Games on Shabbat

From Halachipedia

Muktzah

Building blocks

  1. Arranging blocks one next to another without attaching them is permissible. [1]
  2. Building Lego or Duplo isn't considered Boneh and is permissible. [2]


Puzzle

  1. Putting together a jigsaw puzzle, according to Asheknazim is forbidden, and according to Sephardim, it is permissible for children under the age of Bar Mitzvah. [3]

References

  1. Shemirat Shabbat KeHilchata 23:16.
  2. Yabea Omer 7:39(4), Yalkut Yosef 314:1
  3. Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchata 23:16 writes that arranging blocks can be permissible under two conditions: there is no interlocking frame nor do the pieces themselves interlock. Accordingly, a jigsaw puzzle is forbidden. However, Rav Moshe HaLevi in Menuchat Ahava (vol 3, 22:16) permits as long as the letters aren't connected with glue or stitching.