Clues by Sam Feb 17, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Medium·Solved
A1
👨💻
Austin
coder
B1
💂♀️
Betty
guard
C1
👨⚕️
Derek
doctor
D1
🕵️♂️
Ellie
sleuth
A2
👩🎤
Freya
singer
B2
👨⚕️
Henry
doctor
C2
👨⚖️
Igor
judge
D2
🕵️♀️
Joy
sleuth
A3
👩🎤
Katie
singer
B3
👩🎤
Mary
singer
C3
👨🏫
Noah
teacher
D3
🕵️♀️
Olive
sleuth
A4
👨⚖️
Pip
judge
B4
🐨
Steve
koala
C4
👩🍳
Tina
cook
D4
👩🍳
Uma
cook
A5
💂♂️
Vince
guard
B5
👩💻
Wanda
coder
C5
👨🍳
Xavi
cook
D5
👩💻
Zara
coder
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 11Criminal 9Unknown 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 · 11
[ D1 ] [ A2 ] [ B2 ] [ C2 ] [ A3 ] [ B3 ] [ C3 ] [ B4 ] [ D4 ] [ A5 ] [ C5 ]
Criminal · 9
[ A1 ] [ B1 ] [ C1 ] [ D2 ] [ D3 ] [ A4 ] [ C4 ] [ 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 · Austin
"Row 1 is the only row with exactly one innocent"
B1 · Betty
"Freya and I have only one innocent neighbor in common"
C1 · Derek
"There are more innocents in row 3 than row 4"
D1 · Ellie
"Column D is the only column with exactly 2 innocents"
A2 · Freya
"Exactly 1 innocent on the edges is in row 3"
B2 · Henry
"Both criminals above Zara are connected"
C2 · Igor
"Exactly 1 innocent in row 5 is neighboring Pip"
D2 · Joy
"Did you know it's now the year of the horse? Wish I had one..."
A3 · Katie
"Mary is one of Noah's 5 innocent neighbors"
B3 · Mary
"Katie and Henry have 2 innocent neighbors in common"
C3 · Noah
"Betty has exactly 3 innocent neighbors"
D3 · Olive
"There are exactly 2 innocents to the left of Igor"
A4 · Pip
"Joy, it's the year of the fire horse. You might not want to ride one."
B4 · Steve
"I'm still waiting for the year of the koala..."
C4 · Tina
"I was born on the year of the rat. Very unfortunate for a criminal."
D4 · Uma
"Last year was the year of the snake. I think there are still some around."
A5 · Vince
"Year of the fire koala would be awesome... Is it too late to add one?"
B5 · Wanda
"Happy lunar new year!"
C5 · Xavi
"There's an equal number of criminals in rows 2 and 3"
D5 · Zara
"Everyone has at least one criminal neighbor"
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 (19 steps)
B3 · Mary → INNOCENT
Because: Katie’s clue says that Mary is one of Noah’s innocent neighbors. Since clues are always true, Mary must be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that B3 Mary is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Mary is one of Noah's 5 innocent neighbors" — Katie (A3)
A2 · Freya → INNOCENT
Because: Katie is at A3, and Henry is at B2, so we look at who is a neighbor of both of them. The only shared neighbors they have are A2 (Freya), which touches both A3 and B2, and B3 (Mary), which also touches both A3 and B2. Mary’s clue says Katie and Henry have 2 innocent neighbors in common, so both of those shared neighbors must be innocent. Since B3 (Mary) is already innocent, A2 (Freya) must be the other innocent shared neighbor. Therefore, we can determine that A2 Freya is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Katie and Henry have 2 innocent neighbors in common" — Mary (B3)
D3 · Olive → CRIMINAL
Because: In row 3, the only edge positions are A3 and D3, because edges are the outer ring of the board. Freya’s clue says that the number of innocents who are on an edge and also in row 3 is exactly 1, so among A3 and D3 there can be only one innocent. We already know A3 (Katie) is innocent, and she is on the edge in row 3, so D3 cannot also be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that D3 (Olive) is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Exactly 1 innocent on the edges is in row 3" — Freya (A2)
B2 · Henry → INNOCENT
Because: Igor is at C2, so the only people to the left of Igor are A2 Freya and B2 Henry. Olive’s clue says there are exactly 2 innocents to the left of Igor, so both of those left-side positions must be innocents. Since Freya at A2 is already an innocent, Henry at B2 must be the second innocent. Therefore, we can determine that B2 Henry is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There are exactly 2 innocents to the left of Igor" — Olive (D3)
D1 · Ellie → INNOCENT
Because: Look at the people above Zara at D5: Uma at D4, Olive at D3, Joy at D2, and Ellie at D1. Henry’s clue says there are exactly two criminals among those four, and those two criminals must be connected by up-down adjacency in column D. Since Olive at D3 is already known to be a criminal, the only way to have exactly one more criminal connected to Olive is for that second criminal to be either Joy at D2 or Uma at D4; Ellie at D1 cannot be the second criminal because D1 is not adjacent to D3, and making D2 criminal as well would create more than two criminals. Therefore, we can determine that D1 Ellie is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Both criminals above Zara are connected" — Henry (B2)
D5 · Zara → CRIMINAL
Because: Above Zara in column D are Ellie at D1, Joy at D2, Olive at D3, and Uma at D4. Henry’s clue says there are exactly two criminals above Zara, and those two are connected; since Olive is already a criminal and Ellie is already innocent, the second criminal must be either Joy or Uma, which means the other one is innocent, giving exactly two innocents among D1–D4. Ellie’s clue says column D has exactly two innocents in total, so Zara cannot also be innocent or column D would have three innocents. Therefore, we can determine that D5 Zara is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Both criminals above Zara are connected" — Henry (B2)
"Column D is the only column with exactly 2 innocents" — Ellie (D1)
B1 · Betty → CRIMINAL
Because: Austin at A1 must have at least one criminal neighbor, because Zara’s clue says everyone has at least one criminal neighbor. The only neighbors of A1 are Betty at B1, Freya at A2, and Henry at B2 (including the diagonal neighbor at B2). Freya and Henry are already confirmed INNOCENT, so the only remaining neighbor who can be criminal is Betty at B1. Therefore, we can determine that B1 Betty is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Everyone has at least one criminal neighbor" — Zara (D5)
A1 · Austin → CRIMINAL
Because: Betty at B1 and Freya at A2 share exactly two common neighbors: Austin at A1 and Henry at B2. Betty’s clue says that among their common neighbors, only one is innocent. Since Henry at B2 is already known to be innocent, Austin at A1 cannot also be innocent, or they would have two innocent common neighbors. Therefore, we can determine that A1 Austin is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Freya and I have only one innocent neighbor in common" — Betty (B1)
C1 · Derek → CRIMINAL
Because: In row 1, we already know Ellie at D1 is innocent, while Austin at A1 and Betty at B1 are criminals. Austin’s clue says that row 1 has exactly one innocent person. Since D1 already accounts for that single innocent in row 1, the remaining unknown person in row 1, Derek at C1, cannot be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C1 Derek is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Row 1 is the only row with exactly one innocent" — Austin (A1)
C3 · Noah → INNOCENT
Because: Noah is at C3, and Katie’s clue says Mary is one of Noah’s 5 innocent neighbors, so Noah must have exactly five innocent neighbors around C3. Two of Noah’s neighbors are already known to be innocent (Mary at B3 and Henry at B2), so three more of Noah’s remaining five unknown neighbors (C2, D2, B4, C4, D4) must be innocent, which means row 4 contains at least one innocent among B4, C4, and D4. Derek’s clue says row 3 has more innocents than row 4, and row 3 can only have either 2 innocents (Katie and Mary) or 3 innocents (if Noah is also innocent), while Austin’s clue means row 4 cannot have exactly one innocent because only row 1 is allowed to have exactly one innocent. So row 4 must have exactly two innocents, forcing row 3 to have three innocents, and the only way for that to happen is for Noah to be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C3 Noah is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Mary is one of Noah's 5 innocent neighbors" — Katie (A3)
"Row 1 is the only row with exactly one innocent" — Austin (A1)
"There are more innocents in row 3 than row 4" — Derek (C1)
C2 · Igor → INNOCENT
Because: Betty is at B1, so her neighbors are A1 Austin, A2 Freya, B2 Henry, C1 Derek, and C2 Igor. Noah’s clue says Betty has exactly 3 innocent neighbors. We already know Freya and Henry are innocent, and Austin and Derek are criminals, so Betty currently has exactly 2 innocent neighbors among the four known ones. The only remaining neighbor who can raise that count to exactly 3 is Igor at C2, so Igor must be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C2 Igor is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Betty has exactly 3 innocent neighbors" — Noah (C3)
C5 · Xavi → INNOCENT
Because: Row 1 currently has exactly one innocent because D1 is innocent while A1, B1, and C1 are criminals. Austin’s clue says row 1 is the only row with exactly one innocent, so every other row must have a different number of innocents than 1. Igor’s clue says that exactly 1 innocent in row 5 is neighboring Pip, and the only people in row 5 who can neighbor Pip are A5 and B5, so exactly one of A5 and B5 is innocent. If C5 were criminal, then row 5 would have exactly one innocent in total (that single innocent among A5 and B5), which would violate Austin’s clue, so C5 must be innocent to make row 5 have more than one innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C5 (Xavi) is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Row 1 is the only row with exactly one innocent" — Austin (A1)
"Exactly 1 innocent in row 5 is neighboring Pip" — Igor (C2)
D2 · Joy → CRIMINAL
Because: Row 3 is already fully known: A3, B3, and C3 are innocents, and D3 is a criminal, so row 3 has exactly 1 criminal. Xavi’s clue says rows 2 and 3 have an equal number of criminals, so row 2 must also have exactly 1 criminal. In row 2, A2, B2, and C2 are all innocents, leaving only D2 as the only place that criminal can be. Therefore, we can determine that D2 · Joy is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There's an equal number of criminals in rows 2 and 3" — Xavi (C5)
D4 · Uma → INNOCENT
Because: The clue is about the people above Zara in column D: Ellie at D1, Joy at D2, Olive at D3, and Uma at D4. It says there are both criminals above Zara, meaning there are exactly two criminals somewhere above her in that column, and those two criminals form one connected group. Ellie is already known innocent, and Joy and Olive are already known criminals and are directly adjacent, so they already make a connected pair. If Uma at D4 were also a criminal, then there would be three criminals above Zara, which would contradict the clue’s “both criminals” wording, so Uma cannot be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that D4 Uma is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Both criminals above Zara are connected" — Henry (B2)
C4 · Tina → CRIMINAL
Because: Zara is at D5, and her clue says that every single person on the board has at least one criminal neighbor. Zara’s own neighbors are only C4 (Tina), D4 (Uma), and C5 (Xavi). Uma and Xavi are both already confirmed INNOCENT, so the only way for Zara herself to have a criminal neighbor, as her clue requires, is for Tina at C4 to be CRIMINAL. Therefore, we can determine that C4 Tina is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Everyone has at least one criminal neighbor" — Zara (D5)
B4 · Steve → INNOCENT
Because: Noah is at C3, so his neighbors are Henry at B2, Igor at C2, Joy at D2, Mary at B3, Olive at D3, Steve at B4, Tina at C4, and Uma at D4. Katie’s clue says that Noah has exactly 5 innocent neighbors, and that Mary is one of those innocent neighbors. Among Noah’s neighbors we already have four innocents (Henry, Igor, Mary, and Uma) and three criminals (Joy, Olive, and Tina), leaving only Steve’s status undecided. Since Noah must have five innocent neighbors in total, Steve has to be the fifth innocent neighbor. Therefore, we can determine that B4 Steve is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Mary is one of Noah's 5 innocent neighbors" — Katie (A3)
A4 · Pip → CRIMINAL
Because: Katie at A3 is one of the people affected by Zara’s clue that everyone has at least one criminal neighbor. Katie’s neighbors are Freya at A2, Henry at B2, Mary at B3, Steve at B4, and Pip at A4. Freya, Henry, Mary, and Steve are all already known to be innocent, so the only neighbor who can satisfy Katie’s requirement to have at least one criminal neighbor is Pip at A4. Therefore, we can determine that A4 Pip is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Everyone has at least one criminal neighbor" — Zara (D5)
A5 · Vince → INNOCENT
Because: In column D, we can already see exactly two innocents: Ellie at D1 and Uma at D4. Ellie’s clue says column D is the only column with exactly 2 innocents, so every other column must have a different number of innocents than 2. In column A, Freya at A2 and Katie at A3 are already innocent, so column A already has exactly 2 innocents unless Vince at A5 is also innocent. That forces Vince to be innocent so column A is not another “exactly 2 innocents” column. Therefore, we can determine that A5 Vince is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Column D is the only column with exactly 2 innocents" — Ellie (D1)
B5 · Wanda → CRIMINAL
Because: Look at Pip at A4 and the people adjacent to Pip, since Zara’s clue says every person must have at least one criminal neighbor. Pip’s neighbors are Katie (A3), Mary (B3), Steve (B4), Vince (A5), and Wanda (B5). All of those neighbors are already known to be innocent except Wanda, so the only way for Pip to have any criminal neighbor at all is for Wanda to be criminal. Therefore, we can determine that B5 Wanda is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Everyone has at least one criminal neighbor" — Zara (D5)