Comparison

Sherlock PRO vs Nonograms Katana

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Sherlock PRO

Engage your deductive reasoning skills with this logic puzzle game. Solve intricate puzzles by deciphering clues to determine the exact placement of images within a grid. Offers hundreds of unique challenges across multiple grid sizes.

Highlights
  • Logic puzzle gameplay
  • Deductive reasoning challenges
  • Multiple grid sizes (4x4, 5x5, 6x6)
  • Hundreds of unique puzzles
  • Graphical clue system
Features
Read full description

Sherlock is a computerized version of logic puzzles, where you're presented with a series of clues that help you to determine the exact locations of all the images in the puzzle. The puzzles are 4x4, 5x5 or 6x6. Each row of the puzzle contains images of the same type (faces, houses, numbers, fruit, street signs, letters, etc). The game scrambles the locations of the items in each row (without showing you their locations) and then presents to you a set of graphical clues that describe the positional relationships of different images. You use the clues to deduce where things can't be (and where they HAVE to be) until you know where all of the images are located. There are 200 puzzles in each size for a total of 600 puzzles! The puzzles in the FREE, PRO, ULTRA, and ZEN versions of the game are all unique, the four versions share NO common puzzles.

About

Nonograms Katana

Engage in logic puzzles where you fill cells based on numerical clues to reveal hidden pictures. This app offers a vast collection of puzzles, tools for marking cells, and options to create and share your own challenges.

Highlights
  • 1001 nonogram puzzles
  • Create and share custom puzzles
  • Black-and-white and colored puzzles
  • Puzzles sorted by size
  • Hints and undo/redo functionality
  • Cloud save and achievements
Features
Read full description

Nonograms Katana: Sharpen your mind! Nonograms, also known as Hanjie, Griddlers, Picross, Japanese Crosswords, Japanese Puzzles, Pic-a-Pix, "Paint by numbers" and other names, are picture logic puzzles in which cells in a grid must be colored or left blank according to numbers at the side of the grid to reveal a hidden picture. The numbers are a form of discrete tomography that measures how many unbroken lines of filled-in squares there are in any given row or column. For example, a clue of "4 8 3" would mean there are sets of four, eight, and three filled squares, in that order, with at least one blank square between successive groups. To solve a puzzle, one needs to determine which cells will be boxes and which will be empty. Determining which cells are to be left empty (called spaces) is as important as determining which to fill (called boxes). Later in the solving process, the spaces help determine where a clue (continuing block of boxes and a number in the legend) may spread. Solvers usually use a dot or a cross to mark cells they are certain are spaces. It is also important never to guess. Only cells that can be determined by logic should be filled. If guessing, a single error can spread over the entire field and completely ruin the solution. Features: - 1001 nonograms - All puzzles are free - All puzzles tested by computer program and have unique solution - Black-and-white and colored - Nonograms sorted by groups from 5x5 to 50x50 - Download puzzles sent by other users - Create and share your own puzzles - 15 free hints per puzzle - Use crosses, dots and other symbols to mark cells - Auto cross out numbers - Auto fill trivial and completed lines - Auto save; if you stuck you can try another puzzle and come back later - Zoom and smooth scrolling - Lock and zoom number bars - Lock current puzzle state, check assumptions - Customize background - Optional cursor for accurate picking - Undo and redo - Share result pictures - Save game progress to the cloud - Achievements and leaderboards - Screen rotation - Suitable for phones and tablets VIP Features: - No Ads - View Answer - 5 extra hints per puzzle The Guild Expansion: Welcome to the Adventurers Guild! By solving puzzles, you will get loot and experience. You will have weapons that allow you to deal with puzzles much faster. You will be able to complete quests and receive a reward. You will have to rebuild the settlement and collect the lost mosaic piece by piece. The Dungeon Expansion: Game in a game in a game. Isometric turn-based RPG. What adventurer doesn't dream of exploring a dungeon? site: https://nonograms-katana.com facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nonograms.Katana

Screenshots

Sherlock PRO3 screens
Nonograms Katana4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Nonograms Katana at Free against Sherlock PRO's $0.99. Nonograms Katana also leads on ratings volume (6.8K vs 17) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 12 months). Sherlock PRO's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 14.0). On rating, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Nonograms Katana is free to download; Sherlock PRO costs $0.99 up front. Nonograms Katana sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Sherlock PRO asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sherlock PRO holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nonograms Katana has 6.8K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Sherlock PRO's written reviews are positive against 83% of Nonograms Katana's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sherlock PRO ships an update every 12 months, Nonograms Katana every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Sherlock PRO versus Nonograms Katana: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSherlock PRONonograms Katana
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (17 ratings) — better4.8 (6.8K ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better82.9% of reviews
Number of ratings176.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB27 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperEverett Kaser SoftwareUcdevs Interaction DOO

Customer experience

Sherlock PRO

All ratings17 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative10.0%

Nonograms Katana

All ratings6,245 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews339 reviews
Positive82.9%
Neutral5.3%
Negative11.8%

Bugs and requests

Sherlock PRO

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Nonograms Katana

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Puzzle progress not saving
  • Puzzle images not loading
  • Freezing/crashing on larger puzzles
  • Ads not playing properly
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

7 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to rearrange/move puzzle pieces
  • Difficulty ratings for puzzles
  • Automatic line/row completion
  • Ability to follow/subscribe to users
Show 2 more
  • Notification system for new puzzles
  • Diagonal line drawing tool

In-app purchases

None

Sherlock PRO

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Nonograms Katana

One-time3
  • 80 Hints$0.99
  • 200 Hints$1.99
  • VIP version$2.99

Questions

Is Sherlock PRO free?
Sherlock PRO costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nonograms Katana free?
Nonograms Katana is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sherlock PRO or Nonograms Katana?
Sherlock PRO is rated higher. Sherlock PRO averages 5.0 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Nonograms Katana averages 4.8 from 6.8K ratings.
Do Sherlock PRO or Nonograms Katana have ads?
Neither Sherlock PRO nor Nonograms Katana shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sherlock PRO or Nonograms Katana?
Sherlock PRO ships an update every 12 months, and Nonograms Katana every 3 months. Most recently, Sherlock PRO was updated on October 24, 2026 and Nonograms Katana on October 29, 2026.

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