Nonograms, reviewed

Our take

A nonogram is a grid with numbers along its top and left edge. Each number is a run of filled cells in that row or column, in order. Work out which cells must be filled and which must stay empty, and when every clue is satisfied the filled cells make a small picture. No guessing is needed on a good puzzle; every step follows from the last.

This site does nothing but nonograms, which is why we like it. You pick a size, from a five-by-five warm-up to a twenty-five-by-twenty-five evening project, and a fresh puzzle is waiting. There are special daily, weekly and monthly puzzles too, and a statistics page if you sign in.

It carries adverts, and the site offers a patron membership that removes them. The puzzles themselves are clean, quick to load and well made.

A first sitting

Start with two or three 5 × 5 puzzles to learn the two basic moves: filling the overlap of a long run, and crossing out cells a clue cannot reach. Then try a 10 × 10.

Where to stop

A finished grid is a natural end. Pick the size to fit the time you have, and leave the bigger grids for an evening with room to spare.

Worth knowing

The site has a Hall of Fame and timing statistics; they are optional, and the puzzles are just as good without them.