How to play Nonograms
A nonogram is a grid with numbers beside every row and above every column. Each number is the length of a block of filled squares in that line, in order, with at least one empty square between blocks. A clue of 3 1 means three filled squares in a row, then a gap, then one more. A 0 means the line is empty.
Fill in the squares until every row and column matches its clue, and the hidden picture appears. You never need to guess: every clue you settle gives you something new to work with in the lines that cross it.
Playing on Poozee
- Daily is one 10×10 puzzle a day, the same for everyone, and a new one starts at midnight your time. Solve it on consecutive days to build a streak.
- 5×5, 10×10 and 15×15 give you a new puzzle every time. 5×5 is a quick warm-up, and 15×15 is the classic full-size challenge. It appears on screens wide enough to keep its squares easy to tap: a computer, a tablet, or a phone turned sideways.
- Fill and Cross choose what a tap does. Mark squares you know are empty with an X: it makes the next deductions much easier to see. On a computer, right-click crosses out without switching.
- Drag along a row or column to paint several squares at once. The number in the top-left corner counts the squares as you drag.
- Hint settles one square and tells you which row or column proves it and which technique it takes.
- Check shows any wrong squares in red. Undo takes back a move, and Clear empties the grid.
- Clues turn gray once their line matches, and your puzzle is saved in your browser, so you can close the tab and come back to it.
Every puzzle is made fresh and then checked by a solver that works one row or column at a time, the way a person does. A puzzle is only kept if that finishes the whole grid, which also proves it has exactly one solution. The pictures are generated, so they're abstract shapes rather than drawings of objects.
How to solve: the basic routine
- Start with the big numbers. A block longer than half its line always covers the middle squares, whichever way it slides.
- Cross out the 0 lines and any line whose clue is already complete.
- Work the edges. A filled square next to an edge belongs to the first block, so you know where that block starts.
- Switch between rows and columns. Every square you fill or cross out is a new clue for the line that crosses it.
- Keep going until the picture is done. If you get stuck, press Hint to see which line to look at.
Our guide on how to solve nonograms walks through every technique with diagrams, from overlap and edge forcing to joining, splitting and sliding blocks, with numbers measured on 3,000 of these puzzles.
Pro tip: Before you fill anything, add up each clue plus one for every gap between its numbers. The closer that total is to the line's length, the more squares that line gives away.
About nonograms
Nonograms come from Japan in the late 1980s. The English name honors Non Ishida, one of the puzzle's inventors, and the puzzles are also known as Griddlers, Hanjie and Paint by Numbers. Picross is a trademark of Nintendo, and Poozee's Nonograms isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo.
Nonograms FAQ
What is a nonogram?
A grid puzzle where the numbers beside each row and above each column give the lengths of the blocks of filled squares in that line, in order. Fill in the squares that match every clue and a picture appears.
Does every puzzle have exactly one solution?
Yes. Before you see a puzzle, a solver works through it one row or column at a time, the way a person would. It is only kept if that finishes the whole grid, which also proves there's exactly one answer and that you never have to guess.
Is this the same as Picross or Griddlers?
It's the same kind of puzzle, which also goes by names like Griddlers, Hanjie and Paint by Numbers. Picross is a Nintendo trademark, and Poozee's Nonograms isn't affiliated with Nintendo.
How does the daily puzzle work?
Everyone gets the same 10x10 puzzle each day, and a new one starts at midnight in your time zone. Solve it on consecutive days to build a streak. The size buttons give you unlimited puzzles at any time.