Picross 3D: Round 2

System: Nintendo 3DS Release date: 02/12/2016

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Uncover hidden shapes and your inner puzzling prowess in Picross 3D: Round 2, only for Nintendo 3DS family systems! Solve over 300 three-dimensional puzzles by chiselling away at blocks to reveal all sorts of hidden shapes within.

Chip off the block

Welcome to the Picross Café, where you’ll find hundreds of brand new Picross 3D puzzles designed to test your logic skills. Inside each puzzle lies a detailed 3D model just waiting to be discovered! By using your stylus to chip away at unneeded cubes and painting those that remain, you’ll uncover all sorts of surprising shapes and objects.

A whole new layer of paint – and strategy!

This time, you’ll use two colours of paint to sculpt and shape even more elaborate models, like cats, castles and cuckoo clocks! There are more than 300 peculiar puzzles for you to master, and each of them can be played at three different difficulty levels. It’s easy to start these 3D puzzles, but some are difficult to master! See how it all works in the How to play section.

Figure it out

You can even unlock special Nintendo-themed puzzles by tapping in compatible amiibo (sold separately). These additional puzzles are some of the most elaborate yet, containing highly detailed figures of famous characters. You can find out more in the amiibo section.

Demo available

You can try your hand – and your wits – at a number of puzzles right now with a free Picross 3D: Round 2 demo*, available to download from Nintendo eShop. You can also download the demo directly to your Nintendo 3DS family system via this website – just press the “Download demo” button on this page!**

Put your puzzling prowess to the test in Picross 3D: Round 2, only for Nintendo 3DS family systems.

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**To be able to purchase download games or download demos from Nintendo eShop on the official website, you'll need to have a Nintendo Account which is linked to a Nintendo Network ID, and you'll need to have visited Nintendo eShop on the device you wish to download on at least once. For automatic download, your system must be updated and connected to the internet with automatic downloads enabled, and it must have enough storage to complete the download. To find out more, visit our Support section. Purchases made or demo downloads activated through the Nintendo website are processed via Nintendo eShop.

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What you need to know

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This content is sold by Nintendo of Europe SE, payable with Nintendo eShop funds usable through your Nintendo Account. The Nintendo Account Agreement applies to the purchase of this content.

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After your payment has been processed, the content will be downloaded to the applicable system linked to your Nintendo Account. This system must be updated to the latest system software and connected to the internet with automatic downloads enabled, and it must have enough storage to complete the download. Depending on the hardware model you own and your use of it, an additional storage device may be required to download content from Nintendo eShop. Please visit our Support section for more information.

In the case of games that use cloud streaming technology, a free launcher application or demo can be downloaded.

Please make sure you have enough storage to complete the download.

In the case of games that use cloud streaming technology, a free launcher application or demo can be downloaded.

Please make sure you have enough storage to complete the download.

The details of the offer are displayed based on the country settings of your Nintendo Account.

The Nintendo Account Agreement applies to the purchase of this content.

The use of an unauthorised device or software that enables technical modification of the Nintendo console or software may render this game unplayable.

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How to play

Every Picross 3D: Round 2 puzzle starts as a simple slab, but there’s something hiding inside each one! Using the numbers on their sides as clues, you must figure out which cubes to keep and which ones to smash. There’s never a need to guess which cubes go and which ones stay – by using logic and reason, you can always work it out!

You’ll also have to figure out whether a cube should be painted blue or orange. Blue cubes build simple, blocky shapes, while orange cubes can give more detail by transforming into curves, angles and even spheres. It may sound confusing at first, but you’ll get the hang of it in no time. In fact, let’s try a puzzle together right now!

1. Looks pretty difficult, right? The truth is, these puzzles can be enjoyed by anyone! Click the arrow on the right to see the next step…

2. These coloured numbers are clues which tell you how many cubes are hiding in a row or column. They help you to figure out which cubes to remove and which ones to mark with orange and blue paint.

3. This “0” tells us that there are no cubes to paint in this row at all, so we can remove all of them!

4. Voila! Now, see that “3”? This tells us that there are three connected blue cubes hidden in this column. Since the column only contains three cubes in total, we know that they must all be blue!

5. Let’s mark them with blue paint straight away. Nice!

A numbers game

Of course, that was quite a simple puzzle. As you progress, the shapes become increasingly complex, and things get a bit more tricky. In the puzzle above, all of the coloured blocks were connected to one another, but that isn’t always the case – sometimes, they’ll be split up into multiple groups!

A normal number means the coloured cubes in that row or column are all connected. If the number on a cube’s edge is surrounded by a circle, though, the cubes in that row or column will be split into exactly two groups, while a number surrounded by a square means they could be split into three or even more different groups! You’ll have to think about these puzzles a bit more carefully.

Some rows and columns can even contain both orange and blue cubes. If that’s the case, you’ll see both orange and blue numbers on the cube’s face. When puzzles are this in-depth, they might seem overwhelming, but don’t worry – you can solve them all using the exact same method as before.

Let’s take a look at something a bit more tricky right now! We won’t go through this one step-by-step, but it’s a good example of some of the more complex shapes you can discover.

Gah! What is that?! This looks tricky. Maybe you should sit this one out…

Okay…this might take a while. Bear with us…

Don’t mind us – we’re just chiselling and painting away! It’s starting to take shape…

Almost finished. Wait…that kind of looks like…

Hey, it is! It’s a cute little cat! Meow!

A library of puzzles

Puzzles are divided up into Books, many of which have their own theme, like fairy tales, food and farmyards! You’ll find all of your Books in the Picross Café, so you can replay puzzles you’ve already completed whenever you like! As you successfully complete puzzles, you’ll earn jewels, allowing you to unlock even more puzzle-filled Books.

Super-sized

In some Books, the puzzles that you solve will all come together to create one big diorama scene known as a construction challenge. Build the individual parts by completing puzzles as usual, then watch as they form into a Royal Carriage, a Japanese Castle or something else entirely! There are five construction challenge scenes to discover in total – can you take on all of these bulky blocks?

Play at your own pace

You can tackle each and every puzzle at one of three different difficulty levels – Mild, Medium or Spicy – so whether you’re a newcomer or a Picross pro, you can play at your own speed. The amount of number clues you receive will change depending on the difficulty level you choose, but you’ll always uncover the same object in any given puzzle, so you’re never missing out.

Playing on a higher difficulty will net you bonus jewels, though, so you’ll be able to unlock new puzzles more quickly. Completing a level in good time will improve your score too, especially if you don’t make any mistakes! If you’re really stuck on a particularly challenging puzzle, you can always tap the Help icon on the Touch Screen for a handy hint.

amiibo

If you have a compatible amiibo (sold separately) you can enjoy even more puzzles! Once you’ve got the hang of things, you’ll unlock the Your amiibo Album, allowing you to really test yourself against some of the most challenging puzzles yet.

You can find out more in our amiibo section

amiibo

Once you’ve completed enough puzzles, you’ll unlock the Your amiibo Album. By tapping in compatible amiibo (sold separately) you can unlock cool additional puzzles based on classic Nintendo characters!

These tricky puzzles will put your skills to the test, and the end result is an incredibly detailed scene from a familiar game – Kirby inhaling foes, Mario grabbing a Super Mushroom and more! There are nine amiibo puzzles in total – can you solve them all?

Using amiibo

If you own a New Nintendo 3DS or New Nintendo 3DS XL, you can use amiibo on the NFC area on the bottom screen. You can also use amiibo on Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL and Nintendo 2DS via the NFC Reader/Writer accessory (sold separately).

See compatible amiibo