Nonogram

You can find a secret picture in a grid.

Use numbers to color the small boxes.

The numbers tell you how many boxes to fill. They show how many boxes sit in a row.

You must leave a blank space between sets of boxes.

Some puzzles use many colors. Others use only black and white. You can use logic to solve them. One wrong box can ruin the whole picture.

A woman named Non Ishida helped make these puzzles. A man named James Dalgety gave them their name.

You can play these games on paper or on a screen. They are very fun to solve!

A nonogram is a fun picture logic puzzle.

You use numbers to find a hidden picture in a grid. These numbers are clues. They tell you how many filled squares are in each row or column. For example, a clue of "4 8 3" means you must make sets of four, eight, and three squares. You must leave at least one blank space between these sets.

Most puzzles use black and white. Some use many colors to make the art look better.

To solve them, you use logic. You can mark empty spaces with a dot or a cross. If you guess and make one error, the whole picture might be ruined.

A woman named Non Ishida helped create these puzzles. She won a contest in Tokyo in 1987. A man named James Dalgety gave them the name "nonogram." He mixed the name "Non" with the word "diagram." You can play these on paper or on electronic toys. Nintendo makes famous versions called Picross.

People enjoy these puzzles all over the world.

A nonogram is a clever picture logic puzzle.

You solve it by coloring squares in a grid to find a hidden image. The numbers at the edge of the grid are your clues. They tell you how many unbroken lines of filled squares are in each row or column. For example, a clue like "4 8 3" means you must draw a set of four, then eight, and then three squares. You must leave at least one blank square between each set.

Most puzzles are black and white, but some use many colors. If a puzzle uses colors, the number clues will also be colored to show you which shade to use.

Solving these puzzles requires careful logic rather than guessing.

Many people use a dot or a cross to mark squares they know are empty. If you guess and make one mistake, it can ruin the whole picture. This error might not show up until much later in the game. You can often solve a puzzle by looking at one row or column at a time. Some harder puzzles require "what if" reasoning. This means you look at how one square might affect other rows or columns.

The history of the nonogram begins in Japan.

In 1987, a graphics editor named Non Ishida won a contest in Tokyo. She used the lights of skyscrapers to design grid pictures. This gave her the idea for the puzzle we know today. At the same time, a professional puzzler named Tetsuya Nishio made similar puzzles. In 1988, Ishida published her work as "Window Art Puzzles." A man named James Dalgety helped her share these puzzles with the world. He created the name "nonogram" by mixing "Non" with the word "diagram."

Nonograms have spread across the globe through many different formats.

In 1990, The Sunday Telegraph began publishing them every week. By 1993, Non Ishida published the first book of nonograms in Japan. These puzzles are now found in many countries like Sweden, the United States, and South Africa. They are even in magazines in Italy, Germany, and Russia. Some people call them "Griddlers," which was a name chosen by readers in 1998. There are many other names, such as Picross, StarPic, and Paint by Numbers.

Today, you can find nonograms on many electronic devices.

By 1995, people were playing them on handheld toys like the Game Boy. Nintendo made them very famous under the name Picross. The company released many titles for the Super Famicom and the Nintendo DS. A developer called Jupiter Corporation has made many Picross games for the Nintendo 3DS and Switch. You can even find them in mobile games or as part of large online games. Whether on paper or a screen, these puzzles remain a favorite way to exercise the mind.

A nonogram is a sophisticated picture logic puzzle.

These puzzles use a grid of cells to hide a secret image. To find it, you must color certain cells or leave them blank. The clues are numbers located at the edges of the grid. These numbers represent a form of discrete tomography. This means they measure the unbroken lines of filled squares in any row or column. For example, a clue of "4 8 3" tells you there are sets of four, eight, and three filled squares. You must place at least one blank square between each set. While many puzzles are binary, meaning they use only black and white, others use colors. In colored versions, the clues are also colored to guide the player.

Solving a nonogram requires strict logical reasoning rather than guesswork.

If you guess and make a single error, it can ruin the entire solution. This error might not appear until much later, making it very difficult to correct. Solvers often use a dot or a cross to mark cells they are certain are empty. You can often complete a puzzle by analyzing one row or column at a time. However, more difficult puzzles require "what if" reasoning. This involves looking at multiple rows or columns to find contradictions. For instance, if a specific cell being filled would cause an error elsewhere, that cell must be a space.

There are several specific techniques used to solve these grids. The "Simple Boxes" method involves finding where blocks of squares must overlap. In a row of ten cells with a single clue of 8, the block must cover the six centermost cells. The "Simple Spaces" method identifies cells that are out of range for any possible block. Another technique is "Forcing," where a confirmed space limits where a block can fit. For example, a gap too small for a clue must be filled with spaces. The "Glue" technique helps when a box near a border forces a clue to align with that edge. Finally, the "Joining and Splitting" method uses logic to decide if two blocks should be connected or separated.

The history of the nonogram began in Japan during the late 1980s. In 1987, a Japanese graphics editor named Non Ishida won a competition in Tokyo. She designed grid pictures inspired by the lights of skyscrapers being turned on or off. Around the same time, a professional puzzler named Tetsuya Nishio independently invented similar puzzles. In 1988, Ishida published her work as "Window Art Puzzles." A puzzle collector named James Dalgety helped her share these puzzles globally. Dalgety created the name "nonogram" by combining "Non" with the word "diagram."

The popularity of nonograms grew through various print and electronic media. In 1990, The Sunday Telegraph began publishing them weekly in the United Kingdom. By 1993, Ishida published the first dedicated book of nonograms in Japan. In 1998, a competition held by The Sunday Telegraph resulted in readers choosing "Griddlers" as a new name. The puzzles eventually spread to many countries, including Sweden, the United States, and South Africa. Today, magazines containing these puzzles are published in nations like Italy, Germany, Russia, and Israel.

Electronic versions of the puzzle became common by 1995 on handheld devices like the Game Boy. Nintendo trademarked the name "Picross," which is short for "picture crossword." They released many titles, including nine for the Super Famicom. The developer Jupiter Corporation has been very prolific with the series. They released Picross DS for the Nintendo DS in 2007, and many more for the 3DS and Nintendo Switch. These include special character-themed versions featuring Pokémon, Zelda, and Sanrio characters.

Nonograms connect to many different digital and social experiences. Beyond dedicated consoles, they appear in mobile games like "Paint it Back," which focuses on restoring an art gallery. Some PC games, such as "Pictopix," allow players to share their own creations. The puzzles have even appeared in large role-playing games like "Runescape" during special events. Because they have no theoretical limits on size or layout, they continue to evolve. Whether called Griddlers, Picross, or StarPic, they remain a global phenomenon for logic enthusiasts.