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Nonogram is the name of the game and Nonogram is the title of the game's genre.  Developed by Oleg Sereda, this image creating title divides its content into six chapters of image creation using numeric clues.  The game's chapters each feature 20 individual levels of Nonogram activity for the player to work through at their own pace. 

Sometimes referred to as Japanese Crosswords, Nonogram game play will consist of a square grid which varies in size between 10 x 10 and 35 x 35 cells.  Numeric clues will be arrange along the top of the grid and down the left hand side.  These numbers will provide the clues required for the correct positioning of cells that need to be filled.  If the supplied number clue consists of more than a single number then at least one space will need to be placed between the groups that are have to be formed.

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While following the pattern adopted by several other titles in the Nonogram genre in their general layout format of grid accompanied by a feature's panel, this particular version has made a few changes to the format you might expect.  Rather than the grid consisting of multiple layers, usually represented by a different colour, that eventually come together to produce the finishing image, this version of the genre limits its grids to a single layer.  Sometimes, maybe a different colour will make its presence felt by appearing with in a filled group of cells but other than this the image is delivered in monochrome.  I felt this one change increased the difficulty in completing a grid's image.

As well as the switch to a single layer approach, the panel that accompanies the grid has undergone a make-over.  A percentage bar will keep you up to date with regards the progress made with the current grid.  There are options to cycle through available choices of background music classified as Steampunk, Halloween, Winter and Egypt.  You can also cycle through various background views and the grid colour to find the appropriate combination that suits your style of playing. 

Positioned on this panel are four jars which gradually fill up as the grid is completed,  These jars are actually power-up tubs which can be used, once fully filled, to randomly target cells as being filled or left blank.  Each grid, depending upon its size, comes with a set number of mistakes being allowed.  The number of permitted mistakes will increase to reflect the size of the grid.  If you exceed this allowance, you will be required to replay the level in order to proceed.

Although awards are made during the game for achieving certain standards, the game does lack a story line to help encourage the player to make progress and complete more levels.  Note that I said "player" as the game appears to lack an option to create profiles so that others can test their skill level with this title.  You do have the option to adjust volume levels for background and sound effects plus view the game in full screen mode and turn on animation.  The game offers a choice of displaying its instructions in a choice of English and other European languages.

I downloaded my copy of the title from Gamehouse.com where it is priced at $9.99.  It is also available from Big Fish Games priced at £7.56.  The game requires a 2.0 GHz processor with 1024MB of RAM and 122MB of hard disk space running Windows 7 and later.

Nonograms | Big Fish Games

Nonograms | GameHouse