Nonogram
In Nonogram you fill squares from the row and column numbers. Each puzzle is generated with exactly one solution. Free, no install, no sign-up.
In Nonogram, the numbers beside each row and above each column tell you the lengths of the runs of filled squares in it. Fill the grid so every row and every column matches its numbers.
about 20.9 KB
Works offline after the first visit. No install, no sign-up.
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How to play Nonogram
Reading the numbers
A row labelled 3 means three filled squares in a row. A row labelled 3 1 means a run of three, then a gap of at least one empty square, then a single filled square. The order always matches left to right, or top to bottom.
Three taps per square
Tapping a square cycles it: empty, then filled, then marked as definitely empty, then back to empty. The marking is your own note-taking and does not affect the solution check.
One puzzle, one solution, always
The grid is generated and then handed to a solver that counts how many solutions it has. If the answer is not exactly one, the whole grid is thrown away and a new one is made. Puzzles with two answers leave a player stuck choosing between two grids that are both correct and cannot both be right, with no way to tell that the fault is the puzzle's.
The numbers are derived from the answer
Hints are computed from the finished picture rather than being stored alongside it, so a hint can never disagree with the solution it belongs to.
Finishing
Every filled square matching the answer finishes the round. Marked-empty squares are ignored for that check, and your move count is your result.
Nonogram Tips and Strategy
Start with lines that overflow
If a row's numbers add up, with one gap between each run, to more cells than the row has, the extra must come out of the ends. That forces the first filled square to the left edge and the last to the right edge. Those anchored rows give the picture its frame, so do them before anything else.
Let overlaps pin each other
Once one row is filled, use it as a ruler on the columns that cross it. Where a column's numbers cannot avoid the filled squares, the gaps between them are forced, and those gaps often settle several runs at once. Working both directions together is far quicker than completing every row before starting on any column.
Mark the empties too
A square you have proved is empty is worth as much as one you have filled, and leaving it unmarked makes every later run harder to place. Marking costs nothing and is not checked at the end, so use it freely. Once a line is complete, its empties stop you re-reading the same numbers over and over.
Nonogram — Frequently Asked Questions
Can a puzzle have two solutions?
No. Every generated grid is checked by a solver that counts solutions, and anything other than exactly one is discarded. That check runs on every single puzzle you are given.
What does the marking do?
It is only a note to yourself that a square is empty. It does not count as filling and it is not checked against the answer.
Do I have to fill every square?
You need every filled square to match. Squares that should be empty can be left blank or marked, either is accepted.
Does it need installing or an account?
No. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer and works offline after the first visit.
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