Nonogram
Read the number clues to reveal the hidden picture.
How to play Nonogram
The numbers beside each row and above each column tell you the lengths of the filled runs in that line. Click cells to fill them. Turn on Mark mode to place an ✕ on cells you know are empty. Marks never count toward the solution. Finish when every filled cell matches the clues.
How to read the clues
The numbers along a row or column list the lengths of the filled runs in that line, in order, with at least one empty cell between consecutive runs. A row clue of 4 2 means a block of four filled cells, then a gap, then a block of two, reading left to right. The clues for a single line rarely solve it on their own; the puzzle is cracked by reading rows and columns against each other, until between them they pin down one picture exactly. In a 10x10 grid that cross-referencing is the whole game.
One line, worked to the end
The numbers turn friendly the moment you count with them. Take a ten-cell row with the clue 5 3. The runs need 5 plus 3 filled cells with at least one empty cell between them: nine cells spoken for in a row of ten, so everything can shift by at most one. Slide the block of five as far left as it goes and it covers cells one through five; as far right as it goes, cells two through six. Either way, cells two through five are filled, guaranteed. The same squeeze on the block of three, which lives in cells seven through nine or eight through ten, proves cells eight and nine. Six certain cells before you have glanced at a single column. Now suppose a crossing column later proves the first cell empty. The five must occupy cells two through six exactly, which forces cell seven empty as the gap, which pins the three into cells eight through ten. One small X finished the entire row, and each of those ten settled cells now feeds a clue into the column crossing it. That cascade, certainty breeding certainty, is a nonogram working as intended.
Techniques that carry every puzzle
Nonograms are pure logic: every filled cell can be proven, and a good solver never colours a square on a hunch.
- Overlap: when a run is long relative to the space, some cells must be filled no matter where the run sits. In a 10-cell line a clue of 8 forces the middle six cells, because the block can only slide two cells either way.
- Edge logic is free information: whenever the cell touching a border is filled, the line's first run extends from that border. Count it off and cap it.
- Fill the certainties first, then mark the cells you have proven empty; those marks become walls that constrain the next runs.
- Work the most crowded lines first. A line whose clues plus mandatory gaps nearly fill it leaves very little freedom.
- Alternate between rows and columns constantly, because each cell you solve in one direction hands you a clue in the other.
From skyscraper windows to Picross
Nonograms have a better origin story than most puzzles. In 1986 the Tokyo graphics editor Non Ishida won a window-art competition by switching lights on and off in skyscraper windows to form giant grid pictures, and saw that the same on-off grid could work as a puzzle on paper. Her puzzles were published in Japan in 1988, the same year the professional puzzler Tetsuya Nishio arrived at the identical idea independently. They reached Britain in 1990, when James Dalgety began running them in The Sunday Telegraph and coined the name nonogram in Ishida's honour. The puzzles travel under many labels (Hanjie, Griddlers, Pic-a-Pix, Paint by Numbers), but the name most players know is Picross, from Nintendo's Mario's Picross in 1995, which put the grid on the Game Boy and turned a newspaper curiosity into a series still running today.
Keeping your logic honest
Turn on Mark mode to record cells you have shown are empty. Those marks never count toward the solution, but they stop you re-testing the same dead ends and keep your reasoning clean. The discipline matters more than any single technique. Never fill a cell because it looks right against the emerging picture. The picture is the reward, not evidence, and guessing from it is how solvable grids collapse. When a run is complete, cap both ends with marks immediately; an uncapped run will tempt you to extend it ten minutes later. Recheck clue order too: 2 4 and 4 2 use the same cells and are not the same line. And when a contradiction finally surfaces (a run that no longer fits anywhere), resist patching the line in front of you. The error is nearly always several moves old, so retrace your recent fills and find the square you never actually proved. In a 10x10 grid that honest retracing costs two minutes; bluffing past it costs the puzzle.
Nonogram leaderboard
Top scores. Log in to compete.
- Loading leaderboard…
Nonogram: frequently asked questions
What does Mark mode do?
It lets you place an ✕ on cells you have deduced are empty. Marks are reminders only and never block or trigger a solve.
Are the puzzles always solvable by logic?
Puzzles are generated at about 50% fill, so the vast majority are solvable by pure deduction.
What does a clue like 3 1 2 mean?
It means the line contains, in that order, a run of three filled cells, then a gap, then a single filled cell, then a gap, then a run of two. There is always at least one empty cell between runs, but the gaps can be any size, which is what you deduce from crossing lines.
What is the overlap technique?
When a run is long compared with the space it lives in, it cannot avoid certain cells wherever you slide it. Marking those guaranteed-filled cells first, especially in the middle of long clues, gives you anchors that crack the rest of the grid open.
Do the X marks count toward solving the puzzle?
No. Only filled cells form the picture. Marks simply record cells you have proven must be empty; they are a memory aid that prevents you re-checking the same squares and helps you box in where the next run can go.
Should I ever fill a cell by guessing?
No. A well-made nonogram is fully solvable by logic, and one wrong cell propagates errors through both its row and its column until the picture no longer fits the clues. If nothing seems certain, look for a more constrained line rather than gambling.
Why do I need to switch between rows and columns so often?
Every cell you solve in a row becomes a fixed clue for the column that passes through it, and vice versa. Alternating directions keeps feeding new certainties back and forth, which is how the whole grid gradually resolves.
What if a line's clues add up to fill it exactly?
Then there is no slack and you can complete the whole line immediately. In a ten-cell row, a clue of 4 5 needs four filled, one gap, then five filled: exactly ten cells, all forced. Lines like that, and lines with no filled cells at all, are always the right place to start.
Is Nonogram free to play?
Yes. Nonogram is completely free on Inkplay, with no download, no sign-up, and no in-game purchases. Open the page and play instantly on desktop or mobile.
Can I play Nonogram unblocked?
Yes. Nonogram runs entirely in your browser with no download, install, or plugins, so it loads instantly and keeps working even on school or work networks where bigger game sites get blocked.
More games to play
In the mood for more? Try 2048, Memory Match, Lights Out, Minesweeper, or browse all puzzle games and the full games list on Inkplay. Nonogram also appears in Logic Puzzles.