Nonogram Solver



Nonogram synonyms

Nonograms are also known by many other names. If you know of any more synonyms, or the details about who uses them, please tell me.

IllustLogic

Japanese

Paint by Numbers

Invented by Tetsuya Nishio (date unknown). Published in/by Games Magazine.

Oekaki-Logic

Oekaki” is Japanese for “drawing picture”.

Picross

A puzzle game for Nintendo's Gameboy

StarPic/FigurePic

This is a Windows game from Star Graphics, including coloured solids.

PictureLogic

Keith Wolcott wrote this shareware game for the PalmPilot which allows Nonograms to be created and solved. The software is available from many PalmPilot archives.

  • This link appears to be broken. Seen it elsewhere?

    PictureLogic A solver and helper for a PalmPilot, and puzzle collections
    http://​www.trefoilknot.com/

    • Editor/creator  • Game/helper  • Information  • Software  • Puzzle collection  • Solver 
CrossPix

Liberty Software's implementation of “Paint by Numbers” takes the form of a Macintosh application or a Netscape plugin for Mac or Windows.

  • This link appears to be broken. Seen it elsewhere?

    CrossPix This uses plug-​ins for Netscape on Windows and Macintosh to give what I expect is a helper.
    http://​www.libertysoft.com/​xpix/

    • Editor/creator  • Game/helper  • Information  • Software  • Puzzle collection 
Griddler

As of 1998-07-26, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper in the U.K. publishes a Griddler each week in its Review section, having changed the puzzle's name from “Nonogram”. The numbering continued from the old name, so the first Griddler was № 409, “It's all in the name”.

Pictograph

These appear in The Courier-Times of Roxboro, NC, and also in The Wake Weekly of Wake Forest, NC.

Japanese Crossword

This name is used in some countries, including Russia.

  • Cross+A. Nonograms Shareware solver and crossword/anagram helper, from Russia; includes coloured puzzles
    http://​www.cross-plus-a.com/​nonogram.htm

    • Editor/creator  • Game/helper  • Software 
Hanjie

Following the major tsunami of December 2004, a new name was chosen, it seems.

  • Hanjie A comprehensive site with information, puzzles, and a JavaScript helper — yet it somehow manages to avoid using the word ‘Nonogram’!
    http://​www.hanjie.co.uk/​index.html

    • Game/helper  • Information  • Software  • Puzzle collection 
Pikurosu

Another name

(Nemonemo) Logic

Logic’ is the Korean name for Nonograms, shortened from the name of a book Nemonemo Logic. ‘Nemo’ is Korean for ‘square’.

(Thanks to 김경래 (Kjung-rae Kim)!)

Nonogram

A very brief history:

  • In 1987, Non Ishida has the idea for a type of puzzle.

  • In 1990, her sole agent outside Japan, James Dalgety, invents the name Nonogram after ‘Non Ishida’ and ‘-gram’ meaning ‘to draw’. (In fact, ‘-gram’ means ‘to write’.)

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper in the U.K. published a Nonogram each week in its Review section, usually offering a £50 book token as a prize. On 1998-07-19, it presented its last puzzle (№ 408, “Down Under”) under the name “Nonogram”, offering a £250 prize in a competition to select a new name.

Logigraphe

This appears to be the name of a quarterly Nonogram magazine in France.

Shady Puzzle

According to the link below, someone in Singapore invented the puzzle concept independently, not realising it was already a decade old.