How to play Nonogram
Read it top to bottom and you can play: about three minutes. Nonograms are also known as griddlers, picture logic or paint by numbers.
1What is a nonogram?
There are numbers along the top and the left of a grid. Working from them, you decide which squares to fill and which to leave empty, and the filled squares end up making a picture.
Here a filled square is a cross-stitch in thread on cloth. When every row and column matches its numbers, the thread turns the picture's colours.
Every puzzle can be solved from the numbers alone, without guessing.
2Reading the numbers
The numbers left of a row, read left to right, and above a column, read top to bottom, are its runs of filled squares. With more than one number, the runs come in that order, with at least one empty square between them.
"3 1" in a row of 5 is 3 + a gap of 1 + 1 = 5 squares exactly, so there is only one place for it.
3Three rules
- Fill the runs in the order of the numbersLeft to right for a row, top to bottom for a column
- At least one empty square between runs"2 2" has a gap between its two runs of two
- When every row and column matches, it is solvedA wrong square is not pointed out as you go - just as on a newspaper's puzzle page
4Controls
| Do | What happens |
|---|---|
| Tap | Fill a square; tap a filled one again to clear it |
| Drag | Fill a run along a row or a column (only squares like the first one change) |
| Mark | Dot a square "not here": switch to Mark below, or right-click on a computer |
| Undo | Take back the last stroke (Ctrl + Z on a computer) |
| Hint | Puts one square right: a wrong one first, otherwise one still to fill |
| Restart | Press twice to clear every square |
| Keyboard | X switches between Fill and Mark; Ctrl + Z undoes |
The row and column under your finger light up, and a line's numbers fade once it matches them.
5Difficulty and stars
| Difficulty | Size | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5×5 | For a first go. 1-2 minutes |
| 2-3 | 10×10 | 3-6 minutes; 3 needs the lines gone over more often |
| 4-5 | 15×15 | 7-15 minutes; 5 gives up a square at a time |
Three stars: ★solve it ★no hints ★within the target time.
6Ways to play
Today's puzzle
- The same 15×15 embroidery pattern for everyone, new at midnight Japan time
- Your first solve goes on the ranking
- Each hint adds 30 seconds
Stages
- 328 pictures in 18 chapters - animals, birds, vehicles, bugs, dinosaurs and more - , 100 embroidery patterns and 220 colour nonograms
- Four roads, 5×5, 10×10, 15×15 and 20×20: start on any, and go along it easier first
- A colour road too, whose numbers are in colour: paint each run in its colour
- 188 are free: every 5×5, the first 30 of the 10×10 and 15×15 roads, the first 3 of the 20×20 and the 51 colour 5×5s
- Past those, 1 ticket opens the next 3 on that road (2 on a 15×15, 1 on a 20×20), or the Lounge Pass opens them all
- A picture keeps its name a secret until you solve it, then goes into its chapter's album
7How to solve
- Start from the big numbers (the overlap method)A 7 in a row of 10, pushed to the left or to the right, always covers the middle four: fill them.
- Look for exact fitsIf the numbers plus the gaps between them add up to the line's length, there is one way only (say, "4 5" in 10).
- Mark freelyDot every square you know is empty at once: the marks are clues for the crossing lines.
- Work from the edgesA filled square at the edge starts the first run: fill its length, then the next square is empty.
- Finish a line with marksWhen a line's numbers fade, every square left in it is empty.
8Questions
What does "3 1" mean?
That the line has a run of three filled squares and then a run of one, in that order, with at least one empty square between them.
What about a line marked 0?
Nothing in it is filled. Mark every square in it: it makes the crossing lines easier.
Is there only one answer?
Yes. Every puzzle here is made so that reasoning from the numbers leads to one picture only. You never have to guess.
What if I fill a wrong square?
Nothing is said at the time. It is solved when every row and column matches its numbers. Tap a square again, or Undo, to put it right.
How do I get on the daily ranking?
Your first solve of the day goes on it. Each hint adds 30 seconds. You need a Puzzle Lounge account (a guest one will do).
Is it the same as griddlers or picture logic?
Yes, the same rules. Nonogram is the name used around the world.
Do I need an app?
No. It plays in the browser on a phone, an iPad or a computer.
Does it cost anything?
Playing is free, with no sign-up and no download. 188 of the 648 stages are free; the rest take the Lounge Pass or a ticket. The daily puzzle and its ranking are free too.