Alchemy Picross: daily nonogram rules and tips

How to play

1. Read row numbers left to right and column numbers top to bottom. A clue of 3 1 means three filled cells, at least one empty cell, then one filled cell.
2. Use Fill for squares you know are filled and X for squares you know are empty. A 0 means the entire line is empty. Unknown squares can remain blank.
3. Begin with a group longer than half its line. Its possible placements overlap in the middle, so those overlapping cells must be filled.
4. Compare crossing lines and mark gaps between complete groups. Clues are crossed out when your filled groups match them; this feedback is not a guarantee that your earlier deductions were correct.
5. Hint follows row and column logic from your current marks. It explains one forced cell or identifies a contradiction to review. Undo reverses a stroke, and Redo restores it.
6. Fill all the correct cells with no extras to reveal the picture. X marks are optional. Share your time and hint count, then choose Next Puzzle for practice.

Controls

Mouse

Left-click fills or clears a square; right-click marks X. Drag to paint one consistent state across several cells. A whole stroke is one Undo.

Touch

Choose Fill or X, then tap or drag. On larger boards, Move board enables swiping without drawing. Cells stay large enough to target.

Keyboard

Arrow keys move focus, Space or Enter fills, and X marks an empty cell. Pause hides the board and stops the timer.

Score and progress

There is no countdown. The timer starts with your first mark or hint and pauses when you hide the tab or choose Pause. Local records keep total completions, best times, hints, undos, your daily streak and unlocked pictures. Free Play avoids recent repeats from a finite 80-picture library and has no play limit.

Tips

• A group of 4 in a 5-cell line always fills the three middle cells. Use overlap before guessing.
• Leave at least one empty cell between groups. When a group is complete, its immediate neighbors must be empty.
• If a hint reports a contradiction, review your recent marks. An X is a deduction, not a confirmed fact.
• Easy, Medium and Hard are size and workload tiers. Every picture in the library is verified to have one solution reachable by line logic.

For help with a separate puzzle, enter its clues into the Nonogram Solver. It can check whether those clues have a unique solution.

A new challenge arrives every day at midnight UTC. More daily puzzles