Nonogram puzzles online: free picture logic game

How to play nonograms

A nonogram (also called a griddler, hanjie or paint-by-numbers puzzle) is a grid with number clues beside each row and above each column.

• Each clue lists the lengths of the filled blocks in that line, in order. A clue of 3 1 means a block of three filled squares, then at least one empty square, then a single filled square.
• Tap or drag to fill squares. Switch to Mark mode to place an × on squares you know are empty.
• When every row and column matches its clue, the puzzle is solved.

Choose 5×5 for a two-minute warm-up, 10×10 for a coffee break, or 15×15 for a real challenge. Our software checks every puzzle so it can be solved one line at a time with pure logic, so you never have to guess.

The key technique: overlap

Take a row of 10 squares with the clue 7. Push the block as far left as it can go: it covers squares 1 to 7. Now push it as far right: it covers squares 4 to 10. Squares 4 to 7 are filled in both cases, so they must be filled. That's four squares solved before you've looked at anything else.

The rule of thumb: if a clue (plus the gaps between its blocks) adds up to more than half the line, there is overlap to fill. For a clue of 3 4 in 10 squares, the total length is 3 + 1 + 4 = 8, so you can fill the overlaps of each block.

Step-by-step method

1. Start with the big clues. A clue equal to the line length (like 10 in a 10-wide puzzle) fills the whole line. A clue of 0 means the whole line is empty: mark it with ×.
2. Fill the overlaps in every row and column whose clue is long.
3. Use the edges. If a filled square touches the edge of the grid, the first block starts there. Fill it to its full length and mark the next square with ×.
4. Mark empty squares. When a line's blocks are complete, mark the rest of the line with ×. Those marks are clues for the crossing lines.
5. Switch direction often. Every square you solve in a row gives new information to a column. Go back and forth until the picture appears.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the gap: blocks in a clue always have at least one empty square between them.
• Filling a square because it "looks right". If you can't prove it from the clues, leave it.
• Not using ×. Marks feel slow, but they're what make the hard lines solvable.

Nonograms were invented in Japan in the late 1980s and became popular worldwide in newspapers in the 1990s. Today they're one of the most loved logic puzzles. Read more in our step-by-step nonogram guide, or replay past daily nonograms from the archive.

Written and tested by the Puzzlenest editors. Updated November 1, 2026. How we make our puzzles