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Start by sorting all the pieces into edge pieces (which usually have a flat side) and interior pieces, then build the border frame first since you've got a defined structure to work from. Once the edges are locked in, group the remaining pieces by color or pattern and start connecting clusters - it's tedious but way less chaotic than randomly jamming pieces together.
Grouping by color and pattern is what actually saves you when there's no reference image - I did a mystery puzzle last year where half the pieces were similar shades of blue and grey, and sorting them into subtle tone variations made the difference between chaos and actually seeing where sections belonged. Once you've got those visual clusters, you can start connecting pieces within each group and let the shapes guide you toward how they fit together, rather than working blindly from edges alone. It's slower than having a picture, but you end up learning the puzzle itself instead of just following a template.
The edge-and-color approach works well, but I'd add that laying out all the pieces face-up on a large table first makes a real difference - you can actually *see* what you're working with instead of digging through a pile. Once you've got the frame done, tackling any distinctive patterns or textures next (like wood grain or a specific design element) gives you anchor points before you're left wrestling with the tricky middle bits.
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