Ruin Survey: nonogram tips that avoid mistakes
Updated September 24, 2026. Figures come from the live game.
The short answer
Row and column clues give the runs of ruin cells in order. Mark ruins, mark cleared ground, and never guess: every board can be solved by logic alone. The third mistake ends the survey, and each mistake costs about 83 points.
What Ruin Survey decides
Every expansion of your island is surveyed first. The puzzle runs two levels above your Ruin Survey skill, and the grade sets the expansion time: an S halves a 10-hour third expansion to 5 hours.
The rules
- Each clue lists the runs of ruin cells in that row or column, in order. 2 2 means two ruins, at least one gap, two ruins.
- Tap to mark a ruin. Switch the mode to mark cleared ground instead.
- Marking a ruin on cleared ground, or clearing a ruin, is a mistake. The third mistake ends the survey.
- The survey is done when every ruin cell is marked. You don't have to clear the rest.
- Every row and column has at least one ruin, and every board has exactly one answer reachable by logic.
A 6 × 6 survey at level 6, part way through.
- Row clues: the runs of ruin in that row, in order
- A cell marked as cleared ground
- Mistakes: the third one ends the survey
- Switch between marking ruin and clearing ground
How it's scored
| Part | Points | How to max it |
|---|---|---|
| Survey finished | 600 | Mark every ruin before your third mistake. |
| Accuracy | Up to 250 | No mistakes keeps all 250; one mistake leaves 167, two leave 83. |
| Time | Up to 150 | Full marks within 5 seconds plus 0.9 seconds per ruin cell. It falls to 0 at four times that. |
Mark faster than 150 ms per mark on average and the run counts as unsolved. Grids start at 5 × 5 and reach 10 × 10 at level 30. A little over half the cells are ruin.
Logic that never needs a guess
- Start with full lines. A clue that fills the whole line (a 6 on a 6-wide row) is all ruin. A clue whose runs and gaps add up to the line length, such as 2 3 on a 6-wide row, is fixed too.
- Use the overlap method on big runs. Slide the run as far left as it can go, then as far right. Cells covered in both positions must be ruin. A 4 in a 6-wide row always fills the middle two.
- Work from the edges. A ruin touching the edge starts its run, so you can extend it to the clue's length and close it with a cleared cell.
- Mark cleared ground as soon as you know it. Cleared cells split a line into shorter pieces, which makes the next deduction obvious.
- Go back and forth between rows and columns. Each new ruin or cleared cell usually settles a cell in the crossing line.
- If nothing seems certain, look for the longest remaining run: its overlap is the most likely to give you a free cell.
Questions players ask
What does Ruin Survey gate in Voxhorde?
Island expansions. Each one plays Ruin Survey two levels above your skill.
How many mistakes can I make in Ruin Survey?
Two. The third mistake ends the survey and nothing is queued or charged; each mistake before that costs about 83 points.
Do I ever have to guess in Ruin Survey?
No. Every board has a single answer that row and column logic reaches without guessing.