Play Nonogram (Pattern) online Works — plays right here, unlimited puzzles
Guide updated October 2026 · Runs via WebAssembly (native port)
A nonogram (also called paint-by-numbers or Hanjie) is a grid you shade black and white using the numbers beside each row and above each column. Each number is the length of a run of black squares, in order. This version generates new grids endlessly. The puzzle is ready below; left-click a square to shade it black.
Controls — what does what
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse / touch |
|---|---|---|
| Shade a square black | Move with arrow keys; Enter cycles empty, black, white | Left-click |
| Mark a square white | Space cycles the other way | Right-click |
| Shade a line in one go | Hold Ctrl (black) or Shift (white) while moving | Left- or right-drag along a row or column |
| Reset to undecided grey | Hold Ctrl+Shift while moving | Middle-click or Shift-click; drag for a rectangle |
| Undo / redo | U / R (or Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+R) | Game menu buttons |
| Show the solution | — | Game menu → Solve |
FREE This is the complete game, free. Open source under the MIT licence: the complete puzzle, with a new grid every time.
Pattern is from Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection, © Simon Tatham and contributors, used under the MIT licence. Built from source by scripts/build-puzzles.mjs.
How to play
- Every square ends up either black or white.
- The numbers beside a row give the lengths of its black runs, from left to right; the numbers above a column give its runs from top to bottom.
- Runs in the same line are separated by at least one white square.
Because the grids are generated rather than drawn, the finished result is a random pattern rather than a picture, so you cannot guess squares from the image; every square has to be worked out.
Sizes and difficulty
The Type menu offers square grids of 10×10, 15×15, 20×20, 25×25 and 30×30. Bigger grids are not harder rule-wise but take much longer. Custom lets you set any width and height.
Solving tips
Look for long runs first: if a run is longer than half the line, the squares where every possible position overlaps must be black. Add up the clues plus one gap between each run; if that total equals the line length, the line is fully determined. Mark known whites as you go, since they split a line into shorter sections and create new overlaps. Work back and forth between rows and columns, revisiting any line that a new square has touched.
Where this puzzle comes from
Pattern is part of Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection, a set of about forty logic puzzles written by Simon Tatham and contributors and released under the MIT licence. Every grid is generated on the spot, so the supply never runs out, and for the grid-logic puzzles the generator makes sure each has exactly one solution, reachable by reasoning rather than guessing. The version here is the collection's own code compiled to WebAssembly; the Game menu can save a puzzle to a file and load it again, and the Type menu changes the size and difficulty.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the finished grid not show a picture?
The puzzles are generated by the program rather than designed by hand, so the solution is a random pattern. The upside is an unlimited supply of puzzles that must be solved by logic alone.
Is there always a single solution?
The generator checks that its grids can be solved by line-by-line logic, so you should never need to guess. If you get stuck, Solve shows the answer and Undo returns you to your own progress.
Is Nonogram free to play here?
Yes, with no limit on the number of puzzles. Pattern is open-source software under the MIT licence, and every grid is generated fresh when you press New game.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. A tap works as a click and the puzzle resizes to fit the screen. Puzzles whose controls use the right mouse button are easier with a mouse.
More you can play in your browser
Related guides
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- Sudoku (Solo)Play Sudoku free in your browser: endless generated puzzles from Trivial to Unreasonable,
- Light Up puzzle (Light Up)Play Light Up free in your browser: place bulbs so every white square is lit, no bulb shin
- MinesweeperThe Minesweeper you remember — three board sizes, chording, first click always safe. Insta
Want a game like this on your own site?
Nonogram (Pattern) isn't ours to give away — we host it, we didn't write it. But eleven of the games here we did write from scratch, and those are free for anyone to put on their own page: one line of HTML, no account, no permission, no attribution beyond a credit line.