Clues by Sam Feb 01, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Hard·Solved
A1
👩🍳
Betty
cook
B1
👨🍳
Daniel
cook
C1
👨🍳
Erwin
cook
D1
👨⚖️
Gabe
judge
A2
👩🌾
Helen
farmer
B2
👨🎨
Isaac
painter
C2
🕵️♂️
John
sleuth
D2
👩⚖️
Karen
judge
A3
👮♂️
Larry
cop
B3
👨🎨
Martin
painter
C3
👩🎨
Nancy
painter
D3
👩⚖️
Petra
judge
A4
👩🌾
Rose
farmer
B4
👩⚕️
Sofia
doctor
C4
👮♂️
Tom
cop
D4
👩⚕️
Uma
doctor
A5
🕵️♂️
Vince
sleuth
B5
👨💻
Wally
coder
C5
👩💻
Xena
coder
D5
👩⚕️
Zara
doctor
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 ] [ D2 ] [ A4 ] [ C4 ] [ D4 ] [ A5 ] [ B5 ] [ C5 ]
Criminal · 11
[ A1 ] [ B1 ] [ A2 ] [ B2 ] [ C2 ] [ A3 ] [ B3 ] [ C3 ] [ D3 ] [ B4 ] [ 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 · Betty
"Sofia is one of 3 criminals below Daniel"
B1 · Daniel
"There are 8 innocents on the edges"
C1 · Erwin
"Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray!"
D1 · Gabe
"There are no innocents in row 3 who neighbor Martin"
A2 · Helen
"2 cooks have an innocent directly to the right of them"
B2 · Isaac
"A kingdom for a getaway car!"
C2 · John
"There are as many innocent coders as there are innocent judges"
D2 · Karen
"Magnifying glass and justice! Let us rejoice!"
A3 · Larry
"Isaac and Nancy have no innocent neighbors in common"
B3 · Martin
"Exactly 2 of the 3 innocents in row 4 are Wally's neighbors"
C3 · Nancy
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring me is Wally's neighbor"
D3 · Petra
"I surrender! Here, take my gavel."
A4 · Rose
"Row 2 is the only row with exactly one innocent"
B4 · Sofia
"Yoy have bested me! I shall yield!"
C4 · Tom
"Long live the detective who identified me as innocent!"
D4 · Uma
"There are as many innocent cooks as there are innocent sleuths"
A5 · Vince
"Hooray! You shall be victirious!"
B5 · Wally
"All for one, one for all!"
C5 · Xena
"There is only one innocent in column B"
D5 · Zara
"Our banner has fallen! The field is lost!"
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 (15 steps)
A3 · Larry → CRIMINAL, C3 · Nancy → CRIMINAL
Because: Martin is at B3, and the only people in row 3 who neighbor him are Larry at A3 and Nancy at C3, because they are directly left and directly right of Martin. Gabe’s clue says there are no innocents in row 3 who neighbor Martin, so neither Larry nor Nancy can be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that A3 Larry is CRIMINAL and C3 Nancy is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are no innocents in row 3 who neighbor Martin" — Gabe (D1)
C2 · John → CRIMINAL, B3 · Martin → CRIMINAL
Because: Isaac is at B2 and Nancy is at C3, so the people who are neighbors of both of them are their common neighbors. The only common neighbors they share are John at C2 (adjacent to both) and Martin at B3 (also adjacent to both). Larry’s clue says Isaac and Nancy have no innocent neighbors in common, so none of those common neighbors can be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C2 John is CRIMINAL and B3 Martin is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Isaac and Nancy have no innocent neighbors in common" — Larry (A3)
D4 · Uma → INNOCENT
Because: Row 4 has four people: Rose at A4, Sofia at B4, Tom at C4, and Uma at D4. Wally is at B5, so his neighbors in row 4 are only A4, B4, and C4; D4 is not a neighbor of Wally. Martin’s clue says there are exactly three innocents in row 4, and exactly two of those three innocents are Wally’s neighbors, so the remaining one innocent in row 4 must be the only person there who is not Wally’s neighbor, which is Uma at D4. Therefore, we can determine that D4 Uma is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 3 innocents in row 4 are Wally's neighbors" — Martin (B3)
A4 · Rose → INNOCENT
Because: The clue from Nancy at C3 says she has exactly three innocent neighbors, and only one of those three is also a neighbor of Wally at B5. The only people who are neighbors of both Nancy and Wally are Sofia at B4 and Tom at C4, so exactly one of Sofia and Tom can be an innocent neighbor of Nancy. Martin’s clue says there are exactly three innocents in row 4, and exactly two of those three are neighbors of Wally; since Uma at D4 is an innocent and is not a neighbor of Wally, the other two row 4 innocents must be among Rose at A4, Sofia at B4, and Tom at C4. Because Sofia and Tom together contribute only one innocent (from Nancy’s clue), Rose at A4 must be the second innocent among Wally’s row 4 neighbors. Therefore, we can determine that A4 (Rose) is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring me is Wally's neighbor" — Nancy (C3)
"Exactly 2 of the 3 innocents in row 4 are Wally's neighbors" — Martin (B3)
D3 · Petra → CRIMINAL
Because: Rose’s clue says that row 2 is the only row that has exactly one innocent, so every other row must have a number of innocents different from one. In row 3, Larry, Martin, and Nancy are already known criminals, so the only person in that row who could possibly be innocent is Petra. If Petra were innocent, row 3 would have exactly one innocent, which is not allowed because only row 2 can have exactly one innocent. So Petra must be criminal, making row 3 have zero innocents instead of one. Therefore, we can determine that D3 Petra is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Row 2 is the only row with exactly one innocent" — Rose (A4)
A5 · Vince → INNOCENT
Because: With only the information shown here, we cannot logically force Vince at A5 to be innocent. Rose’s clue only tells us that row 2 is the only row with exactly one innocent, which lets us conclude things like “row 1 must have at least two innocents” (since Gabe in D1 is already innocent) and “row 5 cannot end up with exactly one innocent,” but it does not identify any specific person in row 5. Uma’s clue compares the number of innocent cooks to the number of innocent sleuths, but you have not provided who is a cook and who is a sleuth, so we cannot apply that clue to any specific person such as Vince. If you provide the profession of each person (or at least who the cooks and sleuths are), I can show the exact short chain that pins down why Vince must be INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There are as many innocent cooks as there are innocent sleuths" — Uma (D4)
"Row 2 is the only row with exactly one innocent" — Rose (A4)
A2 · Helen → CRIMINAL
Because: Nancy at C3 says she has exactly three innocent neighbors, and exactly one of those three is also a neighbor of Wally at B5. Among Nancy’s neighbors, the only people who can also be Wally’s neighbors are Sofia at B4 and Tom at C4, so exactly one of Sofia or Tom is innocent, and the third innocent neighbor must come from the remaining possible spots B2 (Isaac) or D2 (Karen) because the other neighbors are already known criminals or the already-innocent Uma at D4. That means at least one of Isaac or Karen is the single innocent in row 2. Rose’s clue says row 2 has exactly one innocent, and since John at C2 is criminal, that one innocent must be Isaac or Karen, so Helen at A2 cannot be the row 2 innocent. Therefore, we can determine that A2 Helen is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring me is Wally's neighbor" — Nancy (C3)
"Row 2 is the only row with exactly one innocent" — Rose (A4)
A1 · Betty → CRIMINAL
Because: The only sleuths are John at C2 and Vince at A5, and Vince is the only innocent sleuth, so there is exactly 1 innocent sleuth. Uma’s clue says there are as many innocent cooks as innocent sleuths, so there must be exactly 1 innocent cook among Betty at A1, Daniel at B1, and Erwin at C1. Helen’s clue says exactly 2 cooks have an innocent directly to their right; Erwin at C1 definitely does because Gabe at D1 is innocent, so exactly one of the other two cooks must also have an innocent to the right, which means exactly one of Daniel at B1 and Erwin at C1 is innocent. That already uses up the single innocent cook required by Uma’s clue, so Betty at A1 cannot be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that A1 Betty is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are as many innocent cooks as there are innocent sleuths" — Uma (D4)
"2 cooks have an innocent directly to the right of them" — Helen (A2)
B4 · Sofia → CRIMINAL
Because: Betty’s clue says that Sofia is one of the three criminals who are below Daniel in Daniel’s column, which directly includes Sofia among those criminals. Therefore, we can determine that Sofia is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Sofia is one of 3 criminals below Daniel" — Betty (A1)
C4 · Tom → INNOCENT
Because: Nancy at C3 has eight neighbors, and the clue says exactly three of those neighbors are innocents. The clue also says that among those three innocent neighbors, exactly one is a neighbor of Wally at B5. The only people who are both Nancy’s neighbor and Wally’s neighbor are Sofia at B4 and Tom at C4, but Sofia is already known to be a criminal, so she cannot be that one innocent who neighbors Wally. That forces Tom to be the one innocent neighbor of Nancy who is also Wally’s neighbor. Therefore, we can determine that C4 Tom is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring me is Wally's neighbor" — Nancy (C3)
C5 · Xena → INNOCENT
Because: Look at the people below Daniel in column B: Isaac at B2, Martin at B3, Sofia at B4, and Wally at B5. Betty’s clue says Sofia is one of exactly three criminals below Daniel, and since Martin and Sofia are already criminals, that forces exactly one of Isaac and Wally to be a criminal, so Isaac and Wally must have opposite statuses. Nancy’s clue says she has exactly three innocent neighbors; Tom and Uma are already two of them, so exactly one of Isaac (B2) and Karen (D2) is the third innocent neighbor, meaning Isaac and Karen also have opposite statuses. Since Isaac is opposite to both Wally and Karen, Wally and Karen must share the same status. Now use John’s clue: the number of innocent coders (Wally and Xena) equals the number of innocent judges (Gabe and Karen). Gabe is already an innocent judge, and Karen matches Wally, so the judges’ side is exactly “Gabe plus whatever Wally is,” meaning the coders’ side must be “Wally plus one more innocent,” which can only be Xena. Therefore, we can determine that C5 Xena is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring me is Wally's neighbor" — Nancy (C3)
"There are as many innocent coders as there are innocent judges" — John (C2)
"Sofia is one of 3 criminals below Daniel" — Betty (A1)
B1 · Daniel → CRIMINAL
Because: Consider column B: Daniel at B1, Isaac at B2, Martin at B3, Sofia at B4, and Wally at B5. Betty’s clue says that below Daniel there are exactly three criminals, and Sofia is one of them; since Martin and Sofia are already criminals, that forces exactly one of Isaac or Wally to be a criminal and the other to be an innocent. Xena’s clue says there is only one innocent in column B, so that single innocent must be the one between Isaac and Wally, which means Daniel cannot also be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that B1 Daniel is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Sofia is one of 3 criminals below Daniel" — Betty (A1)
"There is only one innocent in column B" — Xena (C5)
C1 · Erwin → INNOCENT
Because: The cooks on the board are Betty at A1, Daniel at B1, and Erwin at C1, and the sleuths are John at C2 and Vince at A5. Uma’s clue says the number of innocent cooks equals the number of innocent sleuths. Vince is already an innocent sleuth, and John is a criminal sleuth, so there is exactly 1 innocent sleuth in total. That means there must be exactly 1 innocent cook, and since both Betty and Daniel are criminals, the only cook who can be innocent is Erwin at C1. Therefore, we can determine that C1 Erwin is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There are as many innocent cooks as there are innocent sleuths" — Uma (D4)
D5 · Zara → CRIMINAL, D2 · Karen → INNOCENT, B5 · Wally → INNOCENT
Because: I can get the “two of {Karen, Wally, Zara} must be innocent” part from Daniel’s clue, but I cannot uniquely pick which two without the professions. From Daniel (B1): “There are 8 innocents on the edges.” The edge has 14 positions. On the edge we already have 6 known innocents (Erwin C1, Gabe D1, Rose A4, Uma D4, Vince A5, Xena C5), and every other edge position is already known criminal except the three unknown edge people: Karen (D2), Wally (B5), and Zara (D5). So, exactly two of those three must be innocent, and the remaining one must be criminal. To finish the step and force exactly which two are the innocents, I also need John’s clue about “innocent coders” and “innocent judges”, which requires knowing who is a coder and who is a judge on this board (at least among the still-uncertain people). If you tell me which people are coders and which are judges (or at minimum the professions of Karen, Wally, and Zara, plus any other coder/judge who is not already known innocent/criminal), I can explain precisely why Karen and Wally must be the two edge-innocents and why Zara must be the edge-criminal.
Clue:
"There are as many innocent coders as there are innocent judges" — John (C2)
"There are 8 innocents on the edges" — Daniel (B1)
B2 · Isaac → CRIMINAL
Because: Nancy at C3 says she has exactly 3 innocent neighbors. Around C3, Karen at D2, Tom at C4, and Uma at D4 are already known to be innocent, which already fills those three innocent-neighbor spots. That means every other neighbor of Nancy, including Isaac at B2, cannot be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that B2 Isaac is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring me is Wally's neighbor" — Nancy (C3)