Nonogram
Shade by the numbers, a little picture appears
How to play
This Nonogram, also known as griddlers or hanjie, is a free online picture logic puzzle: use the number clues to fill a 10 by 10 grid and reveal a pixel picture. It runs in any browser on phone or desktop and inside Telegram via @MatsuriGamesBot, with no download. Solve the daily nonogram everyone shares, practise on more pictures, or challenge a friend to the same one.
A 10×10 nonogram, also called griddlers or hanjie. The numbers beside each row and above each column tell you the runs of filled cells in that line. Tap or drag to fill, switch to ✕ (or right-click) to mark cells you know are empty. A wrong fill costs one of three hearts, and painting whole runs in few strokes earns up to 100 bonus points. Every puzzle is solvable by logic alone, and the finished grid blooms into a full-colour picture: strawberries, cats, cakes, a cup of coffee.
- Click a cell to fill it; drag to fill a whole run in one stroke.
- Right-click (or the ✕ toggle) marks cells you know are empty; a wrong fill costs a heart ♥.
- Keys: arrows move, Space fills, X crosses, Tab swaps mode. Stuck? Wait a moment and my finger shows a safe next line. Fewer strokes earn a bonus (⛳ is par; up to +100).
How to solve a nonogram
The numbers beside each row and above each column list the runs of filled cells in that line, in order. A row clued 3 1 has a run of three, then at least one empty cell, then a single filled cell. Fill a cell by tapping it, or drag along a row or column to fill several in one stroke. Switch to the cross to mark cells you know are empty; crosses are free.
Filling a cell that is not part of the picture is a mistake: it turns into a red cross, costs one of your three hearts, and stops the stroke there. When a line's picture cells are all filled, its leftover cells are crossed for you.
A solved picture scores 1000, minus 150 for each mistake, plus up to 100 for painting it in few strokes: the full 100 at par, the fewest fill strokes the picture allows, falling to nothing at one stroke per cell. Lose all three hearts and the run ends, scoring by how much of the picture you uncovered, always less than a solve.
Nonogram strategy and tips
- Begin with overlap. In a line of ten, a clue of 7 must cover the middle four cells wherever it sits, and a clue of 4 3 settles three cells for certain. Large clues are the way in.
- Cross out every cell you have proved empty. A cross in one row changes what is possible in ten columns, and many pictures open up only after the empty corners are marked.
- A fill stroke passes over cells that are already filled or crossed. Cross the gap between two runs in a line first, then one drag fills both, which counts as a single stroke toward the bonus.
- Hold back the drag until you are sure of the whole run. A stroke that hits a wrong cell costs a heart and still counts as a stroke, so tapping one doubtful cell is the safer choice.
- If you are stuck, simply wait: after a pause a finger points to the next line that logic can settle. It costs no points, but finding it yourself is half the fun.
Modes and difficulty
The daily nonogram is one picture that is the same for everyone, changing at 00:00 UTC; only your first try counts on its leaderboard. Practice picks a picture at random from a library of more than fifty hand-drawn 10 by 10 designs, sometimes mirrored, so a picture you know can still surprise you. After any run you can send a friend the same puzzle as a challenge. There are no difficulty settings: every puzzle is 10 by 10.
Playing Nonogram on Matsuri
Every picture in the library is checked by a line-by-line solver before it is used, so it can be finished one row or column at a time with no guessing. The finished grid blooms into full colour: a strawberry, a cat, a slice of cake, a panda, a cup of coffee. Scores come from the server replaying your strokes, and the stroke bonus means two clean solves of the same daily can still be told apart.
A little history
Nonograms were devised in Japan in the late 1980s, independently by graphic artist Non Ishida and puzzle maker Tetsuya Nishio; the name joins Ishida's first name with diagram. They spread through newspapers in Britain and beyond, and Nintendo's Picross games of the 1990s gave them the name many players still use.
In the same series: Logic puzzles
- Sudoku: A fresh sudoku each day, solve it over coffee
- Minesweeper: Clear the board by logic, mind the mines
Update log
- · Mocha cheers a finished solve.
- · Smoother on slow phones: only the cells that move are redrawn.
- · Filling in long strokes earns a bonus of up to 100.
- · Nonogram arrives: a 10x10 grid that blooms into a little pixel picture.
Questions
- Is this nonogram free? Do I need to download it or sign up?
- It is free with no ads and no download. Play in any browser on your phone or computer, or inside Telegram through @MatsuriGamesBot, without creating an account.
- Is there a daily nonogram with a leaderboard?
- Yes. Every day brings one new picture that is the same for everyone, with a daily leaderboard, and you can send a friend that exact puzzle as a challenge. Scores are checked on our server by replaying your strokes.
- Can every nonogram here be solved without guessing?
- Yes. A picture is only used if a line-by-line solver can finish it, so every puzzle can be solved one row or column at a time by logic alone.
- What happens if I fill a wrong cell?
- The cell turns into a red cross and you lose one of your three hearts, which costs 150 points. After three mistakes the run ends and scores by how much of the picture you uncovered.