I thought I was good at nonograms, but then I got humbled by CiniCross

Rachel Watts, 11 February 2026

I treat nonograms as my grandma hobby. I like to sit down with a mug of tea, get comfy on my couch, and work my way through a handful of nonogram grids. It's the perfect way to unwind, and after dabbling with these logic puzzles for a good number of years, I feel confident saying I'm pretty good at them. I consider myself someone who knows her way around a grid.

However, I have had my soul utterly crushed by CiniCross, a nonogram-roguelike hybrid that has well and truly humbled me. CiniCross is essentially a nonogram speedrunning game, and as someone who refuses to move faster than a light jog, I left the demo winded and bruised, then went back after ten minutes for another thrashing.

I'm going to say this straight up: I'm not sure many Thinky fans will get along with CiniCross because of its pace, but if you're a nonogram sicko, it's well worth checking out. CiniCross is essentially what Balatro did with Poker, and Inscryption did with deckbuilding. Take one established genre and fuse it with roguelike mechanics. In CinniCross, you need to solve a string of nonograms that increase in difficulty, all while beating a countdown and managing your HP. If you incorrectly fill out a square, you take damage, and if you go over time, you'll keep taking damage every second until you hit zero, then it's back to the start of your run. It's fast-paced, intense, and a bit brutal.

It's a dungeon crawler, so there are plenty of cursed artefacts to help you on your journey. Complete a grid, and you'll be rewarded with helpful items, like a shield that reduces damage, or an orb that reveals a random cross every 30 cells completed. A little further into your run, you can even combine items to discover more impressive eye-boggling abilities, the result having the same energy as when all your jokers begin to pop off in Balatro.

I like how dynamic these items make the game, but from the ones I've encountered so far, I always choose more passive, hands-off ones (eg, take less damage, the countdown slows down). The thought of a magical item filling out the grid for me instantly zaps my satisfaction. I wonder how long that sentiment will last as I discover bigger grids with shorter countdowns.

At the end of each floor is a 'boss' grid with a devious twist. My favourite boss grid I've encountered so far has been one where you're not allowed to place X's, a shocking realisation being just how much I rely on them. I think that's what I love most about CiniCross. It's made me look at a puzzle type I've been playing for years in a totally different way.

With a timer continuously ticking down, there's no time to overthink. I've surprised myself with how often I've relied on my instinct when filling in cells. When I usually solve a nonogram, I always double-triple-check each square to make sure I'm 100% correct. But in CiniCross, there's no time to do that. I'll often take the risk of filling in a square because it feels right instead of knowing it's right, and most of the time I've been correct. It makes me feel more sure of my intuition.

Now, this kind of thinking will send nonogram fans into a rage. Guessing? On a nonogram?? Puzzle jail. Now. But for me, it's the kind of quick thinking CiniCross inspires. And it's something I really like about playing it. If I wanted a more careful and considered nonogram game, I'd play Picross or Squeakross: Home Squeak Home.

This is the most intimidating 20x20 nonogram grid I have ever seen 😭

I'm always a little dubious when developers take a game genre and smash it together with a roguelike, but CiniCross feels more thought-out and polished than just a trend jumper. I've only played for an hour or two, so I'm sure more surprises are waiting for me, but I'm going to have to seriously lock in if I want to ever see them, and I'm up for the challenge. CiniCross is out now over on Steam.