Clues by Sam Feb 18, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Tricky·Solved
A1
👨🎤
Aaron
singer
B1
👩🎨
Betty
painter
C1
👩🔧
Cheryl
mech
D1
👩✈️
Emma
pilot
A2
👨🍳
Gary
cook
B2
👷♀️
Helen
builder
C2
👨⚕️
Jason
doctor
D2
👷♂️
Kumar
builder
A3
👩🎤
Laura
singer
B3
👨💼
Martin
clerk
C3
👩⚕️
Nicole
doctor
D3
👨⚕️
Oscar
doctor
A4
👨🍳
Peter
cook
B4
👩🍳
Rose
cook
C4
👨🔧
Thor
mech
D4
👩✈️
Uma
pilot
A5
👩🎨
Vicky
painter
B5
👩💼
Wanda
clerk
C5
👨🔧
Xavi
mech
D5
👷♂️
Zach
builder
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
[ B1 ] [ C1 ] [ D1 ] [ A2 ] [ B2 ] [ D2 ] [ A3 ] [ B3 ] [ D4 ] [ B5 ] [ C5 ]
Criminal · 9
[ A1 ] [ C2 ] [ C3 ] [ D3 ] [ A4 ] [ B4 ] [ C4 ] [ A5 ] [ 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 · Aaron
"No one is allowed to lie, right?"
B1 · Betty
"There are exactly 3 innocents above Zach"
C1 · Cheryl
"Wait a second... How do we know Jason is actually Batman?"
D1 · Emma
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Thor is in column D"
A2 · Gary
"Rose has exactly 4 innocent neighbors"
B2 · Helen
"There are exactly 2 criminals in between Jason and Xavi"
C2 · Jason
"If I tell you I'm Batman, will you let me go?"
D2 · Kumar
"Jason! Why didn't you say so earlier!"
A3 · Laura
"What if we answer 'yes' and see what happens?"
B3 · Martin
"But he didn't actually say he's Batman..."
C3 · Nicole
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Peter is above Wanda"
D3 · Oscar
"Row 4 is the only row with exactly one innocent"
A4 · Peter
"There are exactly 2 innocents below Aaron"
B4 · Rose
"Uma has only one innocent neighbor on the edges"
C4 · Thor
"Column B is the only column with exactly 4 innocents"
D4 · Uma
"Batman or not, Jason is a criminal!"
A5 · Vicky
"Well, have you ever seen Jason and Batman in the same room? Exactly."
B5 · Wanda
"There's an equal number of innocents in columns A and C"
C5 · Xavi
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Betty is in column C"
D5 · Zach
"Nicole has exactly 4 criminal neighbors"
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)
C3 · Nicole → CRIMINAL, C4 · Thor → CRIMINAL
Because: Jason is at C2 and Xavi is at C5, so the only people in between them are the two in column C at C3 (Nicole) and C4 (Thor). Helen’s clue says there are exactly 2 criminals in between Jason and Xavi, and there are exactly 2 people in between them. That forces both Nicole and Thor to be the criminals counted by the clue. Therefore, we can determine that C3 Nicole is CRIMINAL and C4 Thor is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are exactly 2 criminals in between Jason and Xavi" — Helen (B2)
B1 · Betty → INNOCENT, B5 · Wanda → INNOCENT
Because: Peter is at A4, and the only neighbors of Peter who are above Wanda (in column B somewhere above B5) are Martin at B3 and Rose at B4. Nicole’s clue says that among the three innocent neighbors of Peter, exactly one is above Wanda, so exactly one of Martin or Rose is innocent and the other one must be criminal. Thor’s clue says column B is the only column with exactly four innocents, which means there is exactly one criminal in column B. Since either Martin or Rose is already forced to be that one criminal in column B, everyone else in column B, including Betty at B1 and Wanda at B5, must be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that B1 Betty is INNOCENT and B5 Wanda is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Peter is above Wanda" — Nicole (C3)
"Column B is the only column with exactly 4 innocents" — Thor (C4)
D5 · Zach → CRIMINAL
Because: Thor’s clue says that column B is the only column that has exactly 4 innocents, so every other column, including column D, cannot have exactly 4 innocents. Betty’s clue says there are exactly 3 innocents above Zach, and since Zach is at D5, that means exactly 3 of D1, D2, D3, and D4 are innocents. If Zach were also innocent, column D would then have exactly 4 innocents in total, which is not allowed because only column B can have exactly 4 innocents. Therefore, we can determine that D5 Zach is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Column B is the only column with exactly 4 innocents" — Thor (C4)
"There are exactly 3 innocents above Zach" — Betty (B1)
C2 · Jason → CRIMINAL, D1 · Emma → INNOCENT
Because: Peter is at A4, and his neighbors are Laura (A3), Martin (B3), Rose (B4), Vicky (A5), and Wanda (B5). Nicole’s clue says Peter has exactly three innocent neighbors, and only one of those three is above Wanda; among Peter’s neighbors, the only people who are both above Wanda and next to Peter are Martin (B3) and Rose (B4), so exactly one of B3 or B4 is innocent and the other is criminal. Zach’s clue says Nicole (C3) has exactly four criminal neighbors; among her neighbors, Helen (B2) is already innocent and Thor (C4) is already criminal, so among the other six neighbors (Martin B3, Rose B4, Jason C2, Kumar D2, Oscar D3, and Uma D4) there must be exactly three criminals. Since B3 and B4 contribute exactly one criminal total, the remaining two criminals must come from C2, D2, D3, and D4, which means at least one of D2, D3, or D4 is criminal. Betty’s clue says there are exactly three innocents above Zach (D5), meaning among Emma (D1), Kumar (D2), Oscar (D3), and Uma (D4) there is exactly one criminal. Because at least one of D2–D4 is criminal, that single criminal above Zach must be in D2–D4, so Emma (D1) is one of the three innocents. Now D2–D4 contain exactly one criminal total, and B3–B4 contain exactly one criminal total, but Zach’s clue requires three criminals total among B3, B4, C2, D2, D3, and D4, so the remaining required criminal must be Jason at C2. Therefore, we can determine that C2 Jason is CRIMINAL and D1 Emma is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Peter is above Wanda" — Nicole (C3)
"There are exactly 3 innocents above Zach" — Betty (B1)
"Nicole has exactly 4 criminal neighbors" — Zach (D5)
D2 · Kumar → INNOCENT
Because: Look at the people above Zach in column D: Emma at D1 is already innocent, and the remaining three are Kumar at D2, Oscar at D3, and Uma at D4. Betty’s clue says there are exactly 3 innocents above Zach, so among Kumar, Oscar, and Uma there must be exactly 2 innocents. Emma’s clue says Thor has exactly 4 innocent neighbors and only 1 of those is in column D; since Zach at D5 is a criminal, the only column D neighbors of Thor are Oscar (D3) and Uma (D4), so exactly one of Oscar and Uma is innocent. That means Oscar and Uma contribute only 1 innocent, so Kumar must be the second innocent required by Betty’s clue. Therefore, we can determine that D2 Kumar is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There are exactly 3 innocents above Zach" — Betty (B1)
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Thor is in column D" — Emma (D1)
C5 · Xavi → INNOCENT
Because: Nicole at C3 has eight neighbors, and Zach’s clue says exactly four of those neighbors are criminals. Since Jason at C2 and Thor at C4 are already two criminal neighbors of Nicole, exactly two of the four shared neighbors B3 Martin, D3 Oscar, B4 Rose, and D4 Uma must also be criminals, which means exactly two of those four are innocents. Thor at C4 neighbors B3 Martin, D3 Oscar, B4 Rose, D4 Uma, B5 Wanda, C5 Xavi, plus Nicole and Zach, and Emma’s clue says Thor has exactly four innocent neighbors. With Wanda already one innocent neighbor and Nicole and Zach not innocent neighbors, Thor must have exactly three innocents among Martin, Oscar, Rose, Uma, and Xavi; but we just established that Martin, Oscar, Rose, and Uma contain only two innocents, so Xavi must be the third innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C5 Xavi is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Nicole has exactly 4 criminal neighbors" — Zach (D5)
"Only 1 of the 4 innocents neighboring Thor is in column D" — Emma (D1)
C1 · Cheryl → INNOCENT
Because: Betty is at B1, so her neighbors are A1, C1, A2, B2, and C2. We already know B2 is innocent and C2 is a criminal, so the only possible neighbor of Betty who could be an innocent in column C is C1. Xavi’s clue says that among the three innocent neighbors of Betty, exactly one is in column C, so C1 must be that one. Therefore, we can determine that C1 Cheryl is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Betty is in column C" — Xavi (C5)
A4 · Peter → CRIMINAL
Because: Wanda says columns A and C have the same number of innocents, and column C already has exactly two innocents (Cheryl at C1 and Xavi at C5), so column A must also have exactly two innocents in total. Xavi says Betty has exactly three innocent neighbors and only one of those is in column C; since Cheryl at C1 is already that one innocent in column C and Helen at B2 is another innocent neighbor, exactly one of Aaron (A1) or Gary (A2) must be innocent. That means column A already contains one innocent in rows 1–2, so among Laura (A3), Peter (A4), and Vicky (A5) there can be only one innocent. Nicole’s clue about Peter says Peter has exactly three innocent neighbors, and only one of those is above Wanda; Peter’s neighbors are Laura (A3), Martin (B3), Rose (B4), Vicky (A5), and Wanda (B5), and Wanda is an innocent neighbor who is not above herself. So, besides Wanda, exactly two of Laura, Martin, Rose, and Vicky are innocent, and since only Martin and Rose count as “above Wanda,” exactly one of Martin or Rose is innocent, forcing exactly one of Laura or Vicky to be innocent. But that already uses up the only innocent allowed among A3–A5 in column A, so Peter cannot be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that A4 · Peter is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Peter is above Wanda" — Nicole (C3)
"There's an equal number of innocents in columns A and C" — Wanda (B5)
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Betty is in column C" — Xavi (C5)
A1 · Aaron → CRIMINAL
Because: In column C, the only innocents are Cheryl at C1 and Xavi at C5, since Jason, Nicole, and Thor in that column are all already marked criminal, so column C has exactly 2 innocents. Wanda says columns A and C have an equal number of innocents, so column A must also have exactly 2 innocents in total. Peter says there are exactly 2 innocents below Aaron, and since Peter at A4 is one of the people below Aaron and is criminal, those 2 innocents must be among A2, A3, and A5, meaning column A already contains 2 innocents below Aaron. That leaves no room for Aaron to be an innocent as well, so he must be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that A1 Aaron is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There's an equal number of innocents in columns A and C" — Wanda (B5)
"There are exactly 2 innocents below Aaron" — Peter (A4)
A2 · Gary → INNOCENT
Because: Betty is at B1, and her neighbors are Aaron at A1, Gary at A2, Helen at B2, Cheryl at C1, and Jason at C2. Xavi’s clue says “the 3 innocents neighboring Betty,” so Betty must have exactly three innocent neighbors among those five people. Since Aaron and Jason are already known to be criminals, the only way to reach three innocent neighbors is for Gary to be innocent, alongside Helen and Cheryl; this also makes exactly one of those three innocents (Cheryl at C1) be in column C, matching the clue. Therefore, we can determine that A2 Gary is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Betty is in column C" — Xavi (C5)
B4 · Rose → CRIMINAL
Because: Rose is at B4, and her neighbors include Laura (A3), Martin (B3), Vicky (A5), plus the already-known innocents Wanda (B5) and Xavi (C5), and the already-known criminals Nicole (C3), Peter (A4), and Thor (C4). Gary’s clue says Rose has exactly 4 innocent neighbors, and since Wanda and Xavi already account for 2 of them (while Nicole, Peter, and Thor cannot), Laura, Martin, and Vicky must contain exactly 2 innocents. Nicole’s clue says Peter has exactly 3 innocent neighbors, and since Wanda is definitely one of Peter’s neighbors, Laura, Martin, Rose, and Vicky together must contain exactly 2 innocents. Because Laura, Martin, and Vicky already contribute exactly 2 innocents, Rose cannot be innocent without exceeding that total. Therefore, we can determine that B4 Rose is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Peter is above Wanda" — Nicole (C3)
"Rose has exactly 4 innocent neighbors" — Gary (A2)
B3 · Martin → INNOCENT
Because: Peter is at A4, and his neighbors include Martin at B3, Rose at B4, Wanda at B5, Laura at A3, and Vicky at A5. Nicole’s clue says that Peter has exactly three innocent neighbors, and exactly one of those innocents is above Wanda (in Wanda’s column, higher up). Among Peter’s neighbors, the only people who are above Wanda are Martin (B3) and Rose (B4), but Rose is already known to be a criminal. That means the one innocent neighbor of Peter who is above Wanda must be Martin. Therefore, we can determine that B3 Martin is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Peter is above Wanda" — Nicole (C3)
D3 · Oscar → CRIMINAL
Because: Uma is at D4, and her neighbors that are on the edge of the board are D3 Oscar, C5 Xavi, and D5 Zach. Rose’s clue says that among those edge neighbors, Uma has only one who is innocent. Since Xavi at C5 is already innocent and Zach at D5 is already criminal, Oscar at D3 cannot also be innocent without giving Uma two innocent edge neighbors. Therefore, we can determine that D3 Oscar is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Uma has only one innocent neighbor on the edges" — Rose (B4)
D4 · Uma → INNOCENT
Because: Zach is at D5, so the people “above Zach” are exactly D1 Emma, D2 Kumar, D3 Oscar, and D4 Uma. Betty’s clue says there are exactly 3 innocents among those four people. Emma and Kumar are already known to be innocent, while Oscar is already known to be a criminal, so the only way to reach a total of three innocents above Zach is for Uma to be the third innocent. Therefore, we can determine that D4 Uma is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There are exactly 3 innocents above Zach" — Betty (B1)
A3 · Laura → INNOCENT
Because: Oscar’s clue says that row 4 is the only row that has exactly one innocent, so every other row must have either zero innocents or at least two innocents. In row 3, Martin at B3 is already known to be innocent, while Nicole at C3 and Oscar at D3 are criminals. That means row 3 currently has exactly one innocent unless Laura at A3 is also innocent, and row 3 cannot be another “exactly one innocent” row because row 4 is the only one. Therefore, we can determine that A3 Laura is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Row 4 is the only row with exactly one innocent" — Oscar (D3)
A5 · Vicky → CRIMINAL
Because: Peter is at A4, and his neighbors are Laura at A3, Martin at B3, Rose at B4, Wanda at B5, and Vicky at A5. Nicole’s clue says there are exactly three innocents among Peter’s neighbors, and only one of those three is above Wanda. We already have three known innocents next to Peter: Laura, Martin, and Wanda, and among these only Martin is above Wanda (since he is in the same column B and higher up). That means Vicky cannot also be an innocent neighbor of Peter, so she must be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that A5 Vicky is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 innocents neighboring Peter is above Wanda" — Nicole (C3)