Fill the grid using the number clues β each number tells you how many consecutive cells are filled in that row/column. Reveal the hidden picture.
Nonograms (also called Picross or Griddlers) require you to cross-reference row and column number clues simultaneously - each clue tells you the length of consecutive filled blocks in that line, and you must find the single arrangement that satisfies every row and column clue at once. This tests visuospatial logic and systematic deduction in a way that's genuinely different from verbal logic puzzles: you're constantly holding multiple partial constraints in mind while a picture gradually emerges from the grid.
The nonogram format originated in Japan in the late 1980s (hence the alternate name "Griddlers") and has since become one of the most popular free logic-puzzle genres worldwide, precisely because the "aha" moment of a recognizable image emerging makes the deductive process satisfying in a way pure number puzzles often aren't. This free nonogram generator gives you a fresh 8Γ8 picture puzzle every time.
"Picross" is short for "picture crossword," the name Nintendo popularized through their handheld puzzle games, while "Nonogram" and "Griddlers" are the more common names used in puzzle books and Western logic-puzzle communities. Regardless of the name, the underlying logic - filling cells based on row and column count clues - remains identical across all versions.
A clue close to the full line length leaves few possible positions - fill those in first on this nonogram puzzle.
Compare the leftmost and rightmost possible position of a block - cells that overlap in both are guaranteed filled.
When a row gets stuck, filled cells often unlock progress on the intersecting column, and vice versa.
Picross and Griddlers fans, puzzle-book enthusiasts, and people who enjoy the combination of logic and visual reveal in games like Minesweeper all gravitate toward nonograms as a satisfying, free daily brain-training activity.
Nonograms, also widely known as Picross (short for "picture crossword"), were independently invented in Japan by Non Ishida and in the UK by Tetsuya Nishio in the late 1980s, both arriving at essentially the same concept: a grid puzzle where numeric clues along each row and column tell you how many consecutive filled cells appear in that line, and in what groupings, without telling you their exact position. Solving the puzzle correctly reveals a hidden pixel-art picture, which gives nonograms a satisfying dual reward of both logical completion and visual payoff that most pure logic puzzles lack.
The format became globally popular after Nintendo published several Picross titles for the Game Boy and later systems starting in 1995, introducing the puzzle style to a mainstream gaming audience well beyond the newspaper puzzle sections where it had previously lived.
Every legitimate nonogram can be solved through pure logical deduction without any guessing, using a technique of finding "forced" cells - positions that must be filled (or must be empty) in every possible valid arrangement for a given row or column, regardless of how the remaining clues are ultimately arranged. Skilled solvers scan for lines where the sum of the clue numbers plus the required gaps between them nearly fills the entire row, since these lines yield the most forced cells immediately and create a cascade of new information for the intersecting rows and columns.
If you enjoy this style of constraint deduction, Sumplete applies a similar row-and-column elimination process using arithmetic sums instead of picture clues, and Zebra Puzzle tests the same core deductive-elimination skill in a completely different, non-visual format.
Each number represents a consecutive block of filled cells, in order, separated by at least one empty cell. Multiple numbers mean multiple separate blocks in that line.
Yes - every generated puzzle here has exactly one valid grid arrangement matching all row and column clues.
Yes, completely free with a new puzzle available instantly, no download or signup required.
A nonogram is a logic puzzle where numeric clues along rows and columns tell you how many consecutive cells to fill in, revealing a hidden picture when solved correctly.
Nonograms train logical deduction and constraint satisfaction, requiring you to cross-reference row and column clues to determine each cell with certainty.
Well-designed nonograms should be solvable through pure logic without guessing, though harder puzzles occasionally require trial-and-error on ambiguous sections.
Sudoku uses number placement rules within a fixed grid structure, while nonograms use count-based clues to reveal a picture β both are logic puzzles but with very different mechanics.