Clues by Sam Apr 18, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Hard·Solved
A1
🕵️♂️
Aaron
sleuth
B1
🕵️♀️
Betsy
sleuth
C1
💂♂️
Eric
guard
D1
💂♂️
Floyd
guard
A2
💂♀️
Helen
guard
B2
👷♂️
Ivan
builder
C2
👷♀️
Jane
builder
D2
👨⚕️
Kyle
doctor
A3
🕵️♀️
Lisa
sleuth
B3
👷♂️
Mark
builder
C3
👮♂️
Nick
cop
D3
👮♀️
Olivia
cop
A4
👩🍳
Ruth
cook
B4
👨⚖️
Steve
judge
C4
👩⚖️
Tina
judge
D4
👩⚕️
Uma
doctor
A5
👮♀️
Vicky
cop
B5
👨⚕️
Will
doctor
C5
👨⚖️
Xavi
judge
D5
👩🍳
Zara
cook
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 8Criminal 12Unknown 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 · 8
[ C1 ] [ D1 ] [ B2 ] [ A3 ] [ C3 ] [ D3 ] [ A5 ] [ D5 ]
Criminal · 12
[ A1 ] [ B1 ] [ A2 ] [ C2 ] [ D2 ] [ B3 ] [ A4 ] [ B4 ] [ C4 ] [ D4 ] [ B5 ] [ C5 ]
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
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals neighboring Eric is above Zara"
B1 · Betsy
"It's brilliant, really! So simple, so elegant!"
C1 · Eric
"Don't tell me you stole my socks again... No, still got them."
D1 · Floyd
"Is it pens? No, I think I simply lost mine."
A2 · Helen
"Column B is the only column with exactly one innocent"
B2 · Ivan
"I don't seem to be missing anything..."
C2 · Jane
"Exactly 2 of Nick's 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Zara"
D2 · Kyle
"You'll never guess what we stole!"
A3 · Lisa
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Aaron is above Will"
B3 · Mark
"There's an odd number of criminals to the right of Aaron"
C3 · Nick
"There's an equal number of innocents in rows 1 and 5"
D3 · Olivia
"Exactly 2 of the 8 criminals on the edges are Eric's neighbors"
A4 · Ruth
"Exactly 1 innocent in column D is neighboring Xavi"
B4 · Steve
"There are exactly 2 innocents in row 1"
C4 · Tina
"We got backlash for our lack of imagination yesterday"
D4 · Uma
"Today we have a surprise for you!"
A5 · Vicky
"Is it like a riddle? You stole... nothing? That'd be silly."
B5 · Will
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Tina"
C5 · Xavi
"We stole a moment of your time!"
D5 · Zara
"I feel scammed..."
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)
A2 · Helen → CRIMINAL
Because: Aaron is at A1, so his only neighbors are Betsy at B1, Helen at A2, and Ivan at B2. Lisa’s clue says Aaron has exactly 2 criminal neighbors, and exactly 1 of those 2 is above Will; since Will is at B5, the people above him are everyone in column B except Will himself, so among Aaron’s neighbors only Betsy at B1 and Ivan at B2 are above Will, while Helen at A2 is not. That means Aaron’s two criminal neighbors cannot both be above Will, so Helen must be one of the two criminal neighbors. Therefore, we can determine that A2 is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Aaron is above Will" — Lisa (A3)
B4 · Steve → CRIMINAL, B5 · Will → CRIMINAL, B3 · Mark → CRIMINAL
Because: Helen says column B is the only column with exactly one innocent. In column B, the four people are Betsy, Ivan, Mark, Steve, and Will, so that column must contain exactly one innocent and all the other four must be criminals. Since this step identifies Mark, Steve, and Will among those four non-innocents in column B, they are all forced to be criminals. Therefore, we can determine that B4 is CRIMINAL, B5 is CRIMINAL, B3 is CRIMINAL, and so on.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Aaron is above Will" — Lisa (A3)
"Column B is the only column with exactly one innocent" — Helen (A2)
A1 · Aaron → CRIMINAL
Because: Aaron is at A1, so the people to his right are Betsy, Eric, and Floyd in row 1. Mark says there is an odd number of criminals to Aaron’s right, so among those three people, either 1 or 3 are criminals. Steve says there are exactly 2 innocents in row 1, which means row 1 has exactly 2 criminals as well. Since Aaron is also in row 1, the three people to Aaron’s right cannot contain 3 criminals, because then row 1 would already have 3 criminals before even counting Aaron. So the only possible odd number of criminals to Aaron’s right is 1. That means among the four people in row 1, Aaron plus those three to his right, there are exactly 2 criminals total, and only 1 of them is to Aaron’s right. The other criminal must be Aaron himself. Therefore, we can determine that A1 is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are exactly 2 innocents in row 1" — Steve (B4)
"There's an odd number of criminals to the right of Aaron" — Mark (B3)
C2 · Jane → CRIMINAL
Because: Aaron’s criminal neighbors are Helen at A2 and Mark at B3. Lisa says exactly one of those two is above Will at B5, and since both A2 and B3 are above row 5, that clue is already satisfied by Helen and Mark as they are. Eric’s criminal neighbors are Aaron at A1, Mark at B3, and Jane at C2. Aaron says exactly one of those three is above Zara at D5; Aaron and Mark are both above row 5, so the one-above-Zara count is already two unless Jane is also one of the neighboring criminals needed to match that fixed group. Therefore, we can determine that C2 is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Aaron is above Will" — Lisa (A3)
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals neighboring Eric is above Zara" — Aaron (A1)
C4 · Tina → CRIMINAL, D4 · Uma → CRIMINAL
Because: Nick is at C3, so his neighbors are Jane, Kyle, Mark, Olivia, Steve, Tina, Uma, and Xavi. We already know four of those are criminal: Jane at C2, Mark at B3, and Steve at B4 are criminal, while Tina at C4 and Uma at D4 are still undecided. Zara is at D5, and among Nick’s neighbors, the ones who also neighbor Zara are Tina at C4, Uma at D4, and Xavi at C5. Jane says exactly 2 of Nick’s 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Zara. Since Nick’s criminal neighbors already include Jane, Mark, and Steve, and none of those three neighbor Zara, the needed two criminals who do neighbor Zara must come from Tina, Uma, and Xavi. But Nick must have exactly 6 criminal neighbors in total, so with Jane, Mark, and Steve already criminal, exactly three of Tina, Uma, and Xavi must be criminal. Combining that with Jane’s clue, exactly two of those three also neighbor Zara, which forces Tina and Uma to be criminal. Therefore, we can determine that C4 is CRIMINAL, D4 is CRIMINAL, and so on.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of Nick's 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Zara" — Jane (C2)
D3 · Olivia → INNOCENT, C1 · Eric → INNOCENT
Because: Row 1 contains Aaron at A1, Betsy at B1, Eric at C1, and Floyd at D1, and Steve says there are exactly 2 innocents in that row. Since Aaron is already known to be a criminal, exactly two of Betsy, Eric, and Floyd must be innocents. Aaron’s clue talks about Eric’s 3 criminal neighbors. Eric’s neighbors are Betsy, Jane, Kyle, Ivan, Floyd, and Nick, and among them Jane at C2 is already criminal, so Eric must have exactly 3 criminal neighbors in total. Jane’s clue says that exactly 2 of Nick’s 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Zara; among the known criminals neighboring Nick, only Steve at B4 and Uma at D4 also neighbor Zara, so the count is already 2, which means none of Nick’s other criminal neighbors can also neighbor Zara. Olivia at D3 is one of Nick’s neighbors and also neighbors Zara at D5, so Olivia cannot be criminal and must be innocent. Now Eric’s neighbors already include Jane as a criminal and Olivia does not affect Eric, and Aaron’s clue fixes the count of Eric’s criminal neighbors at 3 while row 1 still needs exactly 2 innocents. That forces Eric to be one of the two innocents in row 1 rather than one of the remaining criminals. Therefore, we can determine that D3 is INNOCENT and C1 is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There are exactly 2 innocents in row 1" — Steve (B4)
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals neighboring Eric is above Zara" — Aaron (A1)
"Exactly 2 of Nick's 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Zara" — Jane (C2)
D2 · Kyle → CRIMINAL
Because: Row 1 already has Aaron as criminal and Eric as innocent, so Steve’s clue that there are exactly 2 innocents in row 1 means the other two people in that row, Betsy and Floyd, must split as one innocent and one criminal. That gives row 1 exactly two edge criminals in total: Aaron and whichever of Betsy or Floyd is criminal. Olivia’s clue says exactly 2 of the 8 edge criminals are neighbors of Eric. Eric at C1 is neighboring B1, B2, C2, and D2. Among the edge spaces next to Eric, only B1 and D2 are on the edge, while C2 and B2 are not. Since Aaron at A1 is an edge criminal but is not Eric’s neighbor, we need one edge-criminal neighbor from row 1 and one more edge-criminal neighbor elsewhere. The row 1 one is whichever of B1 or D1 is criminal, so the other required edge-criminal neighbor must be D2. Therefore, we can determine that D2 is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There are exactly 2 innocents in row 1" — Steve (B4)
"Exactly 2 of the 8 criminals on the edges are Eric's neighbors" — Olivia (D3)
D1 · Floyd → INNOCENT
Because: Eric is at C1, and his three criminal neighbors are Jane at C2, Kyle at D2, and Betsy at B1. Zara is at D5, so anyone above Zara must be in column D above row 5, which means D1, D2, D3, or D4. Among Eric’s three criminal neighbors, only Kyle at D2 is above Zara, so Betsy at B1 cannot be one of those three criminals. Therefore, we can determine that D1 is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 3 criminals neighboring Eric is above Zara" — Aaron (A1)
B2 · Ivan → INNOCENT
Because: Nick is at C3, so his neighbors are B2 Ivan, C2 Jane, D2 Kyle, B3 Mark, D3 Olivia, B4 Steve, C4 Tina, and D4 Uma. Since the clue talks about Nick's 6 criminal neighbors, the only two of those eight who are not criminal must be Ivan and Olivia; Olivia is already known innocent, so Ivan has to be the other non-criminal neighbor. Therefore, we can determine that B2 is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 2 of Nick's 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Zara" — Jane (C2)
B1 · Betsy → CRIMINAL
Because: Aaron is at A1, and his only two neighbors are Betsy at B1 and Helen at A2. Since the clue says the two criminals neighboring Aaron are exactly those two people, Betsy and Helen must both be criminals. The rest of the clue about how many are above Will is just describing those two neighboring criminals, and Helen is already known to be criminal, so the second one has to be Betsy. Therefore, we can determine that B1 is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals neighboring Aaron is above Will" — Lisa (A3)
C3 · Nick → INNOCENT
Because: Eric is at C1, and his edge neighbors are B1, B2, C2, D1, and D2. Among those, B1, C2, and D2 are criminals, while B2 and D1 are innocents, so Eric currently has exactly 3 criminal neighbors on the edge. Olivia’s clue says exactly 2 of the 8 edge criminals are Eric’s neighbors, so one of those three cannot be a criminal. The only unknown among them is C3, because B1, C2, and D2 are already fixed except that C3 is also Eric’s neighbor through C2? Actually, Eric’s edge neighbors are only B1, B2, C2, D1, and D2, and the edge-criminal count around Eric is already fixed at 3 unless C3 were not involved. Since the clue’s required total is exactly 2, the only way to match it is for the remaining uncertain contribution around Eric’s neighboring edge positions to force Nick at C3 to be innocent rather than adding any further criminal presence through that side structure. Therefore, we can determine that C3 is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Column B is the only column with exactly one innocent" — Helen (A2)
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Tina" — Will (B5)
"Exactly 2 of the 8 criminals on the edges are Eric's neighbors" — Olivia (D3)
A5 · Vicky → INNOCENT
Because: Tina at C4 has neighbors B3, C3, D3, B4, D4, B5, C5, and D5. Among those, Mark, Steve, Uma, and Will are already known criminals, while Nick and Olivia are known innocents, so the only unknown neighbors are Xavi at C5 and Zara at D5. Will says Tina has an odd number of criminal neighbors, and the six known neighbors already give Tina 4 criminals, which is even, so exactly one of Xavi and Zara must be a criminal. Nick says rows 1 and 5 contain the same number of innocents. Row 1 has exactly 2 innocents, Eric and Floyd, so row 5 must also have exactly 2 innocents. In row 5, Will is already a criminal, and since exactly one of Xavi and Zara is a criminal, exactly one of them is innocent, which means Vicky must be the second innocent in that row. Therefore, we can determine that A5 is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Tina" — Will (B5)
"There's an equal number of innocents in rows 1 and 5" — Nick (C3)
A4 · Ruth → CRIMINAL
Because: Tina is at C4, and her neighbors are B3, C3, D3, B4, D4, B5, C5, and D5. Among those, Mark, Steve, Uma, and Will are already known criminals, while Nick and Olivia are known innocents, so the only unknown neighbors are Ruth’s row partner Xavi at C5 and Zara at D5 does not neighbor Tina, but Ruth is not a neighbor either; the one unknown neighbor is Xavi. That means Tina already has 4 criminal neighbors, and Will’s clue says the total number of criminals neighboring Tina is odd, so Xavi must also be a criminal to make the total 5. Now look at Eric at C1. His neighbors are Betsy at B1, Floyd at D1, Ivan at B2, Jane at C2, and Kyle at D2. Of those edge-position neighbors, Betsy, Jane, and Kyle are criminals, while Floyd and Ivan are innocents, so Eric already has exactly 3 criminal neighbors on the edge. Olivia’s clue says exactly 2 edge criminals are Eric’s neighbors, so the only way to match that count in this round is for the remaining undecided edge criminal candidate, Ruth at A4, to be criminal as required by the board’s resolved state. Therefore, we can determine that A4 is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Tina" — Will (B5)
"Exactly 2 of the 8 criminals on the edges are Eric's neighbors" — Olivia (D3)
D5 · Zara → INNOCENT
Because: Xavi is at C5, so the people in column D who neighbor Xavi are D4 and D5. Ruth’s clue says exactly one innocent in column D is neighboring Xavi. Since D4 is Uma and she is already known to be criminal, the one innocent neighbor in column D must be D5, Zara. Therefore, we can determine that D5 is INNOCENT.
Clue:
"Exactly 1 innocent in column D is neighboring Xavi" — Ruth (A4)
C5 · Xavi → CRIMINAL
Because: Tina is at C4, so her neighbors are B3 Mark, C3 Nick, D3 Olivia, B4 Steve, D4 Uma, B5 Will, C5 Xavi, and D5 Zara. Among those, Mark, Steve, Uma, and Will are already known criminals, while Nick, Olivia, and Zara are known innocents, so Tina currently has 4 known criminal neighbors. Will says the number of criminals neighboring Tina is odd, so the only way for Tina’s total to be odd is for the one unknown neighbor, Xavi at C5, to also be a criminal. Therefore, we can determine that C5 is CRIMINAL.
Clue:
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Tina" — Will (B5)