Although Picross has been available for a while in Japan, the North American release is coming out on July 30th, and Nintendo had it on display at last week's Nintendo Media Summit. The premise behind Picross is kind of hard to explain, but I'll try anyway: It's a type of mathematical crossword puzzle with an image-based theme. It kind of feels like Minesweeper at times but kind of feels like Suduko at other times. As you can see from the screenshots below, you are given a grid with numbers on the outside edge. You have to figure out from the numbers what pattern of squares should be filled in on the grid, with mistakes costing you big penalties on your overall time score. Once you've completed the puzzle, you reveal a picture in the pattern on the grid. The larger the grid, the more complex the picture.
You can also make your own puzzles easily; all you have to do is draw an image and the game will turn it into a puzzle for you. If you want more control, you can also create a puzzle by hand. You can even trade puzzles with friends over the wireless connection and Nintendo promises additional puzzles will be made available for download for free, which is always a nice plus.
The game was a lot of fun and the ability to draw your own puzzles was a nice touch. Puzzle fans, look for this game when it comes out on July 30th.
