I know many a peep who take an interest in art, but claim they can “barely draw a stick figure”.  (Disbelief and subsequent investigation tend to prove such statements to be true, so if someone gives you this line, I say it’s best to just take their word for it.)  Well for those of you out there who are bigger fans of math, logic, and the like, there IS a way to connect yourselves to the artsy, pixelated world of mosaics!  And be forewarned: it’s highly addictive.

The game goes by many names – picross, nonograms, griddlers, pic-a-pix, paint by numbers, o’ekaki, Japanese crosswords, and many more – but it’s all the same thing.  Picross is a grid-based logic puzzle in which the player uses numeric clues to create an image.  Numbers at the left and top of the grid indicate how many squares in that row or column are shaded in and in what pattern.

There are tons of game sites where you can play picross online for free (Armor Games is a pretty good one).  Nintendo also has a couple of great picross games for the DS, or you can rock it old-school style and buy a book of nonogram / o’ekaki puzzles just like you can with crosswords or sudoku.

A small picross grid is the best way to learn how to play

My advice for the picross newbie – start small.  The “easy” puzzles are typically 5×5 and allow you to quickly learn the basics of the game.  After you’ve mastered a few of those, move on to the larger grids.  And as you watch a pixelated image of a squirrel or an alien unfold before your eyes, ponder the link between the game and mosaic art.  See?  Anyone really can mosaic after all.