Clues by Sam Mar 21, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Hard·Solved
A1
👮♂️
Aaron
cop
B1
👩🎤
Chloe
singer
C1
👩🍳
Evie
cook
D1
👮♂️
Gary
cop
A2
👩🎨
Hazel
painter
B2
👨🎨
Ike
painter
C2
🕵️♀️
Joy
sleuth
D2
👮♂️
Klay
cop
A3
👨🎨
Luigi
painter
B3
👷♀️
Megan
builder
C3
👩⚕️
Nicole
doctor
D3
🕵️♂️
Oscar
sleuth
A4
👩🍳
Penny
cook
B4
👷♂️
Ronald
builder
C4
👨⚕️
Scott
doctor
D4
🕵️♂️
Tyler
sleuth
A5
💂♀️
Uma
guard
B5
👩🎤
Vicky
singer
C5
👨⚕️
Xavi
doctor
D5
💂♀️
Zoe
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 12Criminal 8Unknown 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 · 12
[ D1 ] [ A2 ] [ B2 ] [ D2 ] [ A3 ] [ C3 ] [ D3 ] [ A4 ] [ C4 ] [ D4 ] [ B5 ] [ C5 ]
Criminal · 8
[ A1 ] [ B1 ] [ C1 ] [ C2 ] [ B3 ] [ B4 ] [ 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
"Chloe has exactly 2 innocent neighbors"
B1 · Chloe
"All innocents in column A are connected"
C1 · Evie
"Only one row has exactly 2 innocents"
D1 · Gary
"It's not a truecrime podcast, Luigi"
A2 · Hazel
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals neighboring Nicole is my neighbor"
B2 · Ike
"Maybe we're being too harsh. It is kind of fun after all!"
C2 · Joy
"Poor Luigi."
D2 · Klay
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Hazel"
A3 · Luigi
"This is fun!"
B3 · Megan
"I don't agree with Luigi, but I don't blame him"
C3 · Nicole
"There are at least 2 innocents in between Aaron and Uma"
D3 · Oscar
"An odd number of innocents below Chloe neighbor Luigi"
A4 · Penny
"As if you did any of the thinking, Luigi..."
B4 · Ronald
"Joy has exactly 5 innocent neighbors"
C4 · Scott
"There are exactly 2 criminals to the right of Aaron"
D4 · Tyler
"Some of us do actual work here, Luigi. Well, not me. But some."
A5 · Uma
"Joy and Klay have 3 innocent neighbors in common"
B5 · Vicky
"Xavi is one of 2 innocents in row 5"
C5 · Xavi
"There's an odd number of innocents in column A"
D5 · Zoe
"All innocents in column C are connected"
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)
C5 · Xavi → INNOCENT
Because: Vicky’s clue says that Xavi is one of the two innocents in row 5, which directly includes Xavi as an innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C5 Xavi is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Xavi is one of 2 innocents in row 5" — Vicky (B5)
A5 · Uma → CRIMINAL, D5 · Zoe → CRIMINAL
Because: Row 5 contains Uma at A5, Vicky at B5, Xavi at C5, and Zoe at D5. Vicky’s clue says that Xavi is one of exactly 2 innocents in row 5, meaning row 5 has exactly two innocents total. Since we already know Vicky is INNOCENT and Xavi is INNOCENT, those two positions fill the entire allowance of two innocents in that row. That forces the remaining two people in row 5, Uma and Zoe, to be criminals. Therefore, we can determine that A5 Uma is CRIMINAL and D5 Zoe is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Xavi is one of 2 innocents in row 5" — Vicky (B5)
C3 · Nicole → INNOCENT, C4 · Scott → INNOCENT
Because: Joy at C2 and Klay at D2 share exactly four common neighbors: Evie at C1, Nicole at C3, Gary at D1, and Oscar at D3. Uma’s clue says that Joy and Klay have 3 innocent neighbors in common, so exactly three of those four people are innocents, which means at least one of Evie (C1) or Nicole (C3) is innocent. Since Xavi at C5 is already an innocent, Zoe’s clue that all innocents in column C are connected means any innocent in column C above C5 must connect to C5 through the vertical chain, forcing Scott at C4 to be innocent, and it also forces Nicole at C3 to be innocent because C3 is either that innocent itself or lies on the required vertical connection from C1 down to C5. Therefore, we can determine that C3 · Nicole is INNOCENT and C4 · Scott is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Joy and Klay have 3 innocent neighbors in common" — Uma (A5)
"All innocents in column C are connected" — Zoe (D5)
B1 · Chloe → CRIMINAL, D3 · Oscar → INNOCENT
Because: Joy is at C2 and Klay is at D2, so the people who neighbor both of them are Evie at C1, Gary at D1, Nicole at C3, and Oscar at D3. Uma’s clue says that among these four common neighbors, exactly three are innocent; since Nicole is already known to be innocent, that means exactly two of Evie, Gary, and Oscar are innocent. Scott’s clue says there are exactly two criminals to the right of Aaron, and the only people to the right of Aaron at A1 are Chloe at B1, Evie at C1, and Gary at D1. If Oscar were the criminal among Evie, Gary, and Oscar, then Evie and Gary would both have to be innocent, which would make it impossible to have two criminals among Chloe, Evie, and Gary, so Oscar must be innocent. With Oscar innocent, exactly one of Evie and Gary is criminal, so Chloe must also be criminal to reach Scott’s total of exactly two criminals to Aaron’s right. Therefore, we can determine that B1 Chloe is CRIMINAL and D3 Oscar is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Joy and Klay have 3 innocent neighbors in common" — Uma (A5)
"There are exactly 2 criminals to the right of Aaron" — Scott (C4)
A3 · Luigi → INNOCENT
Because: Aaron is at A1 and Uma is at A5, so the people in between them are Hazel at A2, Luigi at A3, and Penny at A4. Nicole’s clue says there are at least 2 innocents among these three in-between people. Chloe’s clue says that all innocents in column A must be connected, so any two innocents in A2–A4 must touch through a continuous vertical chain of innocents, which is only possible if the middle space A3 is innocent. Therefore, we can determine that A3 Luigi is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There are at least 2 innocents in between Aaron and Uma" — Nicole (C3)
"All innocents in column A are connected" — Chloe (B1)
A2 · Hazel → INNOCENT
Because: The people between Aaron at A1 and Uma at A5 are Hazel at A2, Luigi at A3, and Penny at A4, and Nicole’s clue says at least two of those three are innocents. Since Luigi at A3 is already known to be innocent, at least one of Hazel at A2 or Penny at A4 must also be innocent. Xavi’s clue says the total number of innocents in column A is odd, so besides Luigi, there must be exactly two more innocents among Aaron, Hazel, and Penny. Chloe’s clue says all innocents in column A are connected, so Aaron and Penny cannot both be innocent if Hazel is not, because that would leave Luigi separated from Aaron by Hazel as a break in the column. That forces Hazel at A2 to be one of the innocents. Therefore, we can determine that A2 Hazel is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There's an odd number of innocents in column A" — Xavi (C5)
"There are at least 2 innocents in between Aaron and Uma" — Nicole (C3)
"All innocents in column A are connected" — Chloe (B1)
B4 · Ronald → CRIMINAL
Because: Hazel says that, among the three criminals who neighbor Nicole, only one of those criminals is also Hazel’s neighbor. The only people who are neighbors of both Nicole and Hazel are Ike (B2) and Megan (B3), so exactly one of Ike or Megan must be a criminal and the other must be an innocent. Oscar says that among the people below Chloe who are also neighbors of Luigi, there is an odd number of innocents; those people are Ike (B2), Megan (B3), and Ronald (B4). Since Ike and Megan contain exactly one innocent between them, Ronald cannot also be an innocent or the total would become two innocents (an even number), so Ronald must be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that B4 Ronald is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"An odd number of innocents below Chloe neighbor Luigi" — Oscar (D3)
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals neighboring Nicole is my neighbor" — Hazel (A2)
D2 · Klay → INNOCENT
Because: Joy is at C2, and her neighbors are Chloe, Evie, Gary, Ike, Klay, Megan, Nicole, and Oscar. Ronald’s clue says Joy has exactly 5 innocent neighbors, and since Chloe is a known criminal while Nicole and Oscar are known innocents, that means exactly 3 of the five unknown neighbors Evie, Gary, Ike, Klay, and Megan must be innocent. Uma’s clue says Joy and Klay share exactly 3 innocent common neighbors; their common neighbors are Evie, Gary, Nicole, and Oscar, and since Nicole and Oscar are already innocent, exactly one of Evie or Gary is innocent, so Ike, Klay, and Megan must contain the other 2 innocents. Oscar’s clue applies to the people below Chloe who are also neighbors of Luigi, which are Ike, Megan, and Ronald; with Ronald a known criminal, Ike and Megan must include an odd number of innocents, so exactly one of them is innocent, leaving Klay as the second innocent among Ike, Klay, and Megan. Therefore, we can determine that D2 Klay is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Joy and Klay have 3 innocent neighbors in common" — Uma (A5)
"An odd number of innocents below Chloe neighbor Luigi" — Oscar (D3)
"Joy has exactly 5 innocent neighbors" — Ronald (B4)
A1 · Aaron → CRIMINAL
Because: Hazel at A2 has five neighbors: Aaron at A1, Chloe at B1, Ike at B2, Luigi at A3, and Megan at B3. Klay’s clue says the number of criminals neighboring Hazel is odd; since Chloe is a criminal and Luigi is innocent, that means either none or exactly two of Aaron, Ike, and Megan are criminals. Hazel’s clue talks about “the 3 criminals neighboring Nicole,” so Nicole at C3 has exactly three criminal neighbors, and Hazel shares neighbors with Nicole only at Ike and Megan; since Ronald at B4 is already one of Nicole’s criminal neighbors and is not Hazel’s neighbor, Hazel’s clue forces exactly one of Ike or Megan to be criminal. That rules out “none of Aaron, Ike, and Megan are criminals,” so it must be that two of them are criminals; with exactly one of Ike and Megan criminal, Aaron must be the other criminal. Therefore, we can determine that A1 Aaron is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals neighboring Nicole is my neighbor" — Hazel (A2)
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Hazel" — Klay (D2)
C1 · Evie → CRIMINAL
Because: In column C, Nicole at C3, Scott at C4, and Xavi at C5 are already all innocents and they form one connected vertical chain. Zoe’s clue says that any other innocent in column C would have to join that same chain, so if Evie at C1 were innocent, Joy at C2 would also have to be innocent to connect C1 down to C3. Aaron’s clue says Chloe at B1 has exactly two innocent neighbors; since Hazel at A2 is already an innocent neighbor and Aaron at A1 is a criminal neighbor, exactly one of Chloe’s other neighbors (Ike at B2, Evie at C1, Joy at C2) can be innocent, so Evie and Joy cannot both be innocent. Because Evie being innocent would force Joy to be innocent, Evie cannot be innocent here. Therefore, we can determine that C1 (Evie) is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"All innocents in column C are connected" — Zoe (D5)
"Chloe has exactly 2 innocent neighbors" — Aaron (A1)
A4 · Penny → INNOCENT
Because: In column A, Aaron at A1 and Uma at A5 are already criminals, while Hazel at A2 and Luigi at A3 are already innocents, leaving only Penny at A4 unknown. Xavi’s clue says the total number of innocents in column A is odd. Since there are already exactly two innocents in that column, and the top and bottom spots cannot become innocent, the only way to make the total odd is for Penny to be an innocent, making three innocents in column A. Therefore, we can determine that A4 Penny is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There's an odd number of innocents in column A" — Xavi (C5)
D1 · Gary → INNOCENT
Because: Joy is at C2 and Klay is at D2, so the people who are neighbors of both of them are exactly C1 (Evie), D1 (Gary), C3 (Nicole), and D3 (Oscar), since those four squares touch both C2 and D2. Uma’s clue says Joy and Klay have 3 innocent neighbors in common, meaning 3 of those 4 people are innocent. We already know Evie at C1 is a criminal, while Nicole at C3 and Oscar at D3 are innocent, so the only way to have three innocents among the four common neighbors is for Gary at D1 to be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that D1 Gary is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Joy and Klay have 3 innocent neighbors in common" — Uma (A5)
D4 · Tyler → INNOCENT
Because: Row 5 already has exactly 2 innocents, because B5 and C5 are innocent while A5 and D5 are criminal. Evie’s clue says only one row on the whole board can have exactly 2 innocents, so every other row must avoid ending with exactly 2 innocents. In row 4, A4 and C4 are innocent and B4 is criminal, so row 4 will have exactly 2 innocents precisely when D4 is criminal. Since row 5 is already the unique “exactly 2 innocents” row, D4 cannot be criminal and must be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that D4 Tyler is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only one row has exactly 2 innocents" — Evie (C1)
C2 · Joy → CRIMINAL
Because: Nicole is at C3, so her neighbors are B2, C2, D2, B3, D3, B4, C4, and D4, and the clue tells us exactly 3 of these neighbors are criminals. Among those neighbors, we already know Ronald at B4 is a criminal, while D2, D3, C4, and D4 are innocents, so the other two criminals next to Nicole must be among B2, C2, and B3. Hazel at A2 only neighbors B2 and B3 out of Nicole’s neighboring positions, so “only 1 of the 3 criminals neighboring Nicole is my neighbor” means at most one of B2 and B3 can be a criminal. That forces the second criminal (besides B4) to be Joy at C2. Therefore, we can determine that C2 Joy is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals neighboring Nicole is my neighbor" — Hazel (A2)
B2 · Ike → INNOCENT
Because: Chloe is at B1, so her neighbors are A1, A2, B2, C1, and C2 (including diagonals). Aaron’s clue says Chloe has exactly 2 innocent neighbors. Among those neighbors, A2 is already innocent, while A1, C1, and C2 are already criminals, so the only way for Chloe to have a second innocent neighbor is for B2 to be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that B2 Ike is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Chloe has exactly 2 innocent neighbors" — Aaron (A1)
B3 · Megan → CRIMINAL
Because: The clue is talking about the people who are below Chloe in column B and are also neighbors of Luigi. Below Chloe (B1) are Ike (B2), Megan (B3), Ronald (B4), and Vicky (B5), but only Ike, Megan, and Ronald are neighbors of Luigi (A3). Among those three, Ike is already INNOCENT and Ronald is already CRIMINAL, so there is currently exactly 1 innocent in that group, and the clue requires the total number of innocents in that group to be odd. Megan cannot be INNOCENT because that would make 2 innocents (even), so she must be CRIMINAL to keep the count odd. Therefore, we can determine that B3 Megan is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"An odd number of innocents below Chloe neighbor Luigi" — Oscar (D3)