Nonogame - A minimalist, logically solvable Zen Nonogram tailored for the R36S (and PortMaster)
Hey everyone!
I wanted to share a project I’ve been working on, specifically tailored for the R36S (and easily playable on other handhelds via PortMaster). It’s called Nonogame, and it’s a minimalist, 2-color Nonogram (Picross) game built for pure relaxation and brain workout.
I always felt like retro handhelds were missing a clean, endless, no-nonsense puzzle game, so I decided to make one.
Key Features:
- True Zen Mode: An endless stream of procedurally generated puzzles. You finish one, you smoothly transition to the next. No ticking timers, no lives lost, just pure puzzle-solving flow.
- Single-player Mode: Want a quick session? Choose your difficulty:
- Easy (5x5)
- Medium (10x10)
- Hard (15x15)
- Expert (20x20) — and yes, it fits nicely on the screen!
- Smart Generator (No Guessing!): The biggest issue with random puzzle generators is that they often require blind guessing. Nonogame uses a built-in logic solver backend. It generates a pattern and tests it first; if it can't be solved purely by human logic, it discards it and makes a new one.
- Quality of Life: Features a dynamic line-completion system. When you successfully complete a row or column, the numbers automatically get crossed out.
- Responsive Scaling: Built without hardcoded pixel values. It scales dynamically to any window/screen size, perfectly centering the grid on the R36S’s 640x480 screen.
- Minimalist Aesthetic: Styled entirely in a crisp, retro two-color palette (
#222222dark gray and#cacacalight gray) to be easy on the eyes during late-night gaming.
Tech Stack & Controls:
It’s written in Python (Pygame), making it super lightweight and extremely easy to package for PortMaster / ArkOS.
- D-Pad: Navigation / Cursor
- A button: Fill cell
- B button: Mark with "X" (empty space)
I wanted to keep it raw, simple, and satisfying.
I’m currently wrapping up the final touches on the solver performance for the 20x20 grid to make sure there's zero lag on the R36S's processor when generating a new stage.
Would anyone be interested in testing out the early build once it’s ready? Let me know what you think, or if there are any specific features you'd love to see in a handheld Picross game!
Cheers! 🕹️