Puzzle catalog
Full database with search and browse flows.
Android · Jan van Haasteren
JVH Puzzle
Native Android tracker for Jan van Haasteren puzzles. Shared Firebase backend with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose.
Top 5 in Top Apps · Netherlands
The puzzles
What are Jan van Haasteren puzzles?
Jan van Haasteren is a Dutch illustrator whose jigsaw puzzles are famous for chaotic, humorous scenes packed with tiny characters and side jokes.
With well over a thousand puzzles released, collectors often own dozens or hundreds of boxes. JVH Puzzle Android brings that catalog, scanning, and collection tracking to native Android.
Capabilities
What you can do
Collection tools for Android, aligned with the iOS product without forcing a shared UI wrapper.
Collect
Barcode scanning
CameraX and ML Kit based scanning.
Collection tracking
Statuses, stats, timer options, and export.
Groups
Social discovery and shared collection context.
Stay close
Advent calendar
Seasonal collection experience through December.
Following
Stay connected with other collectors without a noisy social feed.
Statistics
Collection stats, completions, and progress overviews on Android.
Shared backend
Firebase sync aligned with the iOS app across devices.
First Android app
Built because collectors asked for it
After the iOS launch, the same question kept coming back: is there an Android version too? Demand in Jan van Haasteren groups was clear enough to commit, not to a quick port, but to a real native app.
This was my first Android project. I learned Kotlin and Jetpack Compose from scratch, chose native over Flutter so it would feel at home on Android, and kept Firebase as the shared backend with iOS. From first build to Play Store launch took about 2.5 months, including closed beta and real-device testing.
Product
More from the app
Built with
Tech stack
Native Android frameworks first, with Firebase for the shared collector backend.
Kotlin
Native Android foundation for the app layer. Platform-first code without a cross-platform wrapper.
Jetpack Compose
Declarative Android UI for catalog, collection, scan, and stats flows that feel native on every screen size.
CameraX
Camera pipeline behind barcode scanning, so opening Scan goes straight to a live viewfinder.
ML Kit
On-device barcode recognition so a box can enter your collection without typing titles.
Firebase
Sync, accounts, Groups, and Following across devices, shared with the iOS app.
Coil
Efficient image loading for catalog art and collection covers without blocking the UI.
Coroutines
Structured concurrency for scans, sync, and UI work so collectors stay in flow.
Material 3
Light and dark system theming with Android-native interaction patterns throughout the app.
Navigation Compose
Typed navigation between catalog, scan, collection, Following, and statistics.
Journey
Milestones
Key moments in JVH Puzzle’s path on Google Play.
Updates
Changelog
- Sort by release year (newest / oldest)
- Groups toolbar, location search, and Discover
- Time stats include manual completion times
- Combo box add handles duplicates one-by-one
- Type values directly in manual time fields
- Change email in Account Management
- Update screen via Remote Config
- Timer and completion time fixes
- Adjust Time on Android (manual puzzle time)
- Major internal optimization
- New internal EAN linking system
- Scan improvements: — More reliable and extensive scans thanks to the new internal EAN system
- Fix for duplicate article numbers
- Advent calendar feature now on Android
- "Missing pieces" option when adding
- The large puzzle-piece icon shown when starting a puzzle has been removed
- Active puzzles are now indicated with a subtle orange border
- This border disappears automatically when the puzzle is completed
- Piece-count display has been improved
- Added a Cancel button in the Edit flow
- Android back button now works correctly in this flow
- All barcodes are now processed correctly
- The app can reliably retrieve information from the website again
- HTML parsing is robust and accepts valid variations in page structure
- Update 1
- You can now indicate if a puzzle has been lent out
- Sections now show the number of puzzles in clear labels, so you can immediately see how many puzzles are in…
- Via Settings, you can now export a complete overview of all puzzles in your collection
- When starting a puzzle, you can now choose whether to begin with a timer or without a timer
- You can now indicate if a puzzle has missing pieces, how many there are, and add a note about it
- Various bug fixes and improvements
- Camera / Scanner Issue Fixed
- The known camera issue has been resolved
- Wrong View & Missing Options Fixed
- After fixing the camera, sometimes the wrong view was shown — this has now been corrected
- All new features and improvements that are in the iOS update have now also been added to Android
- Focus for Future Updates
- Closed beta feedback and improvements
- Closed beta feedback and improvements
- Closed beta feedback and improvements
- Closed beta feedback and improvements
- Closed beta feedback and improvements
- Closed beta feedback and improvements
- Closed beta feedback and improvements
- Closed beta feedback and improvements
- This version primarily includes beta feedback and improvements
- Welcome to JVH Puzzle for Android! This is the first release of the Android version, bringing the complete…
- Access to the full database of 1000+ Jan van Haasteren puzzles with series, artist, and piece count data bu…
- Quickly add puzzles to your collection by scanning barcodes using your device camera
- Track your puzzle collection with real-time sync across all your Android devices using Firebase
- Built with Jetpack Compose and Material Design 3 for a native Android experience that feels smooth and resp…