Shading puzzles
Puzzles where you decide, square by square, what is shaded and what is not — pictures from number clues, stars that never touch, islands in a river, tents beside trees. Most need no arithmetic at all, only careful logic.
Where to start
New to these? Begin with Nonogram, Mosaic or Tents — the gentlest rules here — then work along the list. Every puzzle has easy levels and a guide.
All 26 shading puzzles
Nonogram
Classic picture logic: shade blocks from the number clues to uncover a hidden image — over 300 pictures, colour puzzles and random patterns.
Mosaic
Shade squares so each number matches the count in its 3×3 block — and watch a picture appear. Pictures or random patterns.
Hitori
Shade cells so no number repeats in a row or column, shaded cells never touch, and the rest stay connected.
Nurikabe
Shade a connected river around numbered islands — each island as big as its number.
Star Battle
Place stars so every row, column and coloured region has the same number — and no two stars touch, even diagonally. The classic behind today’s daily region puzzles.
Tents
Pitch one tent beside every tree so no two tents touch and every row and column has the right count. Friendly, calm and great for younger solvers.
Light Up
Place bulbs so every square glows, no two bulbs see each other, and numbered walls touch the right number of bulbs. A lovely glowing puzzle.
Fleet Finder
Use the row and column counts to locate every ship. Ships lie straight and never touch, even diagonally.
Sightlines
Shade squares to block the views so each number sees exactly its count. No touching shaded squares, and whites stay joined.
Sun & Moon
Equal suns and moons in every line, never three in a row — and = or × signs between squares. The signs twist on Binary.
Thermometers
Fill thermometers from the bulb with no gaps so every row and column count is right.
Water Tanks
Fill tanks with water that settles at the bottom and lies flat, so every row and column count is right.
Magnets
Decide which plates are magnets and which way round. Like signs never touch; the counts give the + and − in each line.
Mirror Maze
Use lines of sight that bounce off mirrors to find every creature. Birds show only directly, fish only in mirrors, frogs always.
Four Colours
Use four colours so no neighbouring regions share one. Some regions start coloured; there is exactly one answer.
Domino Shade
Shade two squares per region so the shading forms dominoes that never touch side to side.
Tetro Shade
Shade an L, I, T or S in every region. Everything joins up, no 2×2 blocks, and matching shapes never touch.
Room Shade
Each numbered room has that many shaded. No touching, white stays joined, and no white line crosses two walls.
Tap Shade
Shade one joined wall. Each clue lists the runs of shaded squares around it; no 2×2 blocks.
Cluster Count
Shade squares so each circle equals the total size of the shaded groups touching it.
Cave
Shade the rock so the cave is one piece, rocks reach the edge, and numbers see the right amount.
Mine Finder
A minefield part-way through: use the numbers to flag every mine. Always solvable without guessing.
Wedge Rooms
Add half-square triangles so every white area becomes a rectangle — upright or tilted 45°.
Yin and Yang
Fill the grid black and white so each colour forms one connected group, with no solid or checkerboard 2×2.
Hidden Snake
Find the snake from its head to its tail using the row and column counts. It never touches itself.
Lighthouses
Hide boats so each lighthouse sees the right number in its row and column.
Questions
Are shading puzzles harder than Sudoku?
Not usually — most start simpler, because each square is only shaded or not. Nonogram, Tents and Sun & Moon are gentle first choices.
What do the dots and crosses mean?
In most shading games a dot or ✕ marks a square you have proved is not shaded. Marking those is half the work.
Everything else: all puzzles A–Z · how to play every puzzle · maths puzzles for kids · puzzles for the classroom.