Clues by Sam Apr 03, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Hard·Solved
A1
🕵️♀️
Anna
sleuth
B1
👨🎤
Barnie
singer
C1
👮♂️
Chad
cop
D1
👮♀️
Ellie
cop
A2
👩⚕️
Freya
doctor
B2
🕵️♂️
Gus
sleuth
C2
👮♀️
Hope
cop
D2
👨🎤
Isaac
singer
A3
👩⚕️
Jane
doctor
B3
👨⚕️
Logan
doctor
C3
👨🌾
Mark
farmer
D3
👨🌾
Nick
farmer
A4
💂♀️
Olive
guard
B4
💂♀️
Penny
guard
C4
👨💼
Rob
clerk
D4
👨🌾
Tom
farmer
A5
🕵️♀️
Uma
sleuth
B5
💂♀️
Vicky
guard
C5
👩💼
Wanda
clerk
D5
👨💼
Zane
clerk
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 15Criminal 5Unknown 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 · 15
[ A1 ] [ C1 ] [ D1 ] [ A2 ] [ B2 ] [ C2 ] [ A3 ] [ B3 ] [ C3 ] [ D3 ] [ C4 ] [ D4 ] [ B5 ] [ C5 ] [ D5 ]
Criminal · 5
[ B1 ] [ D2 ] [ A4 ] [ B4 ] [ A5 ]
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 · Anna
"There's an odd number of innocents above Uma"
B1 · Barnie
"Weekend... Blah.... More like weakend."
C1 · Chad
"No one can steal my weekend from me! Except my boss..."
D1 · Ellie
"Column D is the only column with exactly one criminal"
A2 · Freya
"There are as many criminal cops as there are criminal farmers"
B2 · Gus
"Anna is one of 3 innocents in column A"
C2 · Hope
"I wonder how the criminals spend their weekend?"
D2 · Isaac
"There are as many criminal guards as there are us criminal singers"
A3 · Jane
"2 clerks have an innocent directly to the left of them"
B3 · Logan
"Friday? More like Fri-yay!"
C3 · Mark
"No criminal is going to ruin my weekend!"
D3 · Nick
"I wish my weekend would never end"
A4 · Olive
"Exactly 1 innocent above Tom is neighboring Mark"
B4 · Penny
"I wouldn't steal your silly weekends even if I could"
C4 · Rob
"Weekends are the best!"
D4 · Tom
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Hope is above Zane"
A5 · Uma
"Only 1 of the 2 criminal guards is below Gus"
B5 · Vicky
"The criminals are just jealous. I don't think they have weekends off."
C5 · Wanda
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Mark is in column D"
D5 · Zane
"It's Fridayyy! Ready for the weekend?"
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)
A1 · Anna → INNOCENT
Because: Gus’s clue explicitly says that Anna is one of the three innocents in column A, which directly includes Anna among the innocents. Therefore, we can determine that A1 Anna is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Anna is one of 3 innocents in column A" — Gus (B2)
A5 · Uma → CRIMINAL
Because: In column A there must be exactly three innocents, because Gus says “Anna is one of 3 innocents in column A,” and we already know Anna at A1 is innocent. That means among A2, A3, A4, and A5 there are exactly two more innocents. Anna also says there is an odd number of innocents above Uma, and since Uma is at A5, “above Uma” means A1 through A4 in column A. A1 is already an innocent, so to keep the total number of innocents in A1–A4 odd, the number of additional innocents among A2–A4 must be even. It cannot be 0, because then A2–A4 would contribute no innocents and we would still need two more innocents in column A, but only A5 would be left to place them. So A2–A4 must contribute 2 innocents, which already completes the three required innocents in column A together with A1, leaving no room for Uma at A5 to be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that A5 Uma is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Anna is one of 3 innocents in column A" — Gus (B2)
"There's an odd number of innocents above Uma" — Anna (A1)
A4 · Olive → CRIMINAL
Because: The clue says there are exactly two guards who are criminals, and among those two, only one is below Gus. “Below Gus” means in Gus’s column B, somewhere in rows 3–5, so the only guards below Gus are Penny at B4 and Vicky at B5. Since exactly one of Penny and Vicky can be a criminal guard, the other criminal guard must be the only guard not below Gus, which is Olive at A4. Therefore, we can determine that A4 Olive is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminal guards is below Gus" — Uma (A5)
A2 · Freya → INNOCENT, A3 · Jane → INNOCENT
Because: In column A we have Anna at A1, Freya at A2, Jane at A3, Olive at A4, and Uma at A5. Gus’s clue says that Anna is one of exactly three innocents in column A, so column A must contain three innocents in total. We already know Anna is INNOCENT, and we already know Olive and Uma are CRIMINAL, so the only two remaining spots that can supply the other two innocents are Freya and Jane. Therefore, we can determine that A2 Freya is INNOCENT and A3 Jane is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Anna is one of 3 innocents in column A" — Gus (B2)
C5 · Wanda → INNOCENT
Because: Uma’s clue tells us there are exactly two criminal guards in total, and exactly one of those two is below Gus in column B. Since Olive at A4 is already a criminal guard and she is not below Gus, the other criminal guard must be either Penny at B4 or Vicky at B5, which also means the other one of Penny and Vicky is innocent. Jane’s clue says exactly two clerks have an innocent directly to their left: Rob (C4) depends on Penny being innocent, Wanda (C5) depends on Vicky being innocent, and Zane (D5) depends on Wanda being innocent. Because exactly one of Penny and Vicky is innocent, exactly one of Rob and Wanda can have an innocent directly to the left, so to reach a total of two such clerks, Zane must be the other one, which requires Wanda to be innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C5 Wanda is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminal guards is below Gus" — Uma (A5)
"2 clerks have an innocent directly to the left of them" — Jane (A3)
D4 · Tom → INNOCENT
Because: Mark is at C3, so the neighbors of Mark in column D are D2 Isaac, D3 Nick, and D4 Tom. Wanda’s clue says Mark has exactly two criminal neighbors, and only one of those two criminals is in column D, so among Isaac, Nick, and Tom there can be only one criminal. Olive’s clue talks about the people above Tom, and the only people above Tom who also neighbor Mark are Isaac and Nick, so “exactly 1 innocent above Tom is neighboring Mark” means exactly one of Isaac and Nick is innocent and the other one is criminal. That already places the single allowed column D criminal on either Isaac or Nick, so Tom cannot also be criminal. Therefore, we can determine that D4 Tom is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 1 innocent above Tom is neighboring Mark" — Olive (A4)
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Mark is in column D" — Wanda (C5)
D1 · Ellie → INNOCENT
Because: Above Tom (at D4) are Ellie at D1, Isaac at D2, and Nick at D3, and among these, the only ones who neighbor Mark (at C3) are Isaac (D2) and Nick (D3). Olive’s clue says exactly one innocent above Tom is neighboring Mark, so exactly one of Isaac and Nick is innocent and the other one must be a criminal. That means Hope (at C2) already has a criminal neighbor above Zane (since both D2 and D3 are neighbors of Hope, and both are above Zane in column D). Tom’s clue says that of Hope’s two criminal neighbors, only one is above Zane, so Ellie (at D1), who is also a neighbor of Hope and is above Zane, cannot be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that D1 Ellie is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 1 innocent above Tom is neighboring Mark" — Olive (A4)
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Hope is above Zane" — Tom (D4)
D5 · Zane → INNOCENT
Because: Look at column D: Ellie at D1 and Tom at D4 are already innocent, while Isaac at D2 and Nick at D3 are unknown, and Zane at D5 is unknown. Olive’s clue says that among the innocents above Tom (D1, D2, and D3), exactly one is a neighbor of Mark at C3; since D1 is innocent but not a neighbor of Mark, this forces exactly one of D2 and D3 to be innocent (and the other to be criminal), because both D2 and D3 do neighbor Mark. Ellie’s clue says column D has exactly one criminal in total, so the single criminal in column D must be that one person among D2 and D3, which means Zane at D5 cannot be criminal. Therefore, we can determine that D5 · Zane is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 1 innocent above Tom is neighboring Mark" — Olive (A4)
"Column D is the only column with exactly one criminal" — Ellie (D1)
C3 · Mark → INNOCENT, C1 · Chad → INNOCENT
Because: Gus is at B2, and Uma’s clue says that exactly one of the two criminal guards is below Gus. Since Olive at A4 is already a criminal guard and she is not below Gus (she is not in column B), the other criminal guard must be below Gus, which means either Penny at B4 or Vicky at B5 is a criminal, so column B definitely contains at least one criminal. Ellie’s clue says column D is the only column with exactly one criminal, so no other column is allowed to have exactly one criminal. Because column B already has at least one criminal (from the criminal guard at B4 or B5), column B must have at least two criminals in total, so at least one of Barnie at B1 or Logan at B3 must also be a criminal. Now look at Tom’s clue about Hope at C2: exactly two of Hope’s neighbors are criminals, and exactly one of those two is above Zane at D5. Among Hope’s neighbors, the only squares that are both adjacent to Hope and above Zane are D2 and D3 (since D1 is also above Zane but Ellie is confirmed innocent), so exactly one of D2 or D3 must be one of those two criminals. That means the second criminal neighboring Hope must come from the remaining neighbor candidates B1, B3, C1, or C3. If Chad at C1 were a criminal, then the two criminals neighboring Hope would already be Chad at C1 and the required criminal in D2 or D3, which would force both Barnie at B1 and Logan at B3 to not be criminals; but then column B would have only the single criminal guard at B4 or B5, which is impossible because column B is not allowed to have exactly one criminal. The same reasoning applies to Mark at C3: if Mark were a criminal, B1 and B3 would be forced non-criminal and column B would again be stuck with exactly one criminal. Therefore, we can determine that C3 Mark is INNOCENT and C1 Chad is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminal guards is below Gus" — Uma (A5)
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Hope is above Zane" — Tom (D4)
"Column D is the only column with exactly one criminal" — Ellie (D1)
C4 · Rob → INNOCENT, C2 · Hope → INNOCENT
Because: Mark is at C3, so his neighbors include C2 (Hope), C4 (Rob), and the two column D neighbors D2 (Isaac) and D3 (Nick). Wanda’s clue says that Mark has exactly two criminal neighbors in total, and exactly one of those two is in column D, so there is exactly one criminal neighbor of Mark outside column D. That means Hope and Rob cannot both be criminals, because they are both outside column D and would already use up more than that one allowed “outside D” criminal neighbor. Ellie’s clue says column D is the only column with exactly one criminal, so column C cannot have exactly one criminal; and since the only undecided people in column C are Hope and Rob, column C can only have either zero criminals (both innocent) or two criminals (both criminals). Because Hope and Rob cannot both be criminals, column C must have zero criminals, so both Hope and Rob are innocent. Therefore, we can determine that C4 Rob is INNOCENT and C2 Hope is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Mark is in column D" — Wanda (C5)
"Column D is the only column with exactly one criminal" — Ellie (D1)
D3 · Nick → INNOCENT, D2 · Isaac → CRIMINAL
Because: The only cops on the board are Chad at C1, Hope at C2, and Ellie at D1, and all three are already confirmed innocent. Freya’s clue says the number of criminal cops equals the number of criminal farmers, so since there are zero criminal cops, there must be zero criminal farmers. The farmers are Mark at C3, Tom at D4, and Nick at D3, and with Mark and Tom already innocent, Nick must also be innocent to keep the number of criminal farmers at zero. Ellie’s clue says column D is the only column with exactly one criminal, and in column D the only undecided people are Isaac at D2 and Nick at D3, so exactly one of those two must be criminal. Since Nick is forced to be innocent, Isaac must be the one criminal in column D. Therefore, we can determine that D3 Nick is INNOCENT and D2 Isaac is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are as many criminal cops as there are criminal farmers" — Freya (A2)
"Column D is the only column with exactly one criminal" — Ellie (D1)
B1 · Barnie → CRIMINAL
Because: Uma’s clue tells us there are exactly 2 criminal guards in total. Isaac’s clue says the number of criminal guards equals the number of criminal singers, so there must also be exactly 2 criminal singers. The only singers on the board are Isaac and Barnie, and Isaac is already a criminal singer, so the second criminal singer must be Barnie. Therefore, we can determine that B1 Barnie is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminal guards is below Gus" — Uma (A5)
"There are as many criminal guards as there are us criminal singers" — Isaac (D2)
B3 · Logan → INNOCENT
Because: Hope is at C2, and her neighbors include Barnie at B1, Isaac at D2, and Logan at B3. Tom’s clue says there are exactly two criminals neighboring Hope, and exactly one of those two is above Zane (meaning in Zane’s column D somewhere above D5). Among Hope’s neighboring criminals, Isaac at D2 is above Zane, while Barnie at B1 is not; since Barnie is already known to be a criminal, the two criminals next to Hope must be Isaac and Barnie. That uses up both criminal spots next to Hope, so Logan cannot be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that B3 Logan is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Hope is above Zane" — Tom (D4)
B4 · Penny → CRIMINAL
Because: Mark is at C3, so his neighbors are Gus at B2, Hope at C2, Isaac at D2, Logan at B3, Nick at D3, Penny at B4, Rob at C4, and Tom at D4. Wanda’s clue says Mark has exactly two neighboring criminals, and only one of those two is in column D. Isaac at D2 is already a criminal and is in column D, so the other neighboring criminal must not be in column D. The only neighbor of Mark not in column D who is not already confirmed innocent is Penny at B4, so she must be that second criminal. Therefore, we can determine that B4 Penny is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Mark is in column D" — Wanda (C5)
B5 · Vicky → INNOCENT
Because: The clue talks about “the 2 criminal guards,” which means there are exactly two guards on the whole board who are criminals. We can already see two criminal guards: Olive at A4 and Penny at B4. Gus is at B2, and among those two criminal guards only Penny is below Gus (same column B, lower row), while Olive is not. Since the two criminal guards are already accounted for as Olive and Penny, Vicky at B5 cannot be a criminal guard. Therefore, we can determine that B5 Vicky is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminal guards is below Gus" — Uma (A5)