Nonograms are logic puzzles that have captivated millions of puzzle enthusiasts worldwide. Known by many names — picross, griddlers, hanjie, paint by numbers, or Japanese crosswords — they all share the same elegant mechanic: use number clues to reveal a hidden picture on a grid.
Nonograms were independently invented in 1987 by two people: Non Ishida, a Japanese graphics editor, and Tetsuya Nishio, a Japanese puzzle author. Ishida won a competition in Tokyo by using skyscraper lights to create grid-based pictures — the concept that became nonograms. The name "nonogram" is a play on Non Ishida's name.
The puzzles gained massive popularity in Japan through puzzle magazines, then spread to the UK through The Sunday Telegraph in 1990. Nintendo brought them to gaming audiences with "Mario's Picross" for Game Boy in 1995, using the name "picross" (picture + crossword).
Nonograms satisfy a unique intersection of logic and creativity. Unlike Sudoku, which ends with a grid of numbers, a completed nonogram reveals a picture — a reward that makes the logical effort feel meaningful. The puzzles require no specialized knowledge, just patience and deduction.
free-nonogram.com offers over 5,000 puzzles across four sizes (5×5, 10×10, 15×15, 20×20), all free and playable instantly in your browser. Every puzzle is algorithmically generated with a guaranteed unique solution — meaning it can always be solved by logic alone, without guessing. A fresh daily puzzle is available every day.