Clues by Sam Jan 30, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Tricky·Solved
A1
👨🎤
Austin
singer
B1
👨💻
Bobby
coder
C1
👩💼
Chloe
clerk
D1
👨💻
David
coder
A2
👨🎨
Erwin
painter
B2
👨💻
Gabe
coder
C2
👷♀️
Hope
builder
D2
👷♂️
Ike
builder
A3
👮♂️
Jerry
cop
B3
👨🎨
Kyle
painter
C3
👷♀️
Laura
builder
D3
👩🎤
Maria
singer
A4
👩🌾
Nancy
farmer
B4
👩🎨
Olive
painter
C4
👩🌾
Paula
farmer
D4
👩⚕️
Ruby
doctor
A5
👨💼
Salil
clerk
B5
👩⚕️
Uma
doctor
C5
👩⚕️
Wanda
doctor
D5
👮♂️
Xavi
cop
Final Board State
This puzzle is fully solved.
All characters have been identified as innocent or criminal based on today's clues.
Final Result
Innocent 9Criminal 11Unknown 0
See how each clue leads to the final result
Answer (spoilers)
A quick reference of the final identities. For explanations, see the reasoning above.
▶ Answer list (spoilers)
Innocent · 9
[ C1 ] [ D1 ] [ A2 ] [ B3 ] [ D3 ] [ A4 ] [ B4 ] [ C4 ] [ A5 ]
Criminal · 11
[ A1 ] [ B1 ] [ B2 ] [ C2 ] [ D2 ] [ A3 ] [ C3 ] [ D4 ] [ B5 ] [ C5 ] [ D5 ]
Clues
Raw text reference from the original puzzle
Original clue texts as provided in today's puzzle. No deductions or interpretations are applied here.
▶ Raw clues (original text)
A1 · Austin
"How about some action? Want to do a car chase?"
B1 · Bobby
"There are more innocent clerks than innocent coders"
C1 · Chloe
"There are more innocents in row 1 than row 5"
D1 · David
""In a world, where anyone could be a criminal..." I love it!"
A2 · Erwin
"2 out of 3 coders have a criminal directly below them"
B2 · Gabe
"There is only one innocent to the left of Wanda"
C2 · Hope
"Exactly 2 of Laura's 4 innocent neighbors also neighbor me"
D2 · Ike
"Exactly 1 of us 3 builders has an innocent directly to the left of them"
A3 · Jerry
"Each column has at least 2 innocents"
B3 · Kyle
"We should make a movie out of this puzzle!"
C3 · Laura
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Olive is in row 5"
D3 · Maria
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Hope is David's neighbor"
A4 · Nancy
"Only 1 of the 2 innocents in row 1 is Chloe's neighbor"
B4 · Olive
"Exactly 2 of the 4 innocents neighboring Jerry are above Salil"
C4 · Paula
"This could work as a slow paced psychological thriller..."
D4 · Ruby
"A movie sounds great! It could have lots of action and chase scenes!"
A5 · Salil
"Can we cast Matt Damon?"
B5 · Uma
"I'm out unless there's an exploding helicopter!"
C5 · Wanda
"Only one row has exactly 3 innocents"
D5 · Xavi
"There's an equal number of criminals in rows 2 and 5"
Answer Explanation
Full reasoning transcript (reference)
This is the full reasoning transcript for today's puzzle. For an interactive walkthrough, use Replay above.
▶ View full transcript (18 steps)
A2 · Erwin → INNOCENT, A4 · Nancy → INNOCENT
Because: Jerry is at A3, so his neighboring people are Erwin (A2), Gabe (B2), Kyle (B3), Nancy (A4), and Olive (B4). Olive’s clue says that Jerry has exactly four innocent neighbors, and exactly two of those four innocents are above Salil; since Salil is at A5, “above Salil” means in column A in rows 1–4. Among Jerry’s neighbors, the only ones in column A above Salil are Erwin (A2) and Nancy (A4), so the only way to have exactly two innocent neighbors above Salil is for both Erwin and Nancy to be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that A2 Erwin is INNOCENT and A4 Nancy is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 4 innocents neighboring Jerry are above Salil" — Olive (B4)
D2 · Ike → CRIMINAL
Because: The clue from Erwin says that among the three coders, exactly two have a criminal directly below them. The three coders are Austin at A1, Chloe at C1, and David at D1, and Austin has Erwin directly below him at A2. Since Erwin is already known to be innocent, Austin is the one coder who does not have a criminal directly below, so the other two coders (including David at D1) must have criminals directly below them. The person directly below David is Ike at D2, so Ike must be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that D2 Ike is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 4 innocents neighboring Jerry are above Salil" — Olive (B4)
"2 out of 3 coders have a criminal directly below them" — Erwin (A2)
C2 · Hope → CRIMINAL
Because: Ike’s clue is about the three builders (including Ike) and says that exactly one of those builders has an innocent directly to the left of them. Olive is one of those builders, and Nancy is directly to Olive’s left at A4; since Nancy is already confirmed INNOCENT, Olive is definitely a builder who has an innocent directly to the left. That already uses up the “exactly one,” so Ike cannot also have an innocent directly to his left. The person directly to Ike’s left is Hope at C2, so Hope cannot be INNOCENT here. Therefore, we can determine that C2 Hope is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 4 innocents neighboring Jerry are above Salil" — Olive (B4)
"Exactly 1 of us 3 builders has an innocent directly to the left of them" — Ike (D2)
D3 · Maria → INNOCENT
Because: Jerry is at A3, and the only neighbors of Jerry who are “above Salil” (Salil is at A5 in column A) are Erwin at A2 and Nancy at A4. Olive’s clue says Jerry has exactly 4 innocent neighbors, and exactly 2 of those are above Salil, so Erwin and Nancy account for those two, and the remaining two innocents among Jerry’s neighbors must include Olive herself at B4 plus exactly one of Gabe at B2 or Kyle at B3 (so the other of Gabe/Kyle is not innocent). Laura is at C3, and Hope at C2 says Laura has exactly 4 innocent neighbors, with exactly 2 of those also neighboring Hope. The only neighbors of Laura that also neighbor Hope are Gabe (B2), Kyle (B3), Ike (D2), and Maria (D3), but Ike is already known to be a criminal, so the two must come from Gabe, Kyle, and Maria. Since Olive’s clue already forces only one of Gabe or Kyle to be innocent, Maria must be the second one in that pair, so Maria is innocent. Therefore, we can determine that D3 Maria is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 4 innocents neighboring Jerry are above Salil" — Olive (B4)
"Exactly 2 of Laura's 4 innocent neighbors also neighbor me" — Hope (C2)
C1 · Chloe → INNOCENT
Because: Hope is at C2, and David is at D1, so David’s only neighbors on the board are Chloe at C1, Hope at C2, and Ike at D2. Maria’s clue talks about the four innocents who neighbor Hope, and says that exactly one of those four is also a neighbor of David. Among David’s neighbors, Hope is not counted because the clue is about Hope’s neighbors (not Hope herself), and Ike is already known to be a criminal, so the only remaining person who could be that “one innocent neighbor of Hope who is also David’s neighbor” is Chloe at C1. Therefore, we can determine that C1 Chloe is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Hope is David's neighbor" — Maria (D3)
A1 · Austin → CRIMINAL
Because: In row 1, the people are Austin at A1, Bobby at B1, Chloe at C1, and David at D1, and we already know Chloe is innocent. Nancy’s clue says that there are exactly two innocents in row 1, and exactly one of those two innocents is a neighbor of Chloe. Austin at A1 is not a neighbor of Chloe at C1 (they are two spaces apart in the same row, so they do not touch, even diagonally), so if Austin were the second innocent in row 1, then neither of the two innocents in row 1 would be Chloe’s neighbor, which violates the clue. Therefore, we can determine that A1 Austin is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 innocents in row 1 is Chloe's neighbor" — Nancy (A4)
C3 · Laura → CRIMINAL
Because: Hope is at C2, and her neighbors include Bobby (B1), David (D1), Gabe (B2), Kyle (B3), and Laura (C3), along with Chloe (C1), Ike (D2), and Maria (D3). Maria’s clue says there are exactly 4 innocents neighboring Hope; since Chloe and Maria are already two innocent neighbors of Hope (and Ike is a known criminal), that forces exactly 2 innocents among the five people Bobby, David, Gabe, Kyle, and Laura. Olive’s clue says there are exactly 4 innocents neighboring Jerry (A3); since Erwin (A2), Nancy (A4), and Olive (B4) are already innocent neighbors of Jerry, exactly one of Gabe or Kyle must be innocent. That means, out of Bobby, David, and Laura, there can be only one innocent. Nancy’s clue says there are exactly 2 innocents in row 1, and one is Chloe (C1), so the other row-1 innocent must be either Bobby or David, leaving no way for Laura to be the lone innocent in that trio. Therefore, we can determine that C3 Laura is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 4 innocents neighboring Jerry are above Salil" — Olive (B4)
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Hope is David's neighbor" — Maria (D3)
"Only 1 of the 2 innocents in row 1 is Chloe's neighbor" — Nancy (A4)
D5 · Xavi → CRIMINAL
Because: Nancy’s clue tells us that row 1 has exactly two innocents. Chloe’s clue says there are more innocents in row 1 than in row 5, so row 5 must have at most one innocent. Laura’s clue says that among Olive’s neighboring innocents (there are exactly four of them), exactly one is in row 5; since Olive’s row-5 neighbors are A5 Salil, B5 Uma, and C5 Wanda, that guarantees row 5 has at least one innocent, and that innocent is one of A5/B5/C5. So row 5 has exactly one innocent total, and it is not D5 Xavi, which forces Xavi to be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that D5 Xavi is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are more innocents in row 1 than row 5" — Chloe (C1)
"Only 1 of the 2 innocents in row 1 is Chloe's neighbor" — Nancy (A4)
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Olive is in row 5" — Laura (C3)
B2 · Gabe → CRIMINAL
Because: Olive is at B4, so her row 5 neighbors are Salil at A5, Uma at B5, and Wanda at C5. Laura’s clue says that among the four innocent neighbors Olive has, only one of them is in row 5, so exactly one of Salil, Uma, and Wanda is innocent and the other two are criminals. Since Xavi at D5 is also a criminal, row 5 must contain exactly three criminals in total. Xavi’s clue says rows 2 and 5 have an equal number of criminals, so row 2 must also have three criminals; with Hope and Ike already criminals in row 2, Gabe must be the third criminal. Therefore, we can determine that B2 Gabe is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Olive is in row 5" — Laura (C3)
"There's an equal number of criminals in rows 2 and 5" — Xavi (D5)
B3 · Kyle → INNOCENT
Because: Jerry is at A3, so his neighbors are Erwin at A2, Gabe at B2, Kyle at B3, Nancy at A4, and Olive at B4. Olive’s clue talks about “the 4 innocents neighboring Jerry,” which means Jerry must have exactly four innocent neighbors among those five people. Erwin, Nancy, and Olive are already known innocents, and Gabe is already known to be a criminal, so the only way Jerry can have four innocent neighbors is if Kyle is also innocent; this also fits the rest of the clue because the four innocents would then be Erwin and Nancy (both above Salil at A5) plus Olive and Kyle (not above Salil), giving exactly two above Salil. Therefore, we can determine that B3 Kyle is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 4 innocents neighboring Jerry are above Salil" — Olive (B4)
C5 · Wanda → CRIMINAL
Because: Olive is at B4, so her neighbors are Jerry (A3), Kyle (B3), Laura (C3), Nancy (A4), Paula (C4), Salil (A5), Uma (B5), and Wanda (C5). Laura’s clue says Olive has exactly four innocent neighbors, and exactly one of those four is in row 5; since Kyle and Nancy are already known innocents and are not in row 5, this forces exactly one of the three row-5 neighbors Salil, Uma, and Wanda to be innocent. Gabe’s clue says there is only one innocent to the left of Wanda, and the only people to the left of Wanda at C5 are Salil (A5) and Uma (B5), so exactly one of Salil and Uma is innocent. That already accounts for the single allowed innocent among Salil, Uma, and Wanda, so Wanda cannot be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C5 Wanda is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Olive is in row 5" — Laura (C3)
"There is only one innocent to the left of Wanda" — Gabe (B2)
A3 · Jerry → CRIMINAL
Because: Laura at C3 already has three known innocent neighbors: Kyle at B3, Maria at D3, and Olive at B4, and the other three neighbors Gabe at B2, Hope at C2, and Ike at D2 are already criminals. Hope’s clue says Laura has exactly four innocent neighbors in total, so exactly one of Laura’s remaining two neighbors on row 4, Paula at C4 or Ruby at D4, must be innocent. That makes row 4 have exactly three innocents for sure (Nancy at A4, Olive at B4, and whichever of Paula or Ruby is innocent), and Wanda’s clue says only one row can have exactly three innocents. Since row 3 already has two innocents (Kyle at B3 and Maria at D3), Jerry at A3 cannot be innocent as that would make row 3 another “three-innocent” row, so Jerry must be criminal. Therefore, we can determine that A3 Jerry is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of Laura's 4 innocent neighbors also neighbor me" — Hope (C2)
"Only one row has exactly 3 innocents" — Wanda (C5)
C4 · Paula → INNOCENT
Because: Olive is at B4, so her neighbors are Jerry (A3), Kyle (B3), Laura (C3), Nancy (A4), Paula (C4), Salil (A5), Uma (B5), and Wanda (C5). Laura’s clue says there are exactly four innocents among those neighbors, and exactly one of those four is in row 5. The only row 5 neighbors are Salil, Uma, and Wanda, and Wanda is already a criminal, so exactly one of Salil and Uma is the single row 5 innocent. Since Kyle and Nancy are already two innocent neighbors, and only one of Salil/Uma can add one more, Paula must be the fourth innocent neighbor. Therefore, we can determine that C4 Paula is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Olive is in row 5" — Laura (C3)
D4 · Ruby → CRIMINAL
Because: Laura is at C3, and her neighbors are Gabe at B2, Hope at C2, Ike at D2, Kyle at B3, Maria at D3, Olive at B4, Paula at C4, and Ruby at D4. The clue says “Exactly 2 of Laura’s 4 innocent neighbors also neighbor me,” which means Laura has exactly four innocent neighbors in total. We already know four of Laura’s neighbors are innocent: Kyle, Maria, Olive, and Paula, and among those, exactly two (Kyle and Maria) also neighbor Hope at C2. Since Laura already has her full set of four innocent neighbors, Ruby cannot be innocent, so Ruby must be criminal. Therefore, we can determine that D4 Ruby is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of Laura's 4 innocent neighbors also neighbor me" — Hope (C2)
D1 · David → INNOCENT
Because: Look at column D: D1 David is unknown, D2 Ike is a criminal, D3 Maria is an innocent, D4 Ruby is a criminal, and D5 Xavi is a criminal. Jerry’s clue says each column has at least 2 innocents, so column D must contain at least two innocents total. Since the only innocent already in column D is Maria at D3, and the other three known people in that column (Ike, Ruby, Xavi) are all criminals, the only way to reach two innocents is for David at D1 to be an innocent. Therefore, we can determine that D1 David is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Each column has at least 2 innocents" — Jerry (A3)
B1 · Bobby → CRIMINAL
Because: Hope is at C2, and her eight neighbors are B1 Bobby, B2 Gabe, B3 Kyle, C1 Chloe, C3 Laura, D1 David, D2 Ike, and D3 Maria. Maria’s clue talks about “the 4 innocents neighboring Hope,” which means Hope has exactly four innocent neighbors. We already see four innocents among Hope’s neighbors (Chloe at C1, David at D1, Kyle at B3, and Maria at D3), so Bobby at B1 cannot also be innocent or the count would be five. Therefore, we can determine that B1 Bobby is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Hope is David's neighbor" — Maria (D3)
A5 · Salil → INNOCENT
Because: The clue from Bobby compares two totals: how many clerks are innocent versus how many coders are innocent, and it says the innocent clerks total is larger. From the professions on the board, the innocent coders total is already fixed by people whose statuses are known, and among the clerks the only person whose status can still change that comparison is Salil at A5 (since Salil is a clerk). With the currently known statuses, innocent clerks are not yet more than innocent coders unless Salil is counted as an innocent clerk. Therefore, we can determine that A5 Salil is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There are more innocent clerks than innocent coders" — Bobby (B1)
B5 · Uma → CRIMINAL
Because: Chloe’s clue compares the number of innocents in row 1 to the number of innocents in row 5, and says row 1 has more. In row 1, Chloe and David are innocents, so row 1 has exactly 2 innocents. In row 5, Salil is already an innocent, so if Uma were also an innocent then row 5 would also have 2 innocents, which would not be fewer than row 1. So Uma cannot be an innocent, which forces Uma to be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that B5 Uma is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are more innocents in row 1 than row 5" — Chloe (C1)