Clues by Sam Mar 08, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Hard·Solved
A1
🕵️♀️
Amy
sleuth
B1
👨⚖️
Barnie
judge
C1
👨⚖️
Chad
judge
D1
👷♀️
Donna
builder
A2
👮♂️
Erwin
cop
B2
👨⚖️
Gus
judge
C2
👨💻
Hank
coder
D2
👨🌾
Igor
farmer
A3
🕵️♀️
Jane
sleuth
B3
👩💻
Lisa
coder
C3
👩💻
Megan
coder
D3
👨🌾
Noah
farmer
A4
👮♂️
Oscar
cop
B4
💂♂️
Phil
guard
C4
👷♀️
Ruby
builder
D4
💂♀️
Saga
guard
A5
👷♂️
Tyler
builder
B5
🕵️♀️
Uma
sleuth
C5
👮♀️
Vera
cop
D5
💂♀️
Xena
guard
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 4Criminal 16Unknown 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 · 4
[ D3 ] [ A4 ] [ B4 ] [ B5 ]
Criminal · 16
[ A1 ] [ B1 ] [ C1 ] [ D1 ] [ A2 ] [ B2 ] [ C2 ] [ D2 ] [ A3 ] [ B3 ] [ C3 ] [ C4 ] [ D4 ] [ A5 ] [ 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 · Amy
"There is only one innocent below Erwin"
B1 · Barnie
"Ruby has exactly 5 criminal neighbors"
C1 · Chad
"Know what time it is?"
D1 · Donna
"It's crime time!"
A2 · Erwin
"Lisa has exactly 6 criminal neighbors"
B2 · Gus
"Daylight saving? More like daylight losing. We just lost an hour!"
C2 · Hank
"There is only one innocent below Jane"
D2 · Igor
"An odd number of innocents below Amy neighbor Lisa"
A3 · Jane
"Ruby, it's called daylight saving time. Some of us had it today."
B3 · Lisa
"Or one hour late? Or as usual? I'm so confused"
C3 · Megan
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Hank"
D3 · Noah
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals in row 5 is Vera's neighbor"
A4 · Oscar
"There are more criminals in row 2 than row 5"
B4 · Phil
"So, tomorrow's puzzle will come one hour early?"
C4 · Ruby
"It was such fun doing crime that an hour just disappeared!"
D4 · Saga
"Exactly 2 of the 11 criminals on the edges are in column C"
A5 · Tyler
"Both innocents below Barnie are connected"
B5 · Uma
"Depends where in the world you are, I guess."
C5 · Vera
"There's an odd number of criminals in column B"
D5 · Xena
"As long as we have 24 hours to do crime tomorrow, I'm happy"
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)
A5 · Tyler → CRIMINAL, C5 · Vera → CRIMINAL
Because: Look at row 5, which contains Tyler at A5, Uma at B5, Vera at C5, and Xena at D5, and note that Vera’s row-5 neighbors are only B5 and D5 (A5 is not adjacent to her). Noah’s clue says there are exactly three criminals in row 5, and among those three criminals, only one is a neighbor of Vera. If Vera were innocent, then the three criminals in row 5 would have to be A5, B5, and D5, but then Vera would have two criminal neighbors in row 5 (B5 and D5), not only one. So Vera must be one of the row-5 criminals, and then the other two row-5 criminals must include A5, because otherwise they would both be B5 and D5 and Vera would again have two criminal neighbors. Therefore, we can determine that A5 Tyler is CRIMINAL and C5 Vera is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals in row 5 is Vera's neighbor" — Noah (D3)
B1 · Barnie → CRIMINAL
Because: The people below Barnie in column B are Gus at B2, Lisa at B3, Phil at B4, and Uma at B5. Tyler’s clue says “Both innocents below Barnie are connected,” which means there are exactly two innocents among those four people, so the other two below Barnie must be criminals. Vera’s clue says there is an odd number of criminals in column B overall, and since there are already exactly two criminals in B2–B5, Barnie must be a criminal to make the total in column B odd. Therefore, we can determine that B1 Barnie is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Both innocents below Barnie are connected" — Tyler (A5)
"There's an odd number of criminals in column B" — Vera (C5)
C3 · Megan → CRIMINAL, D4 · Saga → CRIMINAL
Because: Ruby is at C4, so her neighbors are B3 Lisa, C3 Megan, D3 Noah, B4 Phil, D4 Saga, B5 Uma, C5 Vera, and D5 Xena. Barnie’s clue says Ruby has exactly 5 criminal neighbors; since Noah (D3) is already INNOCENT and Vera (C5) is already CRIMINAL, that means exactly 4 of the remaining 6 neighbors (B3, C3, B4, D4, B5, D5) must be criminals. Noah’s clue says there are exactly 3 criminals in row 5, and we already have Tyler (A5) and Vera (C5) as criminals, so exactly one of Uma (B5) and Xena (D5) is a criminal; therefore, among (B3, C3, B4, D4) there must be 3 criminals, meaning exactly 1 of those four is innocent. Tyler’s clue says the two innocents below Barnie in column B are connected, so the two innocents among B2–B5 must be adjacent, which guarantees that at least one of Lisa (B3) or Phil (B4) is innocent. Since there is only room for one innocent among (B3, C3, B4, D4), that innocent must be at B3 or B4, so Megan (C3) and Saga (D4) are forced to be criminals. Therefore, we can determine that C3 Megan is CRIMINAL and D4 Saga is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals in row 5 is Vera's neighbor" — Noah (D3)
"Both innocents below Barnie are connected" — Tyler (A5)
"Ruby has exactly 5 criminal neighbors" — Barnie (B1)
C1 · Chad → CRIMINAL
Because: The only edge positions in column C are C1 and C5, because every other square in column C is not on the outer border. Saga’s clue says that exactly 2 of the edge criminals are in column C. Since C5 (Vera) is already known to be a criminal, the second edge criminal in column C must be C1. Therefore, we can determine that C1 Chad is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 11 criminals on the edges are in column C" — Saga (D4)
D1 · Donna → CRIMINAL, D2 · Igor → CRIMINAL
Because: From Noah’s clue, row 5 contains exactly three criminals, so besides Tyler and Vera, exactly one of Uma or Xena is criminal and the other is an innocent on the edge. Ruby’s clue says Ruby has exactly five criminal neighbors; since Megan, Saga, and Vera are already three of Ruby’s criminal neighbors, exactly two of Lisa, Phil, Uma, and Xena must be criminals, which forces Lisa and Phil to be different because exactly one of Uma or Xena is criminal. Tyler’s clue says there are exactly two innocents below Barnie (Gus, Lisa, Phil, Uma) and those two innocents are connected in that column, so the only way to fit the fact that Lisa and Phil are different is that either Gus and Lisa are the two innocents or Phil and Uma are the two innocents; either way, Gus and Lisa end up with the same status. Megan’s clue says Hank has an odd number of criminal neighbors, and Hank already neighbors Barnie, Chad, and Megan who are three criminals (and also neighbors Noah who is innocent), so among Donna, Gus, Igor, and Lisa there must be an even number of criminals; since Gus and Lisa match, their contribution is automatically even, so Donna and Igor must also match. Saga’s clue says there are 11 edge criminals, meaning there are only 3 edge innocents total, and we already have Noah as one edge innocent plus the row 5 innocent (Uma or Xena) as a second, leaving room for only one more edge innocent among the remaining edge people, which includes both Donna and Igor; since Donna and Igor must match, they cannot both be innocent, so they must both be criminals. Therefore, we can determine that D1 Donna is CRIMINAL and D2 Igor is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals in row 5 is Vera's neighbor" — Noah (D3)
"Both innocents below Barnie are connected" — Tyler (A5)
"Ruby has exactly 5 criminal neighbors" — Barnie (B1)
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Hank" — Megan (C3)
"Exactly 2 of the 11 criminals on the edges are in column C" — Saga (D4)
A1 · Amy → CRIMINAL
Because: Saga says there are exactly 11 criminals on the edges, so there are exactly 3 innocents on the edges. We already have one edge innocent (Noah at D3), and Noah’s clue says row 5 has exactly three criminals; since Tyler at A5 and Vera at C5 are already criminals, exactly one of B5 and D5 is innocent, using up one more of those three edge innocents. That leaves exactly one edge innocent among A1, A2, A3, and A4. Igor’s clue talks about the people who are both below Amy and neighbors of Lisa; below Amy are A2, A3, A4, and A5, and among those the ones that neighbor Lisa (at B3) are A2, A3, and A4. Igor says an odd number of those (A2, A3, A4) are innocents, so at least one of A2, A3, and A4 must be innocent, which means the one edge innocent in column A cannot be Amy at A1. Therefore, we can determine that A1 Amy is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals in row 5 is Vera's neighbor" — Noah (D3)
"Exactly 2 of the 11 criminals on the edges are in column C" — Saga (D4)
"An odd number of innocents below Amy neighbor Lisa" — Igor (D2)
A2 · Erwin → CRIMINAL
Because: The people below Amy in column A who are neighbors of Lisa are Erwin at A2, Jane at A3, and Oscar at A4. Igor’s clue says the number of innocents among those three is odd. Amy’s clue says there is only one innocent below Erwin, and since Tyler at A5 is already a criminal, that means exactly one of Jane and Oscar is innocent. That already gives an odd count of innocents among Jane and Oscar, so to keep the total among Erwin, Jane, and Oscar odd, Erwin cannot be an innocent and must be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that A2 Erwin is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"An odd number of innocents below Amy neighbor Lisa" — Igor (D2)
"There is only one innocent below Erwin" — Amy (A1)
C4 · Ruby → CRIMINAL, C2 · Hank → CRIMINAL
Because: Lisa is at B3, so her eight neighbors are A2 Erwin, B2 Gus, C2 Hank, A3 Jane, C3 Megan, A4 Oscar, B4 Phil, and C4 Ruby. Tyler’s clue says there are exactly two innocents among the people below Barnie (B2 Gus, B3 Lisa, B4 Phil, B5 Uma) and those two innocents are connected, so the two innocents must be an adjacent vertical pair, which guarantees that at least one of Gus (B2) or Phil (B4) is innocent. Igor’s clue looks at the people below Amy who neighbor Lisa; those are A2 Erwin, A3 Jane, and A4 Oscar, and since Erwin is already a criminal, the clue’s “odd number of innocents” forces exactly one of Jane or Oscar to be innocent. Erwin’s clue says Lisa has exactly 6 criminal neighbors, meaning Lisa has exactly 2 innocent neighbors, so the innocent among {Gus, Phil} and the innocent among {Jane, Oscar} must be those two innocents, forcing all Lisa’s other neighbors to be criminals, including Hank at C2 and Ruby at C4. Therefore, we can determine that C4 Ruby is CRIMINAL and C2 Hank is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Both innocents below Barnie are connected" — Tyler (A5)
"An odd number of innocents below Amy neighbor Lisa" — Igor (D2)
"Lisa has exactly 6 criminal neighbors" — Erwin (A2)
A4 · Oscar → INNOCENT
Because: Jane is at A3, so the people below Jane in the same column are Oscar at A4 and Tyler at A5. Hank’s clue says there is only one innocent below Jane, meaning exactly one of Oscar and Tyler is innocent. Tyler is already known to be a criminal, so he cannot be that one innocent. Therefore, we can determine that A4 Oscar is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There is only one innocent below Jane" — Hank (C2)
A3 · Jane → CRIMINAL
Because: Amy is at A1, so the people below Amy are A2 Erwin, A3 Jane, A4 Oscar, and A5 Tyler. Lisa is at B3, and among those people below Amy, the ones who are also neighbors of Lisa are Erwin (A2), Jane (A3), and Oscar (A4). Igor’s clue says the number of innocents in this specific group must be odd; Oscar is already innocent and Erwin is already criminal, so Jane must be criminal to keep the innocent count at 1 rather than 2. Therefore, we can determine that A3 Jane is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"An odd number of innocents below Amy neighbor Lisa" — Igor (D2)
B2 · Gus → CRIMINAL
Because: In row 5 we already know Tyler and Vera are criminals, and Noah’s clue says there are exactly three criminals in that row. Since Tyler is not a neighbor of Vera and Vera is not her own neighbor, the only way for “only 1 of the 3 criminals in row 5” to be Vera’s neighbor is that the third criminal is either Uma or Xena (because they are the only people in row 5 who neighbor Vera). So row 5 has exactly three criminals total. Oscar’s clue says there are more criminals in row 2 than in row 5, and row 2 already has three known criminals (Erwin, Hank, and Igor), so it must have a fourth criminal to exceed three. Therefore, we can determine that B2 Gus is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals in row 5 is Vera's neighbor" — Noah (D3)
"There are more criminals in row 2 than row 5" — Oscar (A4)
B4 · Phil → INNOCENT
Because: Barnie is at B1, so “below Barnie” refers to the other people in column B: Gus at B2, Lisa at B3, Phil at B4, and Uma at B5. The clue says that both innocents below Barnie are connected, which means there are exactly two innocents among those four people, and those two innocents must touch orthogonally in an unbroken chain. Since Gus at B2 is already known to be a criminal, the two innocents must be chosen from B3, B4, and B5, and the only way for two people in those three spaces to be connected is if one of them is the middle space B4 (because B3 and B5 are not adjacent). Therefore, we can determine that B4 Phil is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Both innocents below Barnie are connected" — Tyler (A5)
B3 · Lisa → CRIMINAL
Because: Hank is at C2, so his neighbors are B1 Barnie, C1 Chad, D1 Donna, B2 Gus, D2 Igor, B3 Lisa, C3 Megan, and D3 Noah. Megan’s clue says the number of criminals among those eight neighbors is odd. Among them, Barnie, Chad, Donna, Gus, Igor, and Megan are already known criminals, while Noah is known innocent, so that is 6 criminals so far without counting Lisa. Since 6 is even, Lisa must be a criminal to make the total number of criminals neighboring Hank odd. Therefore, we can determine that B3 Lisa is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Hank" — Megan (C3)
B5 · Uma → INNOCENT
Because: The clue talks about the people below Barnie, meaning the four spaces in column B from B2 to B5. It says “Both innocents below Barnie are connected,” which tells us there are exactly two innocents among B2, B3, B4, and B5, and those two innocents must touch through up/down/left/right steps. Phil at B4 is already an innocent, and Gus at B2 and Lisa at B3 are already criminals, so the only remaining place for the second innocent is Uma at B5; Phil and Uma are also directly adjacent, so they are connected as required. Therefore, we can determine that B5 Uma is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Both innocents below Barnie are connected" — Tyler (A5)
D5 · Xena → CRIMINAL
Because: Row 5 contains Tyler at A5, Uma at B5, Vera at C5, and Xena at D5. Noah’s clue says there are exactly 3 criminals in row 5, and only 1 of those row-5 criminals is a neighbor of Vera. Since Uma is already INNOCENT and Tyler and Vera are already CRIMINAL, the only way to have 3 criminals in that row is for Xena to be the third criminal, and that also fits the “only 1 is Vera’s neighbor” part because the only possible row-5 neighbor of Vera who could be criminal is Xena at D5 (B5 is innocent and A5 is not adjacent). Therefore, we can determine that D5 Xena is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals in row 5 is Vera's neighbor" — Noah (D3)