Android 10 Easter Egg: The world needs nonograms
The final version of the Android 10 mobile operating system is rolling out. Hidden in the code is a mini-game that requires a lot of brainpower.
Android is a little more playful compared to Apple's iOS. Here and there, the Google coders have allowed themselves a joke or two. Android 10, the latest version of Android, is no different. The operating system is starting its rollout these days. When you will receive Android 10 is up to the manufacturer of your phone.
This time, the so-called Easter Egg is a mini-game that presents you with a puzzle. In order to solve the nonograms, you first have to prove your brains to unlock the game, which has the internal name "Icon Quiz".
The Easter egg in the Easter egg
The Nonogram game is hidden in the version screen, which is actually an Easter egg in itself. Hence this first
.
- Go to "Settings" on your phone
- Go to "About Phone"
- Tap quickly and repeatedly on Android
This screen appears:
Now some dexterity is required, because the elements "Android", "1" and "0" can be moved separately. If you double-tap an element and stay on it the second time you tap it, you can rotate the element.
- Rotate the "1" by about 240 degrees
- Drag the rotated "1" into the "0" so that the old Android 10 logo, a "Q", is formed
- The background starts to move
- Now tap repeatedly on "Android"
- The minigame starts
Moment... what is a nonogram?
Nonograms are picture puzzles that were invented by designer Non Ishida in 1986. On the façade of a skyscraper. In 1995, the puzzle found its way onto the Nintendo Gameboy. The game was called "Mario's Picross".
The game goes like this: You have a field that is divided into elements. This can be a field of 3x3 elements, or 100x100 or anything in between. You have to colour these elements or not colour them. On two sides of the field you have numbers that indicate how many fields are coloured in which combination. If it says "2 4", then you have two blocks in this row or column that are coloured. One contains two elements, the other four elements.
This sounds quite complex, but it's pretty simple when you do it. And fun. One final note: your phone may well be able to call up the game, but the left-hand column of numbers will be eaten up by the edge of the screen.
Have fun!
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.