11

This puzzle is part of the Puzzling Stack Exchange Advent Calendar 2022. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.

< Previous Door Next Door >

Alice and Bob were having a great time after dinner, sitting in the living room. The hearth was on, warming up both of them, as they talked through the night with their comfy pyjamas on, chatting about what they want for Christmas.

"I would love some candy and lights for Christmas," Alice told Bob while drawing out her wish. "I wish it would be massive lights, so I can put them everywhere and spread the love of Christmas".

Bob, wanted something else for Christmas, however. "I would love a Christ-"

The phone rang, and Bob quickly went to pick it up in the lounge room.

Well, it has seemed that Bob had to go back to his home, after a family emergency.

"Hey, Alice, I'll send you what I want, in a online link. Sorry if its complex, there's only one more of this in stock, and it needs to be a secret if I want to get it."

Alice, confused, waited until Bob gave him the link, and was a bit stuck on solving it. Can you help her?

Puzzle

This puzzle is a nonogram. No special rules, nothing. Just find the image, and tell us what Bob wants for Christmas. Nonogram puzzle

caPNCApn
  • 19,113
  • 1
  • 63
  • 96
Stevo
  • 2,613
  • 1
  • 10
  • 33

1 Answers1

13

Bob wants

A Christmas Bell!!

enter image description here

We can start by looking at

The oranges, and the corners which can be mostly greyed out as there are no overlaps in the colours. The oranges have some specific overlaps, especially with the 8 in one of the rows:

enter image description here

We can now complete the bottom half of the nongram by simple deductions:

enter image description here

The middle column helps solve the bottom two rows, and you can slowly build up from the bottom focusing on the orange/pink combo. The bottom half quickly fills up.

Continuing up from the bottom we get a hint of blue!

enter image description here

By combining the rows and columns a lot of columns can only be built upwards a certain way. We get our first sight of blue in one of the left columns, the first cell being given by a row clue having to separate two cells, and then being built upwards

We can now complete some columns which are now fully solvable:

enter image description here

Several columns now are fully solvable and can reach the top. This gives us some more information on the reds at the top, and we can solve the block of reds, starting with the pair of 7s and working around, with some help from the solvable 4th row.

Completing the middle!

enter image description here

With so many cells now filled, it is simple to now solve the middle. We can start by completing some more columns and then completing the rows were necessary.

We can also now replace the greyed out cells with white, for a clearer image, and voila!

Beastly Gerbil
  • 58,036
  • 8
  • 166
  • 314