Nonogram

How to play Nonogram

A nonogram is a picture puzzle solved with logic. You start with an empty grid. Next to every row and above every column there is a list of numbers. These numbers tell you how the squares in that line are painted. When you paint every square correctly, a picture appears.

Goal

Paint the right squares in the grid. Each number is a block of painted squares in a row. The clue "3 1" means: somewhere in this line there is a block of 3 painted squares, then at least one blank square, then a block of 1. The blocks always come in the order shown, from left to right or from top to bottom. Every puzzle here has exactly one answer, and you never need to guess.

Step by step

1. Choose a tool: Fill paints squares, Cross marks squares you know are blank. Press M to switch.
2. Tap or click a square. Hold and drag to paint a whole stretch of a row or column in one go. Tap a painted square again to clear it. With a mouse, the right button always places a cross.
3. On a keyboard, move with the arrow keys, press Space to use the tool, F to fill and X to cross.
4. When a line matches its clue, its numbers fade. The small picture in the corner shows your work so far.
5. Press Undo (or Ctrl+Z) to take back your last stroke.

Levels

Easy is an 8×8 grid, Medium is 10×10, and Hard is 15×15 with more blocks per line. Thick lines split the bigger grids into groups of five to help you count.

End of the game

You win when every painted square is right. Crosses are only notes, so you do not need to cross every blank square. The timer stops and the picture lights up. Your game is saved in this browser. For another logic challenge, try Minesweeper.

Strategy tips

• Start with big numbers. In a 10-square row, a block of 7 must cover the middle 4 squares, wherever it starts. Paint the overlap first.
• Add up the clues. For "4 3" in a row of 8, 4 + 1 + 3 = 8, so the whole row is fixed. When the sum is close to the length, many squares are fixed.
• Cross off the blanks. When a line is complete, cross the rest of its squares. Crosses help you with the lines that run the other way.
• Work from the edges. A painted square near the wall often fixes where the first block starts, and pushes the block away from the edge.
• Switch between rows and columns. Every square you learn in a row is a new clue for its column. Go back and forth until the picture is done.