Clues by Sam Feb 04, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Medium·Solved
A1
👮♀️
Amy
cop
B1
🕵️♂️
Ben
sleuth
C1
👮♀️
Cheryl
cop
D1
👮♂️
Donald
cop
A2
👩🔧
Freya
mech
B2
🕵️♂️
Gabe
sleuth
C2
👨⚖️
Hal
judge
D2
👷♂️
Isaac
builder
A3
👩🔧
Katie
mech
B3
👩✈️
Max
pilot
C3
👩⚖️
Nicole
judge
D3
💂♂️
Paul
guard
A4
👨🔧
Ryan
mech
B4
👨💼
Salil
clerk
C4
👩💼
Tina
clerk
D4
👷♀️
Uma
builder
A5
🕵️♀️
Vicky
sleuth
B5
👨💼
Will
clerk
C5
💂♂️
Xavi
guard
D5
👩✈️
Zara
pilot
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 6Criminal 14Unknown 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 · 6
[ D1 ] [ C2 ] [ D2 ] [ A4 ] [ A5 ] [ C5 ]
Criminal · 14
[ A1 ] [ B1 ] [ C1 ] [ A2 ] [ B2 ] [ A3 ] [ B3 ] [ C3 ] [ D3 ] [ B4 ] [ C4 ] [ D4 ] [ B5 ] [ 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 · Amy
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Salil is in row 4"
B1 · Ben
"I'll be on sick leave until the smell is gone"
C1 · Cheryl
"Did someone microwave fish for lunch?"
D1 · Donald
"There are more criminals in row 3 than row 4"
A2 · Freya
"Both criminals below Cheryl are connected"
B2 · Gabe
"Each column has at least 3 criminals"
C2 · Hal
"Both criminals in row 2 are connected"
D2 · Isaac
"Hey! Why does it smell fishy in here?"
A3 · Katie
"What's up? Hey, where did my fish go? Did someone eat it?"
B3 · Max
"There are rules, you know? No fish in common spaces!"
C3 · Nicole
"Take me to prison! I can't stand the smell of fish!"
D3 · Paul
"I'll throw it out! And the microwave too!"
A4 · Ryan
"Both innocents above Zara are connected"
B4 · Salil
"There are as many innocent builders as there are innocent guards"
C4 · Tina
"There are exactly 2 innocents below Amy"
D4 · Uma
"Oh no! That's low, even for a criminal!"
A5 · Vicky
"I guess I'll keep my swiss cheese in the fridge..."
B5 · Will
"Yup, it's pretty bad!"
C5 · Xavi
"There's an odd number of innocents neighboring Ryan"
D5 · Zara
"Only 1 of the 5 innocents on the edges is in column C"
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 (16 steps)
B2 · Gabe → CRIMINAL, A2 · Freya → CRIMINAL, D2 · Isaac → INNOCENT
Because: Row 2 contains A2 Freya, B2 Gabe, C2 Hal, and D2 Isaac, and we already know Hal at C2 is INNOCENT. Hal’s clue says “Both criminals in row 2 are connected,” which means there are exactly two criminals in that row and they must form a single orthogonally connected group, so with only two criminals they have to be directly next to each other in the row. The only adjacent pair in row 2 that does not include Hal at C2 is A2 next to B2, so Freya at A2 and Gabe at B2 must be the two criminals, leaving Isaac at D2 as INNOCENT. Therefore, we can determine that B2 Gabe is CRIMINAL, A2 Freya is CRIMINAL, and D2 Isaac is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Both criminals in row 2 are connected" — Hal (C2)
C4 · Tina → CRIMINAL
Because: The people below Cheryl in column C are Hal at C2, Nicole at C3, Tina at C4, and Xavi at C5. Freya’s clue says there are exactly two criminals among those four, and those two criminals are connected to each other by up/down/left/right adjacency. Since Hal at C2 is already known to be innocent, the two criminals must be chosen from C3, C4, and C5, and the only way for two people in the same column to be connected as a pair is for them to be in adjacent cells, which can only be C3–C4 or C4–C5. In both connected possibilities, Tina at C4 must be one of the criminals. Therefore, we can determine that C4 Tina is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Both criminals below Cheryl are connected" — Freya (A2)
C1 · Cheryl → CRIMINAL
Because: Look at column C: it contains Cheryl at C1, Hal at C2, Nicole at C3, Tina at C4, and Xavi at C5. Freya’s clue says there are exactly two criminals below Cheryl, and those two are connected; since Tina at C4 is already a criminal and Hal at C2 is already innocent, the only way to have exactly two criminals below Cheryl is that exactly one of Nicole (C3) and Xavi (C5) is also a criminal, giving only two criminals below Cheryl in total. Gabe’s clue says each column has at least 3 criminals, so column C must have at least three criminals overall; with only two criminals possible below Cheryl, Cheryl herself must be the third criminal in that column. Therefore, we can determine that C1 Cheryl is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Each column has at least 3 criminals" — Gabe (B2)
"Both criminals below Cheryl are connected" — Freya (A2)
A1 · Amy → CRIMINAL
Because: Amy is at A1, so the people below her are A2 Freya, A3 Katie, A4 Ryan, and A5 Vicky. Tina’s clue says there are exactly 2 innocents below Amy, and since Freya at A2 is already a criminal, the remaining three spots A3–A5 must contain exactly 2 innocents and 1 criminal, meaning there are exactly 2 criminals below Amy in column A. Gabe’s clue says each column has at least 3 criminals, so column A needs at least one more criminal beyond those two, which can only be Amy herself. Therefore, we can determine that A1 Amy is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Each column has at least 3 criminals" — Gabe (B2)
"There are exactly 2 innocents below Amy" — Tina (C4)
A4 · Ryan → INNOCENT
Because: Salil is at B4, so his neighbors are Katie (A3), Max (B3), Nicole (C3), Ryan (A4), Tina (C4), Vicky (A5), Will (B5), and Xavi (C5). Amy’s clue says that among Salil’s neighboring innocents there are exactly three in total, and exactly one of those three is in row 4. The only neighbors of Salil that are in row 4 are Ryan (A4) and Tina (C4), but Tina is already known to be a criminal, so she cannot be that one row-4 innocent. That forces Ryan to be the single innocent neighbor of Salil who is in row 4. Therefore, we can determine that A4 Ryan is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Salil is in row 4" — Amy (A1)
D4 · Uma → CRIMINAL
Because: Above Zara means the four people in column D from D1 to D4: Donald, Isaac, Paul, and Uma. Ryan’s clue says there are exactly two innocents among those four, and since those two innocents are “connected” and there are only two of them, they must be directly adjacent to each other. Isaac at D2 is already an innocent, so the only place the second innocent can be is D1 or D3, the two squares directly next to Isaac in that column. That leaves no room for Uma at D4 to be an innocent, so she must be the other type. Therefore, we can determine that D4 · Uma is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Both innocents above Zara are connected" — Ryan (A4)
D5 · Zara → CRIMINAL
Because: Look at column D, where Zara is at D5. Ryan’s clue says there are exactly two innocents above Zara, and those two innocents are connected; since Isaac at D2 is already an innocent, the only way to have exactly two connected innocents above Zara is for exactly one of D1 or D3 to be innocent (connected to D2), while the other is a criminal, and D4 is already a criminal. That means that among D1–D4 there are exactly two criminals in column D. Gabe’s clue says every column must have at least three criminals, so column D needs at least one more criminal, and the only remaining spot in column D is Zara at D5. Therefore, we can determine that D5 Zara is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Each column has at least 3 criminals" — Gabe (B2)
"Both innocents above Zara are connected" — Ryan (A4)
C5 · Xavi → INNOCENT
Because: The only edge spaces in column C are C1 and C5, because column C is only on the edge in the top or bottom row. Zara’s clue says that among the five edge-innocents, exactly one of them is in column C. Since C1 (Cheryl) is already known to be a criminal, the only way to have an edge-innocent in column C is for C5 to be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C5 (Xavi) is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 5 innocents on the edges is in column C" — Zara (D5)
C3 · Nicole → CRIMINAL
Because: Look at column C: Cheryl at C1 is a criminal, Hal at C2 is innocent, Nicole at C3 is unknown, Tina at C4 is a criminal, and Xavi at C5 is innocent. Gabe’s clue says each column must contain at least 3 criminals. Column C already has two confirmed criminals (C1 and C4) and two confirmed innocents (C2 and C5), so the only way for column C to reach at least 3 criminals is for Nicole at C3 to be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that C3 Nicole is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Each column has at least 3 criminals" — Gabe (B2)
B3 · Max → CRIMINAL, B5 · Will → CRIMINAL
Because: Amy is at A1, so “below Amy” means A2, A3, A4, and A5. Tina’s clue says exactly 2 of those four are innocents; since A2 Freya is already criminal and A4 Ryan is already innocent, exactly one of A3 Katie and A5 Vicky must be innocent. Salil is at B4, and his neighbors are Katie (A3), Max (B3), Nicole (C3), Ryan (A4), Tina (C4), Vicky (A5), Will (B5), and Xavi (C5). Amy’s clue says Salil has exactly 3 innocent neighbors, and only 1 of those is in row 4; Ryan is an innocent in row 4 and Xavi is an innocent in row 5, so there must be exactly one more innocent among Katie, Max, Vicky, and Will. But Katie and Vicky already must include exactly one innocent, so that uses up the one remaining innocent spot among those four, forcing Max and Will to be criminals. Therefore, we can determine that B3 Max is CRIMINAL and B5 Will is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are exactly 2 innocents below Amy" — Tina (C4)
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Salil is in row 4" — Amy (A1)
B4 · Salil → CRIMINAL
Because: Below Amy in column A are Freya, Katie, Ryan, and Vicky, and Tina’s clue says exactly two of those four are innocents. Freya is already a criminal and Ryan is already an innocent, so the second innocent below Amy must be exactly one of Katie or Vicky. Xavi’s clue looks at Ryan’s neighbors (Katie, Max, Salil, Vicky, and Will) and says the number of innocents among them is odd; Max and Will are criminals, so the only possible innocents there are Katie, Vicky, and Salil. Since Katie and Vicky contribute exactly one innocent between them, the total will be odd only if Salil contributes zero innocents, meaning Salil is a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that B4 Salil is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are exactly 2 innocents below Amy" — Tina (C4)
"There's an odd number of innocents neighboring Ryan" — Xavi (C5)
D3 · Paul → CRIMINAL
Because: The only builders on the board are Isaac at D2 and Uma at D4, and only Isaac is currently marked innocent, so there is exactly 1 innocent builder. The guards are Paul at D3 and Xavi at C5, and Xavi is already marked innocent. Salil’s clue says the number of innocent builders equals the number of innocent guards, so the number of innocent guards must also be exactly 1, meaning Paul cannot be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that D3 Paul is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are as many innocent builders as there are innocent guards" — Salil (B4)
D1 · Donald → INNOCENT
Because: Above Zara (D5) in the same column are Donald (D1), Isaac (D2), Paul (D3), and Uma (D4). Ryan’s clue says “Both innocents above Zara,” which means there are exactly two innocents among those four people, and those two innocents must be connected by orthogonal adjacency. Isaac at D2 is already INNOCENT, while Paul at D3 and Uma at D4 are CRIMINAL, so the only possible second innocent above Zara is Donald at D1; D1 and D2 are also directly adjacent, so they are connected as required. Therefore, we can determine that D1 Donald is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Both innocents above Zara are connected" — Ryan (A4)
A3 · Katie → CRIMINAL
Because: Row 4 has Ryan at A4 as INNOCENT, and Salil at B4, Tina at C4, and Uma at D4 as CRIMINAL, so row 4 contains exactly 3 criminals. Donald’s clue says there are more criminals in row 3 than in row 4, so row 3 must contain at least 4 criminals. In row 3, Max at B3, Nicole at C3, and Paul at D3 are already CRIMINAL, so the only way for row 3 to reach 4 criminals is for Katie at A3 to also be CRIMINAL. Therefore, we can determine that A3 Katie is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are more criminals in row 3 than row 4" — Donald (D1)
A5 · Vicky → INNOCENT
Because: Amy is at A1, so the people below her are Freya at A2, Katie at A3, Ryan at A4, and Vicky at A5. Tina’s clue says there are exactly 2 innocents among those four people below Amy. Freya and Katie are already known criminals, and Ryan is already known innocent, so we currently have exactly 1 innocent below Amy. To reach exactly 2 innocents below Amy, Vicky must be the second innocent. Therefore, we can determine that A5 Vicky is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There are exactly 2 innocents below Amy" — Tina (C4)
B1 · Ben → CRIMINAL
Because: The clue from Zara says there are exactly 5 innocents on the edge of the board in total, and exactly 1 of those edge-innocents is in column C. Right now, the edge positions we already know to be innocent are D1, D2, A4, A5, and C5, which is already 5 edge-innocents, and the only one of them in column C is C5. Since Ben at B1 is also on the edge, he cannot be an additional edge-innocent without breaking the “5 innocents on the edges” part of the clue. Therefore, we can determine that B1 Ben is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 5 innocents on the edges is in column C" — Zara (D5)