New: Kerb Clash, clear the jammed car parkNew: Sudoku and Minesweeper, classic puzzles that play offlineInstall any game to your home screen

Nonogram Out of Reach: Squares No Block Can Get To

Out of reach is the overlap’s opposite: pack a line’s blocks as far left as they go and as far right, and any square that no block covers in either packing, or anywhere between, is empty. It mostly comes into play once crosses start pushing blocks around.

Open Nonograms full screen for more sizes, saved progress and best times.

This is the fourth of the Nonogram techniques.

The rule

  1. Pack the line’s blocks left, then right, avoiding crossed-out squares.
  2. Each block can sit anywhere from its left packing to its right packing.
  3. Any square outside every block’s range is empty.
Out of reach: squares no block can get to A row with the clue 3 and square 3 crossed out. The 3 can't fit in squares 1 and 2, so it starts at square 4 or later, and squares 1 and 2 are crossed out. 3 3 before after
The 3 can’t fit before the cross at square 3, so squares 1 and 2 are out of its reach.

In a real puzzle

In the 10×10 every technique page follows, out of reach first comes up at step 32, in row 1, which needs a single 2. Squares 1, 3, 6 and 8 are crossed out. Square 2 sits alone between two crosses: a 2 can’t fit there, so packed left, the block starts at square 4. Square 2 is out of its reach.

row 1, before and after row 1 with the clue 2, before and after this step. 2 2 before after
Row 1: the 2 can’t fit in square 2, so it’s crossed out.
out of reach in the 10 by 10 puzzle The puzzle at step 32 of 49, just after this technique settles row 1 (clue 2). The squares it settled are highlighted. 2 1 3 2 6 2 1 2 2 3 1 2 4 9 5 3 2 3 3 6 6 1 4 1 6 3 5 5 2 2 1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3
The puzzle at step 32, with row 1 highlighted.

Row 1 comes back on the next two technique pages: small gaps and then every arrangement finish it.

How often you’ll need it

On 100 of the game’s puzzles per size, out of reach was needed in 3 of the 5×5s, 28 of the 10×10s and 81 of the 15×15s.

Next steps

Questions

How is this different from the overlap?

It uses the same packing, but asks the opposite question. The overlap fills squares every position covers; out of reach crosses out squares no position covers.

Why does it need crosses?

On an empty line, packed left and packed right together cover everything between them. Crossed-out squares are what push blocks away, leaving squares nothing can reach.