Picross S facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Picross S
Genres	Puzzle
Developers	Jupiter
Publishers	Jupiter
Platforms	Nintendo Switch
First release	Picross S 28 September 2017
Latest release	Picross S5 26 November 2020

The Picross S series is a collection of fun nonogram puzzle games made by a company called Jupiter. These games are designed for the Nintendo Switch game console. They are the follow-up to the Picross e games that were popular on the Nintendo 3DS. In Picross S games, your main goal is to solve nonogram puzzles as fast as you can!

The Picross S Games

This section tells you about each game in the Picross S series.

Picross S

Picross S was the very first game in the series. It came out on 28 September 2017, for the Nintendo Switch all around the world. People had mixed feelings about it. They liked that it had lots of new puzzles to solve. However, some thought it wasn't as exciting or creative as older Picross games.

Picross S2

Picross S2 was released on 2 August 2018. This game brought something new to the series: the Clip Picross feature! In this mode, you solve many small puzzles to reveal one big picture. You unlock these special puzzles by finishing every 5th, 10th, and 15th level on a page. Players liked Picross S2 more than the first game. Still, some felt it could have added even more new ideas.

Picross S3

Picross S3 came out on 25 April 2019. Many people think this is one of the best games in the series! It got great reviews, especially for its new Color Picross mode. Even though there were only 30 puzzles of this type, they were a big hit. In Color Picross, you use different colors to solve the puzzle. This makes the puzzles more challenging and fun.

Picross S4

Picross S4 was released on 23 April 2020. Critics generally enjoyed this game. They praised its simple and classic nonogram gameplay. However, some players wished it had new gameplay modes.

The only new thing in Picross S4 was the Extra menu. This menu gives you two very large 30x30 puzzles to solve. If you have saved games from Picross S1, Picross S2, or Picross S3 on your Switch, you get even more! You'll receive a special 40x30 puzzle for each of those games you own. So, to play every puzzle in Picross S4, you need to own the earlier games too.

Picross S5

Picross S5 was released on 26 November 2020. It's the newest game in the Picross S series so far. This game has all the same modes and features as Picross S4. It also adds a couple of helpful "quality of life" features. One is a High Contrast mode for Color Picross. This changes the colors to make them easier to tell apart, especially for players who are colorblind. Also, the game now shows your total time to complete all puzzles in a mode. It even shows your total time for the whole game once you finish everything! These new features were also added to the first four Picross S games through updates on the same day.

Other Picross Adventures

Besides the main Picross S games, Jupiter has also made some special spin-off games. These games use the same Picross rules but feature characters or themes from other popular stories.

Kemono Friends Picross

Kemono Friends Picross was released on 4 October 2018. This game is based on the popular Japanese media series called Kemono Friends.

Picross Lord of the Nazarick

Picross Lord of the Nazarick came out on 25 July 2019. This spin-off game is based on the Overlord anime series.

Picross S: Mega Drive & Mark III Edition

Jupiter announced a special Sega-themed Picross game on 26 June 2020. This game will have puzzles based on 59 classic Sega Genesis and Master System games. You might see puzzles from games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Alex Kidd, and Phantasy Star! It does not have a release date yet.

How Do You Play?

In all Picross S games, you solve nonogram puzzles. A nonogram is a picture logic puzzle. You use numbers on the sides of a grid to figure out which squares to fill in. When you fill in the correct squares, a hidden picture appears! It's like a mix of a crossword puzzle and a pixel art drawing.