Fernhawk GamesA Nonogram is a picture puzzle made of numbers. You fill in squares on a grid, guided only by the clues at the sides, until a hidden picture appears.
How to play
Every row and every column has a short list of numbers beside it. Each number tells you the length of a run of filled squares in that line, in order from left to right or top to bottom. A clue of "3 1" means there is a run of three filled squares, then at least one empty square, then a single filled square.
- Filling: tap a square to fill it, and tap again to clear it. Drag your finger or mouse along a line to fill several squares at once.
- Crosses: when you know a square is empty, mark it with an X. Press the X marks button and then tap the square, or press and hold a square. Crosses are only notes for you, and they do not count toward the picture.
- Clues turn gray: when a row or a column is correct, its numbers turn gray, so you can see which lines are finished.
- Winning: you win when every row and every column matches its clues. The picture is then complete.
On a computer, the arrow keys move around the grid, Space or Enter fills a square, X crosses it out, Delete or Backspace clears it, and Z takes a step back. The Undo button does the same. The Hint button reveals one correct square.
Every puzzle is built so that logic alone is enough. You never need to guess, and no puzzle depends on luck.
The levels
The levels differ in the size of the grid and in how deep the reasoning goes.
- Easy: a 5 by 5 picture to learn the idea. You get 3 hints.
- Medium: 10 by 10. It takes some thought. You get 3 hints.
- Hard: 15 by 15, with plenty of clues to weigh against each other. You get 1 hint. These puzzles were picked because a solver needed three or four rounds of reasoning, with many steps that lean on earlier squares.
- Expert: also 15 by 15, but picked for the deepest chains of reasoning. A solver needed five or more rounds, or four rounds with many leaning steps. You get 1 hint.
A "round" here means one pass over every row and column, filling in what the clues force. More rounds means each deduction depends on the ones before it.
Today's game
The daily game is a Medium puzzle. Everyone who plays on the same calendar day gets the same picture.
Tips
- Start with the biggest numbers. A run of 8 in a line of 10 must cover the middle squares, whatever else happens, so you can fill those at once.
- Add up the clues in a line, plus one gap for each space between runs. If that total is close to the line's length, there is very little room to move, and many squares are decided.
- Cross out squares as soon as you are sure they are empty. Crosses make the remaining space easier to see.
- Jump between rows and columns. A square you fill in a column may complete a clue in a row.
- Watch the gray clues. A line that is finished tells you which squares around it must be empty.
- Use your hint sparingly. On Hard and Expert you only have one.
A bit of history
Nonograms were developed in Japan in the 1980s. They are also known as picture logic puzzles, because the numbers are clues to a hidden picture.
Questions
Do I have to cross out empty squares? No. Crosses are optional notes. They help you think, but only the filled squares count.
Is there more than one answer? No. The clues describe one picture, and logic finds it.
What if I fill a square by mistake? Tap it again to clear it, or use Undo. The clues turn gray only when a whole line is right, so a gray line is a good sign.
Why are the Hard puzzles slower? They have more squares, and the deductions lean on each other, so you often need to go back and forth between rows and columns.