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Lizely

Nonogram

Solve a compact, uniquely determined 5 by 5 picture-logic grid with clear clues, touch controls, full keyboard support, and deterministic scoring.

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How to use

  1. 1.Read each row and column clue as ordered lengths of filled blocks, leaving at least one empty cell between separate blocks.
  2. 2.Fill likely picture cells and mark ruled-out cells empty by tapping the grid or using F, X, Space, and the arrow keys.
  3. 3.Decide all 25 cells, then choose Check picture or press Enter to earn exactly 1,000 points for the unique solution.

About Nonogram

Nonogram is a compact picture-logic puzzle played on a fixed five-by-five grid. Every clue beside a row or above a column describes the lengths of consecutive filled blocks in that line, read in order. A clue of 1, 2 means a one-cell block appears before a two-cell block. Those two blocks cannot touch because separate blocks always have at least one empty cell between them. Your task is to decide which cells are filled and which are empty until every row and column matches its clues at the same time.

This puzzle has three explicit cell states. Unknown means you have not committed to either interpretation. Filled means the cell belongs to the hidden picture. Marked empty means you have ruled the cell out. Click or tap a grid cell to cycle through those three states, or use the Fill, Mark empty, and Clear controls for an explicit action on the selected cell. Empty marks are part of the working process rather than decoration: the Check action requires all 25 cells to be decided, so an unfinished board cannot accidentally consume a mistake.

The row clues are 2; 1, 2; 3; 1, 1; and 3, 1. The column clues are 2, 1; 1, 1, 1; 4; 2; and 2. These values were encoded independently from a small product-authored black-and-white solution. The implementation test derives every row and column run from that solution and compares the result with the published clue table. This catches reversed run order, merged runs, missing separators, and transposed column mistakes without trusting the UI labels.

Clue agreement alone is not enough for a fair fixed puzzle because some clue sets permit multiple pictures. This board therefore includes a bounded uniqueness proof. The solver first generates only the line patterns allowed by each ordered clue. It places runs from left to right and reserves one white cell between neighboring runs. It then visits rows with backtracking while filtering each column's candidate patterns against the prefix already placed. A branch ends immediately when any column has no compatible candidate, and the search stops if it finds a second solution. For this exact clue set, the count is one.

That method is deliberately auditable. It does not scan all 33,554,432 possible black-and-white assignments of 25 cells. Instead, it works with the much smaller candidate lists implied by the row and column clues, exposes the run encoder and line-candidate generator as pure functions, and verifies the final uniqueness count in an isolated test. Additional cases cover an empty line, several separated blocks, a forced one-space gap, impossible clues, column extraction, invalid indices, and the original solved grid.

Checking follows a simple two-strike rule. If any cell is still unknown, the board reports that it is incomplete and your mistake count stays unchanged. A fully marked but incorrect board uses one mistake and remains editable, allowing you to revisit deductions instead of losing the run immediately. A second fully marked wrong board deadlocks the game until Restart. A correct board awards exactly 1,000 points and freezes every cell and check action. Restart always restores the initial unknown grid, zero score, zero mistakes, and the first selected cell.

Keyboard play mirrors every touch action. Use the arrow keys to move the selected cell. Press F to fill it, X to mark it empty, Delete or Backspace to clear it, and Space to cycle among all three states. Press Enter to check the complete picture. Grid cells are native buttons with descriptive labels for row, column, and state. The clue layout uses bounded columns and square cells so it remains within a narrow mobile container instead of forcing horizontal scrolling.

The shared game shell supplies score display, locally stored best score, Restart, and the double-Escape boss key. Press Escape twice within the shell's timing window to cover the puzzle with the spreadsheet-style work screen, then press it twice again to return. The puzzle itself runs entirely in the browser. It sends no moves or result to a server, requires no account, reads no file, requests no permission, and introduces no additional package dependency.

Conceptis Pic-a-Pix rules and Simon Tatham's Pattern documentation are cited only for the established clue language: ordered lengths of filled runs in every row and column, separated when there is more than one run. They are not sources for this picture, clue arrangement, score, interface, or answer. Those are original Lizely product choices. The distinction matters because a rules reference should not be presented as ownership or provenance for a newly authored puzzle fixture.

This game is intended as a short recreational logic exercise. It is not a standardized assessment of intelligence, visual reasoning, attention, memory, educational readiness, or any health condition. The fixed five-by-five board becomes familiar after repeat play, and the score only records whether that deterministic board was completed under the game's two-strike rule. Use it to practice run-and-gap deductions, not to compare or label people.

Methodology & sources

Store the original five-by-five solution separately from its fixed row and column clue arrays, then independently encode contiguous filled runs in tests and require exact clue equality. Generate only line candidates that place positive runs in order with at least one white cell between runs. Count full-grid solutions by adding one row candidate at a time and pruning every branch whose current column prefix matches no column candidate; cap the search at two so a result of one proves uniqueness without unbounded 2^25 enumeration. Treat unknown, filled, and empty as explicit cell states. Ignore incomplete checks, allow one completed wrong board to be edited, deadlock after the second completed wrong check, award exactly 1,000 for the unique solution, and ignore all play input after either terminal state.

Frequently asked questions

What do multiple numbers in one clue mean?
They are the lengths of separate filled blocks in order. At least one empty cell must appear between neighboring blocks.
Will checking an unfinished grid count as a mistake?
No. If any cell is still unknown, the game asks you to finish marking the grid and leaves the mistake count unchanged.
Does this Nonogram have exactly one solution?
Yes. A bounded row-candidate and column-prefix backtracking check finds one solution and stops early if a second solution appears.
Can I play without a mouse?
Yes. Use arrows to move, F to fill, X to mark empty, Delete to clear, Space to cycle, and Enter to check.

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