Many games may be art, but few make playing with art as satisfying as the Apple Arcade puzzle game Patterned.

In this clever spin on jigsaw puzzles, you’ll try to find the right spot for each piece on the illustration that fills your screen. But this is no ordinary art – it’s made by a pattern designer, who specialises in creating illustrations that repeat seamlessly in all directions. (Similar designs adorn everything from wallpaper to kids’ bedding.)

Since its 2019 debut on Apple Arcade, Patterned has featured more than 3,000 illustrations from artists all over the world, 99 per cent of whom identify as women. It’s become such a force in the pattern-design world that its developer, BorderLeap, even launched a platform for pattern artists to showcase their work.

For Heather Dutton, who has more than 85 illustrations in the game, the Patterned community is like no other. “Technically, we’re all in competition for the same opportunities, but everyone is there for each other, to provide advice.”

Italy-based illustrator Gaia Marfurt credits the community with helping her navigate the business side. “At the beginning, it was really useful because I didn’t know how to do an agreement for art licensing. Everything was in English!” But her fellow artists in Patterned supported her throughout the process.

Designing a repeating pattern for a digital puzzle is very different than creating, say, a tea towel, according to Poland-based illustrator Ewa Brzozowska.

“When I design for textile, my clients prefer a lot of white space between elements, but that doesn’t work in Patterned. You don’t want to get a puzzle piece that’s just a blank white background.” Brzozowska made sure the 160 puzzles she’s designed for the game were dense with varied elements, so each piece offers a clear clue to its placement.

Scale is another important consideration. Textile patterns can span two and half feet, but puzzles in Patterned have a much smaller sweet spot, says Indonesia-based artist Dewi Masita. “The main adjustment I focus on is resolution; I pay extra attention to ensure the details of the design stay clear.”

In the game, each artwork begins as a black-and-white line drawing, then grows more colourful as you progress. (On Apple Vision Pro, completing a puzzle is especially spectacular: the illustration expands to fill your space, becoming a 360-degree panorama.) Once you’re finished, you can save the art as wallpaper for your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Because each puzzle starts out as simple line art, the illustration style can up the difficulty level considerably. “Some of my work has a sketchy quality, with just a hint of colour,” says Brzozowska. “That’s a bit more challenging to solve as a puzzle, because each round starts as a sketch.”

In the pre-launch stages of the game, developer BorderLeap collaborated closely with Brzozowska and New Zealand-based artist Mel Armstrong to test different pattern styles and even animated designs.

“What makes working with Patterned different is the respect BorderLeap has for artists. They treat us as partners, not as a cost of creating an app,” says Brzozowska. “They could be using stock images, but that wasn’t their idea from the beginning.”

Indeed, Patterned has become instrumental in introducing players to a field of art they might not have known existed. “It shines a light on designers like myself and all of the other artists that are here,” says Dutton.

Masita has had a similar experience. “Working with Patterned has opened up a new creative possibility for me. I didn’t know my designs could be in a game before this.” She now has more than 25 digital puzzles in Patterned.

“It’s rare to find a project that perfectly combines art and relaxation in such a unique way,” adds Brzozowska. “Knowing my designs bring joy to people, whether they’re solving puzzles or just enjoying the images as a wallpaper on their iPhone, that’s what art is all about – creating moments of happiness and connection.”

There are currently more than 3,000 puzzles to explore in Patterned. You can browse them by artist name, or filter by tags centred around holidays and seasons, parts of the world, features such as butterflies and unicorns, and more.

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