Nonogram Puzzles
Use the numbered clues to reveal a hidden picture, with every row and column narrowing the next move.
Hints available. Play as many boards as you like.
Ready when you are.
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Scan for the same board — no hints.
How to play
Each number beside a row or column describes a run of filled squares. A clue of 4 means four neighboring squares are filled; a clue of 2 1 means a run of two, then at least one blank square, then a single filled square.
Tap or click a square to cycle it from filled to crossed to unknown. Use a cross for any square you prove is empty. The puzzle is complete when your filled squares reproduce the hidden grid exactly.
Clues always appear in order. If a row reads 3 2, the run of three must come before the run of two, even when several possible placements still fit.
Strategy
Start with the overlap technique. In a 10-cell row, a run of 7 could begin at either edge, but the middle four cells are covered in every placement. Fill those certain cells before deciding where the run starts.
Use edge anchoring when a filled square sits near a boundary. If a row begins with a clue of 5 and its second cell is known filled, that run cannot slide beyond the edge; count five cells from the boundary, then cross the cell immediately after the run.
After completing any run, mark its bordering squares with crosses. Those small negative deductions often unlock a perpendicular line and create a chain of certain moves without guessing.
Difficulty and variants
Easy boards use shorter clue lists and more high-overlap lines. Hard boards are larger and need deductions to bounce repeatedly between rows and columns; the size adds reading work, while the clue structure creates the real difficulty.
Questions, answered
How do you solve a nonogram without guessing?
Work only with squares shared by every legal placement of a clue, then use completed runs and crosses to constrain the perpendicular lines. Every puzzle here is intended to yield to that cycle.
What does a zero mean in a nonogram?
A zero means the whole row or column is empty. You can cross every square in that line immediately.
Is a nonogram the same as a picture crossword?
Yes. Picture crossword and nonogram describe the same clue-and-grid puzzle family; nonogram is the generic name used here.
Does today’s nonogram change at midnight?
The daily board changes at midnight UTC, so everyone receives the same puzzle regardless of local time zone.