How to Play Nonograms: A Beginner's Guide

A nonogram is a logic puzzle built from a grid and two sets of number clues. Your goal is to find which squares should be filled and which should stay empty. Each row clue describes the filled groups in that row, read from left to right. Each column clue does the same from top to bottom.

Read the numbers as groups

A clue of 3 means there is one continuous group of three filled squares. A clue of 2 1 means there is a group of two, followed later by a group of one. There must be at least one empty square between groups. There may also be empty squares before the first group or after the last.

The order matters. A row with clue 2 1 cannot contain a single filled square followed by a pair. A clue of 0 means the entire line is empty.

Make your first certain move

Start with lines whose groups almost fill the available space. In a five-square row, a clue of 5 fills every square. Clue 2 2 also fixes the whole line: two filled squares, one empty square, then two filled squares. You can calculate the minimum space a clue needs by adding all its numbers and one separator for every gap between groups.

When a group is longer than half the line, its possible positions overlap. For a clue of 3 in a five-square row, the middle square must be filled, even if you cannot place the group's ends yet.

Use rows and columns together

After finding a square from a row clue, look at the column it belongs to. That new information may rule out possible positions in the column. Then return to the rows. Nonograms are solved by this steady exchange of information, not by completing one row in isolation.

Once you know a group's beginning and end, mark its neighboring squares empty. Otherwise, a later filled square could accidentally turn it into a larger group than the clue allows.

Controls on Little Nonograms

• Fill: select the Fill tool and click or tap a square. Tap it again to clear it.
• Empty: select the Empty tool to place an ×. On a desktop, you can also right-click a square.
• Keyboard: use Tab to reach a square, arrow keys to move, Space or Enter to use the selected tool, and X to mark an empty square.
• Undo: reverse a recent edit. Restart clears the current attempt.
• Check: highlight filled or crossed squares that conflict with the solution. An unfilled required square is not treated as a mistake.
• A little hint: reveal or correct one square. Hints are counted in your completed result.

What counts as finishing?

A puzzle is complete when every required square is filled and no extra square is filled. You do not have to place an × in every empty square to finish. The row and column clues turn muted when their current filled groups match, but this is a useful visual check, not a substitute for considering the other lines.

Begin with the 5×5 Mini collection. When the rules feel comfortable, try a 10×10 Classic puzzle. Every grid in our current collection can be resolved by repeatedly applying its line constraints, so guessing is not necessary.