NonoQuest vs Shadepix
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NonoQuest
Embark on a retro-style adventure solving 100 handcrafted nonogram puzzles across ten themed campaigns. Uncover pixel-art scenes and enjoy a guided tutorial, multiple display modes, and offline play with saved progress.
- 100 handcrafted nonogram puzzles
- 10 themed campaigns
- Pixel-art scenes
- Retro display modes
- Offline play
- Guided tutorial
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NonoQuest blends classic picture logic puzzles with a retro handheld presentation and light adventure storytelling. Every puzzle can be solved with logic alone — you never have to guess. Mistakes surface early, and any move can be undone. Travel through 19 themed campaigns and solve 190 handcrafted puzzles from 5×5 to 20×20, including color puzzles where the logic plays out in several colors. The ten pictures of each campaign come together as one large chapter picture. What you get: - 190 handcrafted nonogram puzzles across 19 campaigns - Color puzzles in which every clue number has its own color - A large mosaic picture for every chapter - Up to three stars per puzzle: one for solving it, one for using no help, one for making no mistakes - Hints that explain the next logical step, plus a catalog of techniques with examples - A daily puzzle, the same one for everybody worldwide, with a streak and monthly badges - An endless mode in five grid sizes - An album that keeps every solved picture in view - A guided tutorial for new players - Seven retro display modes inspired by classic hardware - Chiptune music for every campaign; sound is off by default - Offline play with saved progress, no ads and no tracking You can play First Steps, the color campaign Paint Box, the tutorial, the daily puzzle and the techniques without buying anything. A one-time in-app purchase unlocks all other campaigns and endless mode. There is no subscription. If you bought NonoQuest before version 3.0, you get everything without buying again. The game is fully playable with VoiceOver, Switch Control and a keyboard. Every grid cell speaks its position, its state and its clue numbers. Whether you call them nonograms, Japanese crosswords, or picture logic puzzles, NonoQuest focuses on readable controls, satisfying reveals, and a distinct retro atmosphere.
Shadepix
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Fill the squares, reveal the picture. Shadepix is a classic nonogram (picross) game with a calm dark board, one-finger drag painting, and pictures worth finishing. Every number tells you the length of a run of filled squares — read the clues, mark what must stay empty, and a hidden pixel picture appears. A DAILY PUZZLE FOR EVERYONE One puzzle a day, the same board for every player in the world, generated from the calendar date itself — no server required. The daily is how you earn diamonds: it pays more for every consecutive day, and every seventh day of a streak refills your energy for free. 330 HAND-DRAWN PICTURES Ten picture packs — Starter, Animals, Everyday Icons, Food, Space, Music, Vehicles, Sports, Nature and Weather — plus five advanced packs: Landmarks, Dinosaurs, Mythical Creatures, Deep Sea and Retro Tech, where one giant 20x20 picture is solved as four boards in a row. STAGES, ONE PICTURE AT A TIME Every pack is a 30-stage journey: clear a stage to open the next. Boards grow from quick 5x5 warm-ups to 15x15, and the advanced packs push to 20x20 — pinch to zoom on the big ones. MISTAKES CANNOT RUIN THE PICTURE A wrongly filled square is corrected to an × for you, so the picture never comes out wrong. But three mistakes end the board: continue for 60 diamonds, or start over for free. MEDALS AND LEADERBOARDS Bronze, silver and gold medals for pictures solved, packs completed, daily streaks and flawless clears — earned as Game Center achievements, with worldwide leaderboards for pictures solved and best streak. ENERGY INSTEAD OF ADS Starting a puzzle costs 1 energy from a bar of 5, and the bar refills on its own, one point every 15 minutes. The Daily never costs energy, and replaying a picture you have already solved is free. If you would rather not wait, a full refill costs 100 diamonds. BUILT TO BE PLEASANT - Drag across a row or column to fill several squares at once - Haptic feedback you can switch off - Works completely offline, on a plane or underground - Fully localized in 30 languages NO ADS. EVER. No banners, no interstitials, no rewarded video, no account, no tracking. Diamonds come from the daily puzzle, and optional diamond packs exist only if you want hints, unlocks or a refill sooner.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Shadepix at 15.1 against NonoQuest's 18.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. NonoQuest sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Shadepix sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | NonoQuest | Shadepix |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | Tobias Reithmeier | Toru Kitajima |
In-app purchases
NonoQuest
- Full Game$0.99
Shadepix
- Handful of Diamonds$1.99
- Pouch of Diamonds$4.99
- Chest of Diamonds$9.99
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- Vault of Diamonds$19.99
- Diamond Mine$49.99









