Among ourcrosswords and other puzzles, we’ll be featuring logic challenges fromPuzzle Communication Nikoli,a cult-favorite puzzle publication from Japan. APDF的难题, as well as the solution, can be downloaded below.

While most of the challengesinPuzzle Communication Nikoliare logical and abstracted, there are a few in which there is a satisfying pictorial solution. One is Tentai Show, andAtlas Obscurafavorite that was the first Nikoli puzzlewe highlighted when we kicked off our puzzle column a year ago. Others include Picto Maze, in which the path from one end to the other creates a picture, and Illustration Logic, which is actually an import from the United States, often better known as Picross or nonograms. But neither of those were created by readers of the influential Japanese puzzle magazine. Tilepaint, on the other hand, is an original, in more ways than one.

It was created in 1995 by reader Oboke Yanmar, whose pen name translates to something like “an insufferable fool” in English. Oboke Yanmar liked nonograms, and was eager to solve them whenever they appeared in the magazine. However, the size and shape ofPuzzle Communication Nikolihas always been a problem for these puzzles. From the very beginning, the magazine has been long (10.11 inches) and narrow (5.82 inches). It was designed to be easily handled during a commute, say when one was on a train, but nonograms are wide, with long rows of numbers on the side. IfPuzzle Communication Nikolihad been a more normal size, Tilepaint might not exist at all.

Issues of <em>Puzzle Communication Nikoli</em> are long and thin, to make them easy to hold on the train.
Issues ofPuzzle Communication Nikoliare long and thin, to make them easy to hold on the train.YOSHINAO ANPUKU

Oboke Yanmar said that he likes to draw and solve puzzles, but he is no good at making them, according to Nikoli president and puzzle creator Yoshinao Anpuku. He submitted just one example of Tilepaint—Nikoli staff and readers took it from there. It’s grown in popularity since, and there’s no puzzle inPuzzle Communication Nikoliquite like it—both because it was born from the size of the magazine, and because its creator made just a single example to show its potential.

The goal of this puzzle is to fill in cells to create a recognizable image. Each area enclosed by bold lines is a “tile,” made up of a number of cells. You must fill in the cells of some tiles according to the following rules:

  1. The numbers in the cells with diagonal lines indicate the number of filled cells that will be below or to the right of that cell.
  2. If a number appears on theleft sideof one of these cells, it indicates how many filled cells there will be in thecolumn belowthe numbered cell (before the edge of the puzzle or the next numbered cell).
  3. If a number appears on theright sideof one of these cells, it indicates how many filled cells there will be in therow to the rightof the numbered cell (before the edge of the puzzle or the next numbered cell).
  4. All of the cells in a given “tile,” or outlined area, must be either all filled or not filled.

Solve puzzle number 3 for an Atlas Obscura surprise!

Stumped?Download the solutions!