What are nonograms, picross and griddlers?

Nonograms are Japanese picture logic puzzles, often called picross, hanjie or griddlers. Numbers beside the rows and above the columns describe groups of filled squares. The row clues read from left to right and the column clues from top to bottom. Solving both sets of clues reveals the picture. This page makes its own patterns rather than using a published puzzle collection.

How do you play nonograms?

Each clue gives the lengths of the runs of filled squares in order, with at least one empty square between separate runs. A five-square row filled at squares 1, 2 and 4 has clue 2 1. A clue of 0 means the whole line is empty. Fill squares that must belong to a run and cross squares that must stay empty. Finish when every row and column matches its clue.

How do I solve a nonogram step by step?

Start with lines whose clues leave only one arrangement. In a five-square line, 5 fills every square and 2 2 fills squares 1, 2, 4 and 5, leaving square 3 empty. Next look for overlap: a run of 3 in a five-square line must cover square 3 wherever it starts. Mark the squares you can prove, then check the rows or columns crossing them. When a run is complete, cross its neighboring squares if they are inside the line. Repeat as new marks settle more clues.

Which size should a beginner choose?

Choose 5 x 5 in Board size to practice on 25 squares. Work on one row or column at a time and use Hint when you need a next step. Smaller boards leave fewer squares to track, but size is not a measured difficulty level: there are no easy or hard ratings here.

Are all nonograms solvable?

A set of row and column clues can have no solution, one solution or more than one. Every puzzle offered here has exactly one solution. A candidate with two solutions, or one the search cannot settle within its step limit, is dropped and the next candidate from the same seed is tried, up to 60. If none passes, the page names the next seed to try instead of showing a doubtful grid.

Will I ever have to guess?

No. Having one solution is not the only test: the solver must also reach it one row or column at a time, working only from each line's clue and the squares already settled. A grid that has one solution but can only be finished by trying a square both ways is dropped too. So every puzzle offered here can be finished by reasoning about single rows and columns, and a Hint always has a line to point at while your marks are correct.

What does the Hint button show?

It works in order. First it names any row or column whose marks cannot fit its clue at all, which also shows as a red clue. Next it names a row holding a mark that does not match the solution. Otherwise it picks the row or column where the clue and your marks settle the most unmarked squares, outlines those squares on the board and says in words which ones to fill and which to cross. It never places a mark for you. Each hint adds one to the hint count, which shows beside your progress, and a solved puzzle keeps its count in the list of recent puzzles.

Can I print a nonogram or save it as a PDF?

Yes. Print opens the browser print dialog for a blank clue grid, headed with the size and seed. Select Save as PDF if your browser or operating system offers it. Tick Print the answer on a second page to include the solution. The squares print at 14 mm on a 5 x 5 board and shrink to 9 mm on a 15 x 15, so the larger grids still fit with their clues on one page. Copy puts the clues and grid on the clipboard as text, with any marks you have made.

What is the seed, and can I play the same puzzle again?

The seed is a whole number from 1 to 999999 that decides the picture. The generator draws its random numbers from a fixed formula seeded by the size and the seed, so the same pair gives the same puzzle on any device. The size and seed of the puzzle on the board are shown above it and in the Seed box. To open a puzzle again, choose its size, type its seed and press Play seed. New puzzle picks a random seed at the chosen size.

Is my progress saved?

Yes, in this browser only. The puzzle on the board, your marks, its hint count, the tool you chose, and up to 11 earlier puzzles you had started are kept, so a reload or a later visit opens where you left off. Resume reopens an unfinished puzzle with its marks, and Play again reopens a solved one on an empty grid. Undo reaches back through up to 400 strokes made since the puzzle on the board was opened in this visit. Nothing is uploaded, and the Start over button at the top of the page forgets all of it. If the browser refuses storage, the page says so and the puzzle still plays.

Can I play nonograms on Android or another mobile device?

Yes. Open this page in a current browser on Android, iPhone or a tablet. Use Fill or Cross, then tap a square or drag along a row or column. Once the page has loaded, puzzle generation and play run in the tab without fetching a puzzle pack. Your saved progress stays in that browser.

Nonograms

Turn number clues into a picture, one square at a time. Play free nonogram puzzles online or print a blank grid to solve on paper. Choose a board from 5 x 5 to 15 x 15, including 10 x 10, and return to a favorite with its size and seed.

puzzleno puzzle yet

Setting up the board

Your saved puzzle, or a new one, appears here in a moment.

progresssaved once you play

filled: none yet
crossed: none yet
rows met: none yet
columns met: none yet
hints: none yet
solutions: none yet
keys: arrows, Space fill, X cross

Setting up the board.

Size

Seed

Filled

none yet

Clues met

none yet

Solutions

none yet

Print the answer on a second page

Tap or click a square to fill it and again to empty it, or switch the tool to Cross to mark a square you know is empty. Drag along a row or column to mark several at once: a stroke only changes squares like the one it started on, and Undo takes it back in one step. With a mouse, a right-click puts a cross on or takes it off. On a keyboard, the arrow keys move, Space puts a fill on or off, X does the same for a cross, Backspace clears, and Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z undoes. A clue turns grey when its line reads exactly as the clue, and red when the marks in its line cannot fit the clue at all. Hint names a line to work on next, or the line holding a wrong mark. The size and seed on the board make the same puzzle again anywhere, and your progress stays in this browser.

Your recent puzzles

No earlier puzzles yet. Each puzzle you leave after marking it is kept here with its seed and your marks, up to 11, so you can go back to it.

How clues and the check work

Filled cells 1, 2, 4a five-cell row
clue 2 1
Filled cells 1 to 4a five-cell row, no gap
clue 4, not 2 2: separate runs need at least one empty cell
A grid with a second solutionfound by the solver
2 solutions found, so not offered, nor is one the search cannot settle within its step limit

Accuracy. Every puzzle is generated here from an original seeded pattern, never copied from a puzzle pack. A grid is offered only when the solver finds exactly one solution and reaches it one row or column at a time; one with two solutions, one that needs a guess, or one the search cannot settle within its step limit is dropped. The clues are the exact run lengths of the filled squares, and there is no difficulty rating, because none is measured.

Common questions

What are nonograms, picross and griddlers?: Nonograms are Japanese picture logic puzzles, often called picross, hanjie or griddlers. Numbers beside the rows and above the columns describe groups of filled squares. The row clues read from left to right and the column clues from top to bottom. Solving both sets of clues reveals the picture. This page makes its own patterns rather than using a published puzzle collection.
How do you play nonograms?: Each clue gives the lengths of the runs of filled squares in order, with at least one empty square between separate runs. A five-square row filled at squares 1, 2 and 4 has clue 2 1. A clue of 0 means the whole line is empty. Fill squares that must belong to a run and cross squares that must stay empty. Finish when every row and column matches its clue.
How do I solve a nonogram step by step?: Start with lines whose clues leave only one arrangement. In a five-square line, 5 fills every square and 2 2 fills squares 1, 2, 4 and 5, leaving square 3 empty. Next look for overlap: a run of 3 in a five-square line must cover square 3 wherever it starts. Mark the squares you can prove, then check the rows or columns crossing them. When a run is complete, cross its neighboring squares if they are inside the line. Repeat as new marks settle more clues.
Which size should a beginner choose?: Choose 5 x 5 in Board size to practice on 25 squares. Work on one row or column at a time and use Hint when you need a next step. Smaller boards leave fewer squares to track, but size is not a measured difficulty level: there are no easy or hard ratings here.
Are all nonograms solvable?: A set of row and column clues can have no solution, one solution or more than one. Every puzzle offered here has exactly one solution. A candidate with two solutions, or one the search cannot settle within its step limit, is dropped and the next candidate from the same seed is tried, up to 60. If none passes, the page names the next seed to try instead of showing a doubtful grid.
Will I ever have to guess?: No. Having one solution is not the only test: the solver must also reach it one row or column at a time, working only from each line's clue and the squares already settled. A grid that has one solution but can only be finished by trying a square both ways is dropped too. So every puzzle offered here can be finished by reasoning about single rows and columns, and a Hint always has a line to point at while your marks are correct.
What does the Hint button show?: It works in order. First it names any row or column whose marks cannot fit its clue at all, which also shows as a red clue. Next it names a row holding a mark that does not match the solution. Otherwise it picks the row or column where the clue and your marks settle the most unmarked squares, outlines those squares on the board and says in words which ones to fill and which to cross. It never places a mark for you. Each hint adds one to the hint count, which shows beside your progress, and a solved puzzle keeps its count in the list of recent puzzles.
Can I print a nonogram or save it as a PDF?: Yes. Print opens the browser print dialog for a blank clue grid, headed with the size and seed. Select Save as PDF if your browser or operating system offers it. Tick Print the answer on a second page to include the solution. The squares print at 14 mm on a 5 x 5 board and shrink to 9 mm on a 15 x 15, so the larger grids still fit with their clues on one page. Copy puts the clues and grid on the clipboard as text, with any marks you have made.
What is the seed, and can I play the same puzzle again?: The seed is a whole number from 1 to 999999 that decides the picture. The generator draws its random numbers from a fixed formula seeded by the size and the seed, so the same pair gives the same puzzle on any device. The size and seed of the puzzle on the board are shown above it and in the Seed box. To open a puzzle again, choose its size, type its seed and press Play seed. New puzzle picks a random seed at the chosen size.
Is my progress saved?: Yes, in this browser only. The puzzle on the board, your marks, its hint count, the tool you chose, and up to 11 earlier puzzles you had started are kept, so a reload or a later visit opens where you left off. Resume reopens an unfinished puzzle with its marks, and Play again reopens a solved one on an empty grid. Undo reaches back through up to 400 strokes made since the puzzle on the board was opened in this visit. Nothing is uploaded, and the Start over button at the top of the page forgets all of it. If the browser refuses storage, the page says so and the puzzle still plays.
Can I play nonograms on Android or another mobile device?: Yes. Open this page in a current browser on Android, iPhone or a tablet. Use Fill or Cross, then tap a square or drag along a row or column. Once the page has loaded, puzzle generation and play run in the tab without fetching a puzzle pack. Your saved progress stays in that browser.

Every puzzle is generated here from an original seeded pattern, never copied from a puzzle pack. A grid is offered only when the solver finds exactly one solution and reaches it one row or column at a time; one with two solutions, one that needs a guess, or one the search cannot settle within its step limit is dropped. The clues are the exact run lengths of the filled squares, and there is no difficulty rating, because none is measured.