Picture Cross

-0.46
Neutral
Price: Free
Ads: Yes
In App Purchases: Yes

iOS App Store
Google Play App Store

Temporal Dark PatternsTemporal Dark Patterns

This game has 9 reported Temporal Dark Patterns. There are 4 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-2.45

2 votes
Daily Rewards -
2 / 0 votes
Encourages return visits every day and punishes you for missing a day.

2 votes
Advertisements -
2 / 0 votes
Forced to watch ads or given rewards for watching ads.

2 votes
Infinite Treadmill -
2 / 0 votes
Impossible to win or complete the game.

2 votes
Wait To Play -
2 / 0 votes
In-game timers that make you arbitrarily wait for something.

1 votes
1 votes
Grinding -
1 / 1 votes
Being required to perform repetitive and tedious tasks to advance.

1 votes
Playing by Appointment -
0 / 1 votes
Being forced to play according to the game's schedule instead of yours.

2 votes
Can't Pause or Save -
0 / 2 votes
The game does not allow you to stop playing whenever you want.

Monetary Dark PatternsMonetary Dark Patterns

This game has 7 reported Monetary Dark Patterns. There are 12 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.36

2 votes
Premium Currency -
2 / 0 votes
Exchange rate between real money and in-game currency disguises the real price of items.

1 votes
Pay to Win -
1 / 0 votes
A player can spend real money to purchase something that gives them an advantage in the game.

1 votes
Artificial Scarcity -
1 / 0 votes
Limited time offers with unnecessary urgency.

2 votes
Pay to Skip -
2 / 0 votes
Spend money to avoid waiting for a timer to expire.

1 votes
1 votes
Pay Wall -
1 / 1 votes
The game becomes impossible to continue playing without payment.

1 votes
Accidental Purchases -
0 / 1 votes
Making it easy to accidentally spend money with no confirmation or ability to undo or refund the action.

2 votes
Recurring Fee -
0 / 2 votes
Encourages players to play as much as possible to get their money's worth.

2 votes
Gambling / Loot Boxes -
0 / 2 votes
Spending real money to play a game of chance for a reward.

2 votes
Power Creep -
0 / 2 votes
A permanently purchased item in the game becomes less valuable over time.

2 votes
Waste Aversion -
0 / 2 votes
Capped inventory forces you to destroy items or upgrade inventory. Also, having small amounts of left over premium currency.

2 votes
Anchoring Tricks -
0 / 2 votes
Placing a cheap item next to an expensive item to make it look more affordable.

Social Dark PatternsSocial Dark Patterns

This game has 0 reported Social Dark Patterns. There are 14 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

5

2 votes
Social Pyramid Scheme -
0 / 2 votes
You get a bonus for inviting your friends and then they have to invite their friends.

2 votes
Social Obligation / Guilds -
0 / 2 votes
To avoid letting down your friends, you are obligated to play when you don't want to.

2 votes
Friend Spam / Impersonation -
0 / 2 votes
The game sends spam to your contact list or social media account.

2 votes
Reciprocity -
0 / 2 votes
Feeling obligated to return a favor, share resources, trade an item, etc.

2 votes
Encourages Anti-Social Behavior -
0 / 2 votes
The game incentivizes players to lie, cheat, or backstab other players to get ahead.

2 votes
Fear of Missing Out -
0 / 2 votes
If you stop playing you'll miss out on something or be left behind and unable to catch up.

2 votes
Competition -
0 / 2 votes
The game makes you compete against other players.

Psychological Dark PatternsPsychological Dark Patterns

This game has 4 reported Psychological Dark Patterns. There are 8 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.06

2 votes
Badges / Endowed Progress -
2 / 0 votes
Reluctancy to abandon a partially completed goal, even one forced upon the player.

2 votes
Variable Rewards -
2 / 0 votes
Unpredictable or random rewards are more addictive than a predictable schedule.

2 votes
Invested / Endowed Value -
0 / 2 votes
Having already spent time and money to improve your status in the game, it's difficult to throw it away.

1 votes
Complete the Collection -
0 / 1 votes
The urge to collect all the items, achievements or secrets in a game.

2 votes
Illusion of Control -
0 / 2 votes
The game cheats or hides information to make you think you're better than you actually are.

1 votes
Aesthetic Manipulations -
0 / 1 votes
Trick questions or toying with emotions or our subconscious desires.

2 votes
Optimism and Frequency Biases -
0 / 2 votes
Overestimating the frequency of something because we’ve seen it recently or memorably.

App Store Ratings

iOS:  (4.50) with 39,934 votes.
Google Play:  (3.77) with 17,636 votes.



Recent Dark Pattern Reviews

Daily Rewards reported on May 24, 2022
You get green tokens that are needed to unlock a puzzle. Each day you open the game, you get 10-50 tokens depending on if you watch an ad or not. You get a 5-day streak if you open the game continually everyday giving you more tokens with each higher number day. If you miss one or you finish day 5, the counter goes back to 1.
Advertisements reported on May 24, 2022
Every time you complete a puzzle, and ad will play afterwards. If you get green tokens as a reward for beating a puzzle, you will sometimes have the option of watching an advertisement to double the amount. Any in-game purchase makes the advertisements go away. You still have the choice of watching an advertisement to double your reward but it’s optional
Infinite Treadmill reported on May 24, 2022
The game has tens of thousands of puzzles, maybe even 10% of them being repeat puzzles that are either flipped, rotated, or exactly the same.
Premium Currency reported on May 24, 2022
Green tokens and coins can be purchased for real money from the in-game store.
Pay to Win reported on May 24, 2022
You can use coins to reveal lines in a puzzle, but coins are typically plentiful rewards and if you are experienced at nonograms, there’s not really a reason to use them.
Artificial Scarcity reported on May 24, 2022
They will have in-game shop sales on coins and tokens that will expire in 24 hours after seeing the message. This is usually random and it shows up often
Wait To Play reported on May 24, 2022
Most of the puzzles are purchased using in-game tokens that are limited in number. If you go under 10 tokens you will need to wait 3 minutes to gain one token until it caps at 10.
Pay to Skip reported on May 24, 2022
You can buy more tokens instead of waiting 3 minutes to 30 minutes for them to replenish.
Badges / Endowed Progress reported on May 24, 2022
For completing puzzle packs, you unlock new puzzle packs and sometimes achievements for individual puzzles
Pay Wall reported on May 24, 2022
You get a limited amount of green tokens which is the main currency for unlocking puzzles. You cap at 10 tokens and there are a lot of puzzles that go over 10 tokens, some of them even going up to 60. You can earn tokens through daily rewards and randomly completing a puzzle or replaying puzzles however.


Report a Dark Pattern

Screenshot Solve the puzzle to paint the picture! Discover a world of over 2,000 amazing Picture Cross puzzles.

■ Twelve massive themed puzzle packs to complete
■ Classic Picture Cross and Color Picture Cross puzzles
■ Different grid sizes and skill levels from Easy to Expert
■ Complete puzzles to reveal fun-packed hidden scenes

... Download free and start your Picture Cross adventure!

SUPPORT

Access the Help Center at any time from the pause menu (in the top right corner of the game screen).

New to Picture Cross (a.k.a. Picross, Nonograms, Hanjie, Griddlers)? We've included a quick tutorial and a player's guide to get you started.

Picture Cross is free to play, but contains optional paid items to unlock content more quickly.