unless you post it there yourself. Puzzles and their photos are kept while your account exists and are deleted with it. Delete a puzzle in the app and its photo goes too.

Free, with ads. How Phuzzles works