Show HN: Nonoverse – Nonogram Puzzles for iPhone and iPad
4 merelysounds 1 8/2/2025, 11:18:45 AM apps.apple.com ↗
Hey everyone! I built Nonoverse, because I couldn't find a nonogram[1] puzzle game where the levels are not randomly generated, that works well on an iPhone and that is free and user friendly (no ads, no tracking, works offline, etc) - something that I could share with friends.
I'm a fan of Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection[2] and the list of No-Bullshit Games by Stavros[3] (thanks!) - this app is my small contribution.
While building this I prioritized UX/QOL. You can drag to select, there's undo and redo, you can switch between filling cells or flagging cells as empty, etc. I hope the result is pleasant to use and fun.
I'd love to learn what you like about the app or whether you'd improve anything - this will help me plan future updates.
Check it out and tell me what you think: https://apps.apple.com/pl/app/nonoverse-nonogram-puzzles/id6...
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[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonogram
- I released this initially as an iPhone only app. Someone ran it on an iPad via compatibility mode, they were disappointed that the app doesn't use the full screen and they left a 1 star review. I wish iPad reviews only counted for universal iOS apps - otherwise the user is also reviewing the iPad's compatibility mode (and its black bars). Still, I like that the user left some feedback, I now added iPad support and I hope for some more positive reviews in future.
- I tested using AI to colorize the 1-bit pixel art - I got bad results. The colors were not great, plus the AI ignored instructions to leave empty spaces unchanged, which is unacceptable in this context. The images were encoded as text, which may have been a factor. Still, I remember being very specific and it didn't help. To those familiar with The Good Place, I felt like Michael asking for Eleanor's file: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BDtrzYNutY . As of now all puzzles are built by hand.