Hanjie — also known as Nonograms, Picross or Griddlers — is a Japanese picture-logic puzzle where numbers around the grid are the only clue to a hidden image. Each number tells you how many cells in that row or column are filled, in order, with at least one gap between separate groups.
By cross-referencing the row and column clues, you deduce exactly which squares to shade until a piece of pixel art emerges. No guessing is required — every puzzle here is generated from a real solution, so it is always solvable by pure logic. Play free online Hanjie in your browser, no download or sign-up, with three sizes of hand-built puzzles.
Hanjie is a genuinely modern classic: it was invented independently by two Japanese creators in the late 1980s. Designer Non Ishida won a 1986 competition by drawing pictures with lit windows in skyscrapers and turned the idea into grid puzzles, while prolific puzzle author Tetsuya Nishio devised the same concept separately. The name "nonogram" honours Ishida, and Nintendo's Picross series later carried the picture-logic formula to a worldwide audience.
What sets Hanjie apart from other logic puzzles is the payoff: instead of a finished number grid you are rewarded with an actual picture emerging line by line. Expert solvers lean on overlap logic — if a clue of 8 sits in a 10-wide row, the middle six cells must be filled no matter where the run starts — and let that certainty spread outward from row to column and back.
Use the number clues to shade every correct cell and reveal the hidden picture. Solve the whole grid and the puzzle is complete.
Click or tap a white square to shade it. Right-click on desktop, or long-press on mobile, to place an ✕ on a square you know is empty. A clue like "3 1" means a run of three filled cells, then a gap, then one filled cell, in that order. Easy is 5×5, Medium 10×10 and Hard a detailed 15×15 image.
Completing the picture wins the puzzle and records a solve. Hanjie is untimed — accuracy and logic are everything.
Start with the largest clues — a clue equal to (or close to) the line length fills almost immediately — and use ✕ marks to lock in known blanks so you never lose track. Ready for real detail work? Choose Hard for the big ornamental grid.
What do the numbers in Hanjie mean?
Each number gives the length of a run of filled cells in that row or column, in order, with at least one empty cell between runs. A clue of 3 1 means three filled cells, a gap, then one filled cell.
Is Hanjie the same as Picross or Nonograms?
Yes — Hanjie, Nonograms, Picross and Griddlers are all names for the same Japanese picture-logic puzzle.
Do Hanjie puzzles ever require guessing?
Not here. Every puzzle is generated from a real solution and can be completed by pure logic — if you are stuck, re-scan rows and columns for overlaps you have missed.
More classic games: Nonograms, Minesweeper, Sudoku, Kakuro, Bridges, and all 100 free games.