Nonogram

How to play

A nonogram is a picture hidden in a grid. The numbers beside each row and above each column tell you how many filled squares are in that line, in order. “3 1” means a run of three filled squares, then at least one empty square, then a single filled square. Fill the right squares and the picture appears.

• Fill: click or tap a square; drag to fill several in a line.
• Cross: mark squares you know are empty. Right-click, or switch the tool to Cross (X toggles).
• Clear: click a square again with the same tool.
• Check: when on, each move is compared with the solution; a wrong fill shows a red cross and counts as a mistake. Turn it off to solve without checking.

Sizes

• 5×5: short puzzles for learning the rules.
• 10×10: the standard size.
• 15×15: larger pictures with longer clues.
• Daily: one 10×10 puzzle per day, the same for every player.

Strategy

1. Big numbers first. In a 10-square line, a clue of 8 must cover squares 3 to 8 however it is placed. Fill the overlap.
2. Full lines. If the clues plus the gaps between them add up to the line length, as “4 5” does in 10, the whole line is known.
3. Zeros and finished lines. A 0 means an empty line; once a line’s clue is satisfied, cross out the rest.
4. Edges. A filled square at the edge belongs to the first (or last) block; extend it to full length and cross the square after it.
5. Work back and forth. Every square you settle in a row is new information for its column.

Origins

Nonograms were invented twice in Japan in 1987. Non Ishida, a graphics editor, won a Tokyo competition with pictures made by switching skyscraper lights on and off, and turned the idea into grid puzzles; the professional puzzle maker Tetsuya Nishio invented the same kind of puzzle independently.

James Dalgety, a British puzzle collector, brought Ishida’s puzzles to the West and coined the name nonogram, from Non and diagram. From 1990 The Sunday Telegraph printed one every week. The puzzle is also known as Hanjie, paint by numbers and Griddlers, the name Telegraph readers chose in 1998.

History

Why it’s fun

• A picture is the reward. Logic slowly turns into an image you didn’t know was there.
• Every square is certain. Good puzzles never need a guess.
• Numbers talk to each other. A row clue settles a square that unlocks a column, and so on across the grid.
• Scales well. A 5×5 takes a minute; a 15×15 is a proper session.

What it trains

Nonograms practise counting, spatial reasoning and careful deduction across two directions at once, and they reward keeping notes: crosses are how you remember what you have already proved.

FAQ

How does the daily leaderboard work?

Everyone gets the same 10×10 daily puzzle. Our server times you from your first move until the picture is complete and checks the finished picture. Using a hint takes that day’s puzzle off the leaderboard.

Do I need to cross out empty squares?

No. The puzzle is solved when every picture square is filled. Crosses are notes for yourself.

What are other names for nonograms?

Hanjie, paint by numbers, Griddlers and picture logic puzzles.

This version

• Every puzzle is solvable line by line with logic alone, so it has exactly one solution.
• Daily 10×10 puzzle with a world leaderboard timed by our server.
• Drag to fill, Cross tool or right-click to mark empty squares, optional mistake checking.
• Hints, undo and the finished picture in your results.

Updates

1. September 29, 2026Daily puzzle and world leaderboard.
2. September 29, 2026First version on Zippi: three sizes, check mode, hints and undo.

Page last reviewed September 30, 2026.

Sources

• Nonogram, Wikipedia