Clues by Sam Apr 26, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
Hard·Solved
A1
👮♀️
Alice
cop
B1
👷♂️
Brian
builder
C1
👷♂️
Clyde
builder
D1
👷♀️
Donna
builder
A2
👮♀️
Ellie
cop
B2
💂♂️
Franco
guard
C2
👨🎨
Ghani
painter
D2
💂♀️
Jane
guard
A3
🕵️♀️
Karen
sleuth
B3
👩💻
Lucy
coder
C3
👨🎨
Martin
painter
D3
👨🍳
Noah
cook
A4
🕵️♀️
Quita
sleuth
B4
🕵️♂️
Rohan
sleuth
C4
👨🎨
Tyler
painter
D4
👨💻
Umar
coder
A5
👮♀️
Vera
cop
B5
👩⚕️
Wanda
doctor
C5
👩🍳
Xena
cook
D5
👨⚕️
Ziad
doctor
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
[ A2 ] [ B2 ] [ B3 ] [ D5 ]
Criminal · 16
[ A1 ] [ B1 ] [ C1 ] [ D1 ] [ C2 ] [ D2 ] [ A3 ] [ C3 ] [ D3 ] [ A4 ] [ B4 ] [ C4 ] [ D4 ] [ A5 ] [ 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 · Alice
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals above Wanda is Franco's neighbor"
B1 · Brian
"There's an odd number of innocents below Donna"
C1 · Clyde
"Today we're stealing the Sun!"
D1 · Donna
"An odd number of innocents in row 2 neighbor Martin"
A2 · Ellie
"There is only one innocent above Vera"
B2 · Franco
"I'd be careful if I were you..."
C2 · Ghani
"Oh, no! My lockpicks are melting!"
D2 · Jane
"Let's get out of... No! The getaway car is on fire!"
A3 · Karen
"Column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents"
B3 · Lucy
"But... isn't the Sun very hot?"
C3 · Martin
"The ultimate heist!"
D3 · Noah
"Brian and Martin have one criminal neighbor in common"
A4 · Quita
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Rohan"
B4 · Rohan
"Only one person in row 3 has exactly 3 innocent neighbors"
C4 · Tyler
"Only 1 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ghani is Rohan's neighbor"
D4 · Umar
"My secret evil laboratory is burning!"
A5 · Vera
"Hey, did you know it's Sunday?"
B5 · Wanda
"Exactly 3 of Tyler's 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Rohan"
C5 · Xena
"Or should I say, it's... No-Sun-Day!"
D5 · Ziad
"Reminds me of someone called Icarus... Poor criminals."
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 · Alice → CRIMINAL, A4 · Quita → CRIMINAL, A3 · Karen → CRIMINAL
Because: Ellie’s clue says the people above Vera contain exactly one innocent. That group already has one known innocent, Ellie herself. The only other people left in that group are Alice, Karen, and Quita, so none of them can also be innocent. So Alice, Quita, and Karen must be criminal.
Clue:
"There is only one innocent above Vera" — Ellie (A2)
A5 · Vera → CRIMINAL
Because: Karen’s clue says column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents. Column A already has 1 known innocent, and Vera is the only unresolved person left in that column. If Vera were innocent, then column A would also have exactly 2 innocents, which would contradict the clue. So Vera must be criminal.
Clue:
"Column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents" — Karen (A3)
B5 · Wanda → CRIMINAL
Because: Karen’s clue says column B has exactly 2 innocents. In column B, nobody is known innocent yet, so those 2 innocents still have to be placed there. Among the people above Wanda in column B, Brian, Franco, Lucy, and Rohan account for exactly 2 innocents. Wanda is in column B but not part of that four-person group, so those two innocent spots in column B are already used by people above her. That means Wanda cannot be innocent. So Wanda must be criminal.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals above Wanda is Franco's neighbor" — Alice (A1)
"Column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents" — Karen (A3)
C4 · Tyler → CRIMINAL
Because: Rohan’s clue says his neighbors contain an odd number of criminals. Right now that neighbor group already has 4 known criminals, and the unknown people in it are Lucy, Martin, Tyler, and Xena. Wanda’s clue says Tyler’s neighbors contain exactly 6 criminals, and exactly 3 of those criminal neighbors of Tyler are also neighbors of Rohan, namely from Lucy, Martin, Wanda, and Xena. If Tyler were innocent, then Lucy, Martin, Noah, Rohan, Umar, Xena, and Ziad would have to satisfy both of those requirements at the same time, and they cannot. So Tyler cannot be innocent. So Tyler must be criminal.
Clue:
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Rohan" — Quita (A4)
"Exactly 3 of Tyler's 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Rohan" — Wanda (B5)
C5 · Xena → CRIMINAL
Because: Rohan’s neighbors must contain an odd number of criminals, and right now that group already has 5 known criminals: Karen, Quita, Tyler, Vera, and Wanda. The only unknown people left in Rohan’s neighbor group are Lucy, Martin, and Xena. Ghani’s neighbors must contain exactly 6 criminals in total, and exactly 1 of those criminals is also a neighbor of Rohan, so the people tied up in these clues are Brian, Clyde, Donna, Franco, Jane, Lucy, Martin, and Noah. If Xena were innocent, those same people would have to satisfy all of those requirements at once, and they cannot. So Xena must be criminal.
Clue:
"There's an odd number of criminals neighboring Rohan" — Quita (A4)
"Only 1 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ghani is Rohan's neighbor" — Tyler (C4)
D3 · Noah → CRIMINAL
Because: Tyler has exactly 6 criminal neighbors, and exactly 3 of those criminals also neighbor Rohan. Among Tyler's neighbors, Wanda and Xena are already known criminals who also neighbor Rohan, so in the group that does not neighbor Rohan there must be exactly 1 innocent. That one innocent has to come from Rohan, Umar, or Ziad, so Noah cannot be that innocent. So Noah must be criminal.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals above Wanda is Franco's neighbor" — Alice (A1)
"Exactly 3 of Tyler's 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Rohan" — Wanda (B5)
"Only 1 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ghani is Rohan's neighbor" — Tyler (C4)
C1 · Clyde → CRIMINAL
Because: Among Ghani’s neighbors, the people who are not neighbors of Rohan contain exactly 1 innocent: Brian, Clyde, Donna, Franco, and Jane. But that one innocent must come from Brian, Donna, Franco, or Jane. That leaves Clyde unable to be the innocent person in that group. So Clyde must be criminal.
Clue:
"Column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents" — Karen (A3)
"Only 1 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ghani is Rohan's neighbor" — Tyler (C4)
"Brian and Martin have one criminal neighbor in common" — Noah (D3)
B1 · Brian → CRIMINAL, C3 · Martin → CRIMINAL, B3 · Lucy → INNOCENT
Because: Karen’s clue says column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents, Tyler’s clue says Ghani’s neighbors contain exactly 6 criminals with exactly 1 of those criminals also neighboring Rohan, and Noah’s clue says the only criminal shared by Brian’s and Martin’s neighbor sets must come from Franco or Ghani. If you try the opposite pattern here, with Brian innocent, Martin innocent, and Lucy criminal, then Donna, Franco, Ghani, Jane, Rohan, Umar, and Ziad would have to satisfy all of those requirements at the same time. They cannot do that without conflicting with those clue counts and overlaps. So Brian must be criminal, Martin must be criminal, and Lucy must be innocent.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals above Wanda is Franco's neighbor" — Alice (A1)
"Column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents" — Karen (A3)
"Only 1 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ghani is Rohan's neighbor" — Tyler (C4)
"Brian and Martin have one criminal neighbor in common" — Noah (D3)
D1 · Donna → CRIMINAL
Because: Karen’s clue says column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents, so no other column can end up with exactly 2 innocents. Wanda’s clue fixes Tyler’s neighborhood at exactly 6 criminals, with exactly 3 of those criminals also neighboring Rohan. Brian’s clue says the people below Donna contain an odd number of innocents, and right now that group has no known innocents, only Jane, Umar, and Ziad still unknown. If Donna were innocent, then the remaining unknowns touched by these clues would be Franco, Ghani, Jane, Rohan, Umar, and Ziad, and they would have to make all three restrictions true at once. That cannot be done without conflicting with those clue requirements. So Donna must be criminal.
Clue:
"Column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents" — Karen (A3)
"Exactly 3 of Tyler's 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Rohan" — Wanda (B5)
"There's an odd number of innocents below Donna" — Brian (B1)
C2 · Ghani → CRIMINAL
Because: Ghani is one of the three row 2 people who neighbor Martin, along with Franco and Jane. Donna's clue says an odd number of those three are innocent. Tyler's clue also fixes Ghani's neighborhood at exactly 6 criminals total, with exactly 1 of those criminal neighbors also being Rohan's neighbor. If Ghani were innocent, then Franco and Jane would be the other open people that still have to satisfy both clues, and they cannot do that in a way that fits those requirements together. So Ghani must be criminal.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 6 criminals neighboring Ghani is Rohan's neighbor" — Tyler (C4)
"An odd number of innocents in row 2 neighbor Martin" — Donna (D1)
D2 · Jane → CRIMINAL
Because: Brian and Martin’s common neighbors are only Franco and Ghani, and Noah’s clue says exactly one of those common neighbors is a criminal. Since Ghani is already that one criminal, Franco cannot be a criminal. Donna’s clue applies to the row 2 people who neighbor Martin: Franco, Ghani, and Jane. It says an odd number of them are innocent. Ghani is criminal, and Franco is not criminal, so Franco is innocent. If Jane were innocent too, then Franco and Jane would make two innocents there, which is even, not odd. So Jane must be criminal.
Clue:
"Brian and Martin have one criminal neighbor in common" — Noah (D3)
"An odd number of innocents in row 2 neighbor Martin" — Donna (D1)
B2 · Franco → INNOCENT
Because: Noah’s clue says Brian and Martin have exactly one criminal neighbor in common. The shared group is only Franco and Ghani, and Ghani is already criminal. That means the one criminal in that shared group is already accounted for, so Franco cannot also be criminal. So Franco must be innocent.
Clue:
"Brian and Martin have one criminal neighbor in common" — Noah (D3)
B4 · Rohan → CRIMINAL
Because: Above Wanda, there are exactly 2 criminals in total. The clue also says exactly 1 of those criminals is Franco's neighbor, and among the people above Wanda who are Franco's neighbors, Brian is the one criminal there. So the other criminal above Wanda must be someone above Wanda who is not Franco's neighbor. In that group, Franco is innocent and the only unknown person left is Rohan. So Rohan must be criminal.
Clue:
"Only 1 of the 2 criminals above Wanda is Franco's neighbor" — Alice (A1)
D4 · Umar → CRIMINAL
Clue:
"Only one person in row 3 has exactly 3 innocent neighbors" — Rohan (B4)
D5 · Ziad → INNOCENT
Because: Tyler’s neighbors contain exactly 6 criminals in total. Wanda’s clue says exactly 3 of Tyler’s criminal neighbors also neighbor Rohan, and that shared group already accounts for those 3 criminals: Martin, Wanda, and Xena. So among Tyler’s neighbors who do not neighbor Rohan, there can be only 3 criminals. That non-shared group is Noah, Rohan, Umar, and Ziad, and it already contains 3 known criminals: Noah, Rohan, and Umar. That leaves Ziad as innocent.
Clue:
"Exactly 3 of Tyler's 6 criminal neighbors also neighbor Rohan" — Wanda (B5)