5x5 Nonogram

How to play

Fill squares so the runs of filled squares match the numbers beside every row and above every column. Read row clues from left to right and column clues from top to bottom. For example, 3 1 means a run of three, at least one empty square, then a single filled square. A zero means the whole line is empty.

Tap or click a square in Fill mode to fill it; tap again to clear it. Switch to Mark X for squares you know are empty. You can also hold a square briefly or right-click to mark X. Drag sideways to paint one row, with the same action for every square in that stroke. Undo reverses a whole stroke; Reset clears the same puzzle.

On a keyboard, use arrow keys to move, Space to fill and X to mark an empty square. The large Fill selected, X selected and Clear selected buttons also act on the selected square, which helps on the smallest phone grids. Clues fade when the filled runs match. Empty squares need not all be marked X: the game checks your filled squares automatically and stops the timer when the answer matches.

A short history

Nonograms turn numbers into a pattern of filled and empty squares. The modern puzzle developed in Japan in the late 1980s, with designs by Non Ishida and Tetsuya Nishio helping establish the form. It later reached newspaper readers and computer players around the world. These generated puzzles make abstract mosaics rather than drawings of named objects; no picture recognition is needed to solve them. Read the Puzzle Museum’s history.

Choose a five, ten or fifteen square board, or play the shared ten-by-ten daily puzzle. The daily changes at midnight UTC; its dated share link stays reproducible later. A size page starts with a fixed puzzle. New puzzle changes the seed in your browser and adds it to your shareable address. Every grid is generated by code, checked for exactly one solution and proved solvable by row and column deductions alone. Show solution reveals the answer and stops the timer, but does not earn a daily win.

Solving tips

Start with long runs. If a run of seven sits in a ten-square line, its possible positions overlap in the middle, so those shared squares must be filled. A line whose runs and required gaps use its entire length can be completed at once.

Work back and forth between rows and columns. One newly filled square can narrow several possible run positions in its crossing line. When a run reaches its clue length, mark its ends empty before starting another run. Keep uncertain squares blank instead of guessing.

Your progress, timer and daily streak stay on this device. A streak counts consecutive UTC days solved without revealing the solution. Replaying or resetting the same completed date does not add a second win. Share includes your time and fixed puzzle link, with no grid or answer spoilers.