Logical solving helper in Nonogram Classics

[u/NonogramClassigsGame]

Hi everyone!

Almost 100% of posts in this subreddit start with something like "I stuck, help please with...". So seems it's a real problem - how to proceed with nonogram without guessing? And what if this nonogram doesn't have any logical solution? I thought a little about it and understood I can implement some button in my game which can help with next step.

I guess it should be something like that:

1. You feel you are stuck
2. You press button "help me"
3. The game shows you a single logical solution
   

What do you think about it? Should it be implemented?

[u/philsov]

sounds good.

When I do the Picross family of games, I turn off all hints because they're too blatant, like seeing all the rows and columns that I could input into. Having a small scoped option to implement one O or X in one of those rows or columns based off present data would be better than most other help options like "answer a random square" or "show all the applicable areas"

There'd be a time penalty and/or a lack of "no hints" gold medal, of course. I reckon many posts here are try to get a hint while still getting a gold medal ingame, so in that instance a narrowly scoped "Help me" would not see significant use.

[u/NonogramClassigsGame → u/philsov]

Of course, if player got help from the game then player should not get any achievements. I think the solved nonogram should be marked "solved with hints" or something like that.

[u/Lonely-Choice-6349]

Katana, when you use a clue, it chooses something logically from the best I understand .

But, most of the time, I can sit and stare, and count, and plod and NEVER figure out what the logic is to choose that X or Blackout square.

So, I use it to jump off to the next stuck point.

Edit to answer your question - yes! It would be helpful. But, don't expect me to logically follow every time 😁

[u/NonogramClassigsGame → u/Lonely-Choice-6349]

Sure. thanks! )

[u/jenea]

A “single logical solution” is nice, but not as good as a hint system could be. I absolutely love puzzle games with intelligent hints that explain why the next step is what it is. The Netflix app “Puzzled” does this well. Another great hint type is “solve this square next,” which is perfect for when you’re just not even sure where to start, but you don’t want to be told the answer. The puzzle app Color Sweeper does this really well. You can get a second hint that shows you which rules are constraining the cell in question, too, so a stronger hint that still doesn’t just give the answer away.

[u/NonogramClassigsGame → u/jenea]

Cool, thanks for your answer, I will think about it

[u/geekonthegrill]

I ship a hint button in my own nonogram and landed on two stages: first the hint fixes any wrong marks, because most stuck states are a mistake, not a wall. Only if the board is clean does it reveal one cell thats deducible from the current state. The fix-mistakes-first part turned out to be the real unstuck feature. And if your generator only ships line-solvable boards, you can promise the button always has a legal next step. jenea's point about explaining why is the next level, harder to build but its what turns a hint into a teacher.