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A little logic. A satisfying break.

How to play Nonogram

Use ordered row and column clues to shade a pattern, one deduction at a time.

Play Nonogram

Already playing in another tab? Switch back to keep your board and Undo history. These examples are separate from your puzzle.

Read each run, in order

Numbers beside a row give the lengths of its shaded runs from left to right. Numbers above a column read from top to bottom. Separate adjacent runs by at least one empty cell. Every row and column must match its own clues.

A clue shown as 0 means the entire line is empty. A blank square is unknown, a shaded square is filled, and × means explicitly empty. To finish, shade exactly the cells required by the clues. Crosses are optional working notes: other cells may stay unknown. Erase makes a cell unknown again.

Three worked examples

Before · row clues 2, 2

After · row clues 2, 2

Action: For row clues 2, 2, shade columns 1, 2, 4 and 5; mark column 3 empty. Two runs of two need one separating gap.

Leave the required gap

A five-cell line with clues 2 2 has only one placement: ■ ■ × ■ ■. The gap separates the two runs.

Find the overlap

A run of 3 in five unknown cells can start in positions 1, 2 or 3. All three possibilities cover the middle cell, so shade it. The other cells are still unknown.

Finish an empty line

A line with no runs (shown as 0) is entirely empty: × × × × ×. These crosses are decisions, not erased cells.

Checked hint rules

Hints try simpler line deductions first on your current board. A separate checker verifies each offered action without looking up answer cells as a deduction.

Line Completion

When one legal arrangement remains for a line, fill its unknown cells.

Filled Overlap

Fill cells occupied in every remaining legal arrangement of a line.

Line Overlap

A cell shared as filled or empty by every legal line arrangement has that value.

Wrong entries are marked for rechecking before a deduction is offered. If no supported deduction is proved, no answer is revealed.

Controls & recovery

Ctrl+Z or Command+Z undoes the last edit or whole applied hint. Ctrl+Shift+Z or Command+Shift+Z redoes; Ctrl+Y also redoes. These work from the active board and its action buttons. Text fields keep their native editing shortcuts. Settings saves this game’s optional timer and Auto-check choice independently. Turn Auto-check off and use Check when you want to review your work.

Tap or click a cell, then choose Shade, Empty or Erase. On a keyboard use arrows to select, Space to cycle unknown → filled → marked empty → unknown, F to shade, X to mark empty, and Delete or Backspace to erase. Selecting or scrolling never paints cells. Clues and empty crosses remain distinct in light and dark appearance.

A hint names its row or column and every action cell. Apply hint uses all listed marks once, as one Undo step. Undo, Redo and Restart preserve the distinction between unknown, filled and empty. Changing the board or snapshot invalidates the old hint.

Progress saves locally as you play. Your boards combines all games, latest played first. A code or share link reopens the original puzzle; download progress to move marks and timer. Restoring asks before replacing the reviewed save. If another tab changes it, recovery controls let you download either copy before replacement.

Relaxed play has no mistake limit. The optional three-mistake challenge checks marks and lets you continue relaxed after three mistakes. The optional timer pauses when the board is hidden or paused. Restart resets entries, time and mistakes; Undo restores entries, not time or mistakes.

Supported sizes and levels

The intended choices are 5 × 5 Easy or Medium, and 10 × 10 Medium or Hard. New is available only when this server’s exact executable has passed its qualification. Saved and shared codes still reopen if New is unavailable. 5 × 5 Hard and 10 × 10 Easy are not offered.

NGM1 labels are frozen computational technique grades: Easy solves with line completion, Medium needs filled overlap, and Hard needs full line overlap. Later shared diagnostic reports and simpler-first player hints do not regrade issued codes. These levels are not human or publisher calibration.

The generator makes original shading patterns. It does not promise recognizable picture art. Play published Nonogram puzzles from Today’s puzzles or browse available dates in the Nonogram archive. Only published dates are available.