Hats & Masks

Nose Nonogram (15×15)

This is the Nose nonogram — a 15×15 picture logic puzzle. Use the number clues beside each row and column to work out which squares are filled, and the picture appears as you go. Every square can be deduced; you never have to guess.

How this board opens

A first sweep of the overlap rule down the rows and across the columns settles 101 of the 225 cells, about 45%, which is enough of a skeleton to work outwards from. The most generous opening is row 1, which gives up 15 cells on its own. 7 of the 30 lines are decided outright by their clues, with no room to slide. From there the board finishes on row-and-column logic alone — there is no point where you have to try a cell both ways and see which one breaks. The finished picture fills 50 cells, and the longest unbroken run anywhere in the clues is 9.

About this category

Hats and masks make an unusually top-heavy category: most of it is full 20×20 boards, the rest sits at 15×15, and there is a single 10×10 as the only real warm-up. Proportionally that makes hats & masks the most 20×20-heavy set on the whole site — if you specifically want the big grids, there's a higher concentration of them here than anywhere else, the larger food & drink category included.

See all