A Nonogram is a logic puzzle where you fill cells on a grid to reveal a hidden picture. The numbers beside each row and column show the lengths and order of the filled blocks in that line.

Is a Nonogram the same as Picross?

Yes. Picross is Nintendo brand name for the same puzzle type, which is also known as Hanjie, Griddlers, or a Japanese crossword.

Do Nonograms require guessing?

A well-made Nonogram has a single logical solution and can be solved entirely by deduction. NonogramGo generates every puzzle to have a unique solution.

What Is a Nonogram?

A Nonogram is a logic puzzle in which you fill in cells on a grid to reveal a hidden picture. Each row and each column has a set of numbers beside it. Those numbers tell you how many filled cells appear in that line, and in what order, but not exactly where.

Your job is to use logic, not guessing, to work out which cells must be filled and which must stay empty. When the puzzle is solved correctly, the filled cells form a picture.

What the numbers mean

Take a row with the clue 3 1. It means the row contains a block of three filled cells, then a gap of at least one empty cell, then a block of one filled cell. Nothing else: no other filled cells appear in that row.

Each number is the length of one consecutive block of filled cells.
Multiple numbers mean multiple blocks, always in order from left to right (for rows) or top to bottom (for columns).
There must be at least one empty cell between two blocks, but the gap can be larger.
A clue of 0 means the entire line is empty.

A tiny example

Imagine a 5×5 grid where the first row is marked 5. A block of five in a row of five can only go in one place: every cell in that row is filled. Clues that equal the full width of the grid are the easiest starting points.

Other names for the same puzzle

Nonograms are published under many names, which is why searching for them can be confusing:

Picross — the name used by Nintendo for its long-running series. Picross is a trademark of Nintendo and is used here only to describe the puzzle type.
Hanjie — a common name in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Griddlers — popularised by a well-known puzzle community site.
Japanese crossword, picture cross, and paint by numbers puzzles follow the same idea.

Whatever the name, the rules are the same: read the clues, deduce the cells, reveal the picture.

Why people enjoy them

Nonograms sit somewhere between Sudoku and a colouring book. They are calm and methodical, but they also deliver a small reward every time a picture starts to emerge from the grid. Because solving relies on reasoning rather than arithmetic or trivia, they are easy to pick up and hard to put down.

Ready to try one?

Play a free Nonogram or read how to play / how to solve first.