How to play Nonofanía

• 1 Along the top are the clues for each column (read top to bottom). 2 On the left, the clues for each row (read left to right).
• Each number is a block: a group of filled squares in a row.

  • –5 = one single block of 5 adjacent squares.
  • –1 1 1 = three blocks of 1 square, in that order.
• There is always at least one empty square between two blocks. That’s why 1 1 1 is never three touching squares: that would be a 3.
• What the numbers don’t tell you is where each block starts. That’s what you work out.
• 3 When a row or column matches its clue, its number turns dark. That’s how you know the line is done.

There’s one trick that unlocks a lot of boards: add up the blocks and the required gaps. If the total equals the length of the line, that line is already solved.

• 1 8 on an 8-wide board: 8 = 8. The whole row is filled.
• 2 6 1: 6 + 1 gap + 1 = 8. Only one way to fit it: six filled, one empty, one filled.
• 3 4 3: 4 + 1 + 3 = 8. Another line solved without thinking twice.

And if the total doesn’t reach the length, it still helps: the leftover is how far each block can “slide”. A 6 in a row of 8 can slide 2 squares, so its 4 middle squares are filled no matter where it starts.

123

Try it on this board: with the 8 rows and the 6 1 and 4 3 columns you already have half the picture. The rest comes from crossing rows and columns. (It’s one of the drawer’s objects: we won’t say which.)