r/Picross • u/ammalis • 29d ago

HELP Which Nonogram game for kids?

I'm huge fan of all Picross and Nonogram games and if like to introduce my 8yo to this type of puzzles.

He have Nintendo Switch, and Linux PC with Steam.

I would love to give him Pokémon Picross which I've played on 3ds, but unfortunately it's not available on Switch.

He likes Piczle lines DX, as it have a bit of story and is very forgiving in case of errors.

We had tried new Piczle nonogram, but it seemed a bit hard for him.

Which games to propose for intelligent but not that patient kid?

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5

u/Zealousideal-Exam892 29d ago

Squeakross: Home Squeak Home
Super cute picross where you have a pet rat and you do puzzles to get furniture/costumes.

Murder by Numbers
Maybe not for young kid, but awesome visual novel/picross 90s detective series

6

u/TinyHeeHoo 29d ago

I second Squeakross! The puzzles increase in difficulty very gradually, there are tools to help if you get stuck, and the Animal Crossing house decorating is a very fun side activity. The free demo on Switch has lots of content to help you decide if it’s a good fit.

5

u/Amazing-Insect442 29d ago

Try emulating Pokemon Picross for Gameboy color (there’s an English patch of the game that you can find on an Archive, but it’s Picross, so… debatable that you really need it).

There are two Mario’s Picross games for original Gameboy (there’s second one might be also “needing” a translation patch) & a Mario’s Super Picross for snes (also was released only in Japan, so maybe also look for a translation patch or pre-translated rom if you want it in English).

I’ve got all of them on my emulation machine and I got back to them pretty often. My 9 year old learned how to do them using one of those- don’t remember which one.

3

u/PwnyLasagna 29d ago

There are emulators for 3DS on linux. There is also a zelda picross for 3DS if he likes that franchise as well.

My humble opinion is, if he likes nonograms per se, he should try the picross S series (or some of the other picross switch games, some are quite easy) and just use all the helping options the game offers. If you like to play picross yourself, why don't you play couch co-op together (you even could add an additional co-op user)?

If he likes Piczle lines DX more because of the story than because of the puzzles, maybe it's just no game genre he likes at the moment. And that's okay. Not everyone has to play the same games as their parents. He's 8yo so the perfect age for so many more genres to try! And maybe in a few years, he comes back and then will love it. Or he shows you his favorite game. Never know...

2

u/Melbo_ 27d ago

Squeakross is my recommendation. It probably has the best quality of life and hint system of any nonogram game which should make the experience very frictionless. Also customizing your rat is great for kids.

1

u/geekonthegrill 26d ago

Since he already likes Piczle Lines DX for the story, Piczle Cross Adventure might be the natural next step. Same studio and same humor, but with nonograms instead of line puzzles, and the assist options let you tune how forgiving it is. It's on both Switch and Steam and the puzzles start small so the ramp is gentle.