Clues by Sam Mar 27, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Hard·Solved
A1
🕵️♂️
Avva
sleuth
B1
🕵️♂️
Ben
sleuth
C1
👩🍳
Dana
cook
D1
👷♂️
Eli
builder
A2
💂♀️
Freya
guard
B2
👨⚕️
Gabe
doctor
C2
👨⚕️
Ivan
doctor
D2
👩🍳
Janet
cook
A3
👷♀️
Karen
builder
B3
👩⚕️
Lisa
doctor
C3
💂♀️
Mary
guard
D3
👨🎤
Nick
singer
A4
🕵️♂️
Olof
sleuth
B4
👨🌾
Ronald
farmer
C4
👨🌾
Thor
farmer
D4
👮♀️
Uma
cop
A5
👨🎤
Vince
singer
B5
💂♀️
Wanda
guard
C5
👮♂️
Xavi
cop
D5
👮♂️
Zed
cop
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 5Criminal 15Unknown 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 · 5
[ D1 ] [ A2 ] [ C3 ] [ A4 ] [ B5 ]
Criminal · 15
[ A1 ] [ B1 ] [ C1 ] [ B2 ] [ C2 ] [ D2 ] [ A3 ] [ B3 ] [ D3 ] [ B4 ] [ 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 · Avva
"Each row has too many snitches"
B1 · Ben
"Each row has at least 3 criminals"
C1 · Dana
"I hope you learned something, Ben."
D1 · Eli
"Poor Ben. I kind of wish he hadn't snitched."
A2 · Freya
"Exactly 1 criminal to the right of Vince is neighboring Xavi"
B2 · Gabe
"I'm not one of the snitches. Unlike Ben."
C2 · Ivan
"The biggest snitch's name starts with B."
D2 · Janet
"The worst snitch of all is in row 1. That's you, Ben"
A3 · Karen
"Exactly 1 of the 3 sleuths has an innocent directly below them"
B3 · Lisa
"If I snitch, will I also get that much attention?"
C3 · Mary
"Column A is the only column with exactly 2 innocents"
D3 · Nick
"There's an odd number of innocents neighboring Ronald"
A4 · Olof
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Avva is to the left of Janet"
B4 · Ronald
"Exactly 2 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ivan are in row 3"
C4 · Thor
"At least 2 snitches in column B make me sad"
D4 · Uma
"All snitches in column B are no longer my friends"
A5 · Vince
"Avva is one of 10 criminals on the edges"
B5 · Wanda
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Janet"
C5 · Xavi
"These fake snitch clues confuse at least one detective. Hopefully."
D5 · Zed
"Ben is not the only snitch. But he certainly ruined the day."
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)
B1 · Ben → CRIMINAL
Because: Avva at A1 has exactly three neighbors: Ben at B1, Freya at A2, and Gabe at B2. The clue says Avva has exactly two neighboring criminals, and exactly one of those two is to the left of Janet at D2. Only Freya and Gabe are to the left of Janet (they are in row 2), while Ben is not, so one criminal must be either Freya or Gabe and the other criminal must be Ben. Therefore, we can determine that B1 (Ben) is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Avva is to the left of Janet" — Olof (A4)
B4 · Ronald → CRIMINAL, C4 · Thor → CRIMINAL, D4 · Uma → CRIMINAL
Because: The clue says that in every row, there must be at least 3 criminals among the four people in that row. In row 4, we already know A4 (Olof) is INNOCENT, so row 4 can have at most 3 criminals left. To satisfy the clue’s requirement of at least 3 criminals in that row, all three remaining people in row 4, B4 (Ronald), C4 (Thor), and D4 (Uma), must be criminals. Therefore, we can determine that B4 Ronald is CRIMINAL, C4 Thor is CRIMINAL, and D4 Uma is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Each row has at least 3 criminals" — Ben (B1)
C2 · Ivan → CRIMINAL, D2 · Janet → CRIMINAL
Because: Ben’s clue says each row has at least 3 criminals, and since a row has 4 people that means each row can have at most 1 innocent. Olof’s clue refers to Avva at A1 and says there are exactly 2 criminals neighboring her; Avva’s only neighbors are Ben at B1, Freya at A2, and Gabe at B2. Because Ben is already a criminal, exactly one of Freya (A2) and Gabe (B2) must be the second neighboring criminal, which means the other one is innocent. That guarantees row 2 already contains its one allowed innocent in A2 or B2, so the remaining two people in row 2, Ivan at C2 and Janet at D2, must both be criminals. Therefore, we can determine that C2 (Ivan) is CRIMINAL and D2 (Janet) is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Avva is to the left of Janet" — Olof (A4)
"Each row has at least 3 criminals" — Ben (B1)
A3 · Karen → CRIMINAL
Because: Ivan is at C2, so his row 3 neighbors are the three people at B3 (Lisa), C3 (Mary), and D3 (Nick). Ronald’s clue says that among the six criminals neighboring Ivan, exactly two are in row 3, so exactly two of Lisa, Mary, and Nick are criminals. Ben’s clue says each row has at least three criminals, so row 3 must contain at least three criminals total. Since only two criminals can be among B3, C3, and D3, the remaining row 3 person at A3 (Karen) must be the third criminal in that row. Therefore, we can determine that A3 Karen is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Each row has at least 3 criminals" — Ben (B1)
"Exactly 2 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ivan are in row 3" — Ronald (B4)
A5 · Vince → CRIMINAL
Because: Avva at A1 has three neighbors: Freya at A2, Ben at B1, and Gabe at B2. Olof’s clue says Avva has exactly two criminal neighbors, and only one of those criminals is to the left of Janet; since Ben at B1 is not to the left of Janet (he is in a different row), Ben must be one of the two criminals and exactly one of Freya or Gabe must be the other criminal, meaning exactly one of A2 and B2 is innocent. Karen’s clue says that among the three sleuths (Avva, Ben, and Olof), exactly one has an innocent directly below them, so among A2, B2, and Vince at A5 there is exactly one innocent. Since A2 and B2 already include exactly one innocent, Vince at A5 cannot be innocent and must be criminal. Therefore, we can determine that A5 Vince is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Avva is to the left of Janet" — Olof (A4)
"Exactly 1 of the 3 sleuths has an innocent directly below them" — Karen (A3)
A1 · Avva → CRIMINAL
Because: Vince’s clue explicitly says that Avva is one of the criminals on the edges, so it directly identifies Avva as a criminal. Avva is at A1, which is an edge position, so the clue applies to her. Therefore, we can determine that A1 Avva is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Avva is one of 10 criminals on the edges" — Vince (A5)
B2 · Gabe → CRIMINAL
Because: Ivan is at C2, so his neighbors are B1, C1, D1, B2, D2, B3, C3, and D3. Ronald’s clue says Ivan has 6 neighboring criminals, and exactly 2 of those are in row 3, so the other 4 neighboring criminals must be among B1, C1, D1, B2, and D2; since B1 and D2 are already criminals, that forces exactly two of C1, D1, and B2 to be criminals. Vince’s clue says there are exactly 10 criminals on the edges, and we already have 6 known edge criminals (A1, B1, D2, A3, D4, A5), so only 4 more edge positions can be criminals. Ben’s clue forces row 5 to contain at least 3 criminals, so at least two of B5, C5, and D5 (all edges) are criminals; if C1 and D1 were both criminals, then B2 would have to be the non-criminal in that trio, which would also force A2 to be the third criminal in row 2, and that would make at least 5 additional edge criminals needed (C1, D1, A2, and two in row 5), exceeding the 4 edge-criminal slots left. So C1 and D1 cannot both be criminals, and since exactly two of C1, D1, and B2 are criminals, B2 must be one of them. Therefore, we can determine that B2 · Gabe is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Each row has at least 3 criminals" — Ben (B1)
"Exactly 2 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ivan are in row 3" — Ronald (B4)
"Avva is one of 10 criminals on the edges" — Vince (A5)
A2 · Freya → INNOCENT
Because: Avva is at A1, and her only neighbors are Ben at B1, Freya at A2, and Gabe at B2. The clue talks about “the 2 criminals neighboring Avva,” so Avva must have exactly two criminal neighbors. Ben and Gabe are already known criminals, and only Gabe is to the left of Janet because he is in row 2 while Ben is not in Janet’s row. That accounts for exactly the two criminal neighbors mentioned, so Freya cannot also be a criminal neighbor of Avva. Therefore, we can determine that A2 (Freya) is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Avva is to the left of Janet" — Olof (A4)
C5 · Xavi → CRIMINAL
Because: In row 5, Vince at A5 is already a criminal, and the clue from Ben says every row must have at least 3 criminals, so at least two of B5 Wanda, C5 Xavi, and D5 Zed must also be criminals. Freya’s clue says that among the people to the right of Vince (B5, C5, and D5), exactly one criminal is neighboring Xavi; since only Wanda at B5 and Zed at D5 can be Xavi’s neighbors in that group, that means exactly one of Wanda and Zed is a criminal. With Vince as one criminal and only one of Wanda or Zed able to be another, the only way for row 5 to reach at least 3 criminals is for Xavi to be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that C5 Xavi is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Each row has at least 3 criminals" — Ben (B1)
"Exactly 1 criminal to the right of Vince is neighboring Xavi" — Freya (A2)
D3 · Nick → CRIMINAL
Because: The edge of the board has 14 people, and Vince’s clue says there are exactly 10 criminals on those edge spaces. We can already see 7 edge criminals for sure (A1 Avva, B1 Ben, D2 Janet, A3 Karen, D4 Uma, A5 Vince, and C5 Xavi), so among the five edge unknowns C1, D1, D3, B5, and D5 there must be exactly 3 criminals. Ronald’s clue about Ivan forces exactly one of C1 and D1 to be criminal, and Freya’s clue forces exactly one of B5 and D5 to be criminal, so C1/D1 and B5/D5 account for exactly 2 of those 3 required edge criminals. That leaves D3 as the remaining required edge criminal. Therefore, we can determine that D3 Nick is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ivan are in row 3" — Ronald (B4)
"Avva is one of 10 criminals on the edges" — Vince (A5)
"Exactly 1 criminal to the right of Vince is neighboring Xavi" — Freya (A2)
B5 · Wanda → INNOCENT
Because: Ivan is at C2, and his row 3 neighbors are B3, C3, and D3. Ronald’s clue says there are 6 criminals neighboring Ivan in total, and exactly 2 of those are in row 3; since D3 (Nick) is already a criminal, exactly one of B3 (Lisa) or C3 (Mary) must be a criminal and the other must be an innocent. Ronald is at B4, and Nick’s clue says there is an odd number of innocents neighboring Ronald; among Ronald’s neighbors, only A4 (Olof) is already known innocent, so the remaining three unknown neighbors B3, C3, and B5 must contain an even number of innocents. Because B3 and C3 together contain exactly one innocent, the only way for B3, C3, and B5 to contain an even number of innocents is for B5 (Wanda) to be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that B5 Wanda is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ivan are in row 3" — Ronald (B4)
"There's an odd number of innocents neighboring Ronald" — Nick (D3)
D5 · Zed → CRIMINAL
Because: Look at row 5, which contains Vince at A5, Wanda at B5, Xavi at C5, and Zed at D5. Ben’s clue says that each row must have at least 3 criminals, so row 5 must contain at least three criminals among these four people. In row 5 we already know Vince and Xavi are criminals, and Wanda is innocent, so the only way to reach three criminals in that row is for Zed to be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that D5 Zed is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Each row has at least 3 criminals" — Ben (B1)
B3 · Lisa → CRIMINAL
Because: Ivan is at C2, so his neighbors in row 3 are B3 (Lisa), C3 (Mary), and D3 (Nick). Ronald’s clue says Ivan has exactly 6 criminal neighbors, and exactly 2 of those are in row 3, so since Nick at D3 is already a criminal, exactly one of Lisa or Mary must be a criminal and the other must be innocent. Counting Ivan’s already-known criminal neighbors outside row 3 gives Ben at B1, Gabe at B2, and Janet at D2, plus Nick at D3, for 4 criminals total, so two more criminals must come from the four unknowns C1, D1, B3, and C3; because only one of B3 or C3 can be a criminal, that forces exactly one of C1 or D1 to be a criminal as the other extra criminal. Wanda’s clue says Janet at D2 has an odd number of criminal neighbors, and Janet’s neighbors are C1, D1, Ivan, C3, and Nick; Ivan and Nick are already two criminals, so among C1, D1, and C3 there must be an odd number of criminals. Since exactly one of C1 or D1 is a criminal, C3 must be innocent to keep that count odd, which means Lisa at B3 must be the row 3 criminal neighbor of Ivan. Therefore, we can determine that B3 Lisa is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ivan are in row 3" — Ronald (B4)
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Janet" — Wanda (B5)
C3 · Mary → INNOCENT
Because: Ivan is at C2, and his row 3 neighbors are B3 Lisa, C3 Mary, and D3 Nick. Ronald’s clue says that exactly 2 of the criminals neighboring Ivan are in row 3. Since Lisa and Nick are already known criminals, row 3 already contains those 2 criminals among Ivan’s neighbors, so Mary cannot also be a criminal neighbor in row 3. Therefore, we can determine that C3 Mary is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ivan are in row 3" — Ronald (B4)
C1 · Dana → CRIMINAL
Because: Mary at C3 says that column A is the only column that has exactly 2 innocents. In column A we can already see exactly two innocents, Freya at A2 and Olof at A4, so every other column must have a total different from 2 innocents. In column C, Mary at C3 is innocent and the other known people in that column (Ivan at C2, Thor at C4, and Xavi at C5) are criminals, so the only way column C would reach exactly 2 innocents is if Dana at C1 were innocent. Since column C is not allowed to have exactly 2 innocents, Dana cannot be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C1 Dana is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Column A is the only column with exactly 2 innocents" — Mary (C3)
D1 · Eli → INNOCENT
Because: Ivan is at C2, so his neighbors are Ben at B1, Dana at C1, Eli at D1, Gabe at B2, Janet at D2, Lisa at B3, Mary at C3, and Nick at D3. Ronald’s clue says that among Ivan’s neighbors there are exactly 6 criminals, and exactly 2 of those criminals are in row 3. We already know Ben, Dana, Gabe, Janet, Lisa, and Nick are criminals, which is exactly 6, and the only row 3 criminals among them are Lisa and Nick, which is exactly 2. Since Mary is already innocent, the only way to keep the total at exactly 6 criminals is for Eli to be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that D1 Eli is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ivan are in row 3" — Ronald (B4)