Clues by Sam May 12, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
A1
👩💻
coder
B1
👩✈️
pilot
C1
👩🎨
painter
D1
👷♂️
builder
A2
👨🔧
mech
B2
👨🔧
mech
C2
👨✈️
pilot
D2
👩🎨
painter
A3
👩💻
coder
B3
👨🔧
mech
C3
👨🏫
teacher
D3
👨🏫
teacher
A4
👩✈️
pilot
B4
👨⚖️
judge
C4
👩⚖️
judge
D4
👷♂️
builder
A5
👨💻
coder
B5
👩🏫
teacher
C5
👩⚖️
judge
D5
👩🎨
painter
Final Board State
This puzzle is fully solved.
All characters have been identified as innocent or criminal based on today's clues.
See how each clue leads to the final result
Skip the reasoning — 8 criminals.
Clues by Sam answer for May 12, 2026 — a Medium solved in 16 steps
Today's Clues by Sam puzzle is rated Medium and resolves with 8 criminals on a 20-cell, 4-column × 5-row grid. The criminals are Hank (B2), Karen (A3), Martin (C3), Salil (B4), Umar (D4), Wanda (B5), Xena (C5) and Yamini (D5); the remaining 12 suspects are innocent.
The deduction chain, in plain English
01.B4 · Salil → CRIMINAL, B5 · Wanda → CRIMINAL
Ruby’s clue says she has exactly 3 criminal neighbors, and exactly 2 of those criminals also neighbor Xena. Among Ruby’s neighbors, the only people who also neighbor Xena are Salil and Wanda. That means the two criminal neighbors of Ruby who also neighbor Xena have to be those two people. So Salil and Wanda must be criminal.
02.C2 · Ivan → INNOCENT, D2 · Jane → INNOCENT
Salil’s clue says the people to the right of Hank contain exactly 2 innocents. That group currently has no known innocents, and the only people left in it are Ivan and Jane. So the two innocent spots in that group have to be filled by those two people. That makes Ivan and Jane innocent.
03.D4 · Umar → CRIMINAL, D1 · Eli → INNOCENT
Jane’s clue says that the two criminals in column D must be connected. In column D, the people are Eli, Jane, Peter, Umar, and Yamini, and Jane is already innocent. If Umar were innocent while Eli were criminal, then Peter and Yamini would have to supply the rest of what this clue needs in column D, but that cannot be done while keeping the two criminals there connected. So that tested combination fails. That makes Umar criminal and Eli innocent.
04.D3 · Peter → INNOCENT
Eli's clue says exactly 2 innocents are in the overlap of the people above Yamini and the neighbors of Martin. That shared group is Jane, Peter, and Umar. Jane is already innocent and Umar is criminal, so the group still needs one more innocent, and Peter is the only unknown person left there. So Peter must be innocent.
05.D5 · Yamini → CRIMINAL
Jane’s clue says the two criminals in column D are connected. In column D, Eli, Jane, and Peter are innocent, Umar is criminal, and only Yamini is not yet identified. If Yamini were innocent, then column D would have only one criminal there, Umar, which conflicts with the clue that there are both criminals in column D and that those two criminals are connected. So Yamini cannot be innocent. That makes Yamini criminal.
06.C5 · Xena → CRIMINAL
Peter’s clue says exactly one teacher has a criminal directly to the right. Martin cannot be that teacher, because the person directly to Martin’s right is Peter, and Peter is innocent. Wanda is a teacher, and the person directly to Wanda’s right is Xena, so for there to be that one teacher case, Xena has to be criminal. So Xena must be criminal.
07.C4 · Tina → INNOCENT
Xena’s clue says every profession must include at least one innocent. In the judge profession, Salil and Xena are already known criminals, and Tina is the only judge whose identity is not fixed yet. That means the judges already have two criminals, so the remaining judge cannot also be criminal, because the profession still needs an innocent. So Tina at C4 must be innocent.
08.A5 · Vidyesh → INNOCENT
Tina's clue says row 5 contains exactly one innocent. In row 5, there are currently no known innocents, and the only person there whose identity is still unknown is Vidyesh. Since row 5 still needs exactly one innocent, that remaining spot has to be the innocent one. So Vidyesh must be innocent.
09.C3 · Martin → CRIMINAL
Ruby has exactly 3 criminal neighbors, and exactly 2 of those criminals are the neighbors of Xena. Those two are already Salil and Wanda, so Ruby’s one remaining criminal neighbor has to come from Karen or Logan, since Vidyesh is innocent. Vidyesh also says an odd number of the people who are both Salil’s neighbors and in row 3 are innocent, and that group is Karen, Logan, and Martin. If Martin were innocent, then Karen and Logan would still have to fit both clues at once, but that cannot be done. So Martin cannot be innocent. So Martin must be criminal.
10.B1 · Chloe → INNOCENT
Martin’s clue says directly that Chloe is innocent. So Chloe at B1 must be innocent.
11.C1 · Debra → INNOCENT
Chloe’s clue says column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents. Column C already has 2 known innocents, and Debra is the only person left in that column whose identity is not yet fixed. If Debra were criminal, then column C would remain at exactly 2 innocents, which the clue forbids for every column except B. So Debra must be innocent.
12.A2 · Ghani → INNOCENT
Karen's neighbors must contain an odd number of innocents. Those neighbors already include 1 known innocent, so the unknown neighbors there must add an even number of innocents. In column B, Chloe's clue says there are exactly 2 innocents total. Column B already has Chloe as 1 innocent, so Hank and Logan must contain exactly 1 more innocent between them. Hank and Logan are two of Karen's unknown neighbors, so they contribute exactly 1 innocent there. To make the total added by Karen's unknown neighbors even, the remaining unknown neighbor, Ghani, must be innocent. So Ghani must be innocent.
13.A1 · Betty → INNOCENT
Ghani's clue says the corner cells contain exactly 3 innocents. In the corners, there are already 2 known innocents, and Betty is the only corner person whose identity is still unknown. So the corners still need exactly 1 more innocent, and that has to be Betty. So Betty must be innocent.
14.B2 · Hank → CRIMINAL
Betty’s clue says only one row has no criminals. Row 1 already has no criminals, since Betty, Chloe, Debra, and Eli are all innocent. In row 2, the only person not yet identified is Hank, and there are no known criminals there yet. So row 2 cannot also end up with no criminals, which means Hank cannot be innocent. That makes Hank criminal.
15.B3 · Logan → INNOCENT
Chloe’s clue says column B is the only column with exactly 2 innocents, and the other comparable columns are A, C, and D. In column B, Chloe is the one known innocent there, so whether column B reaches exactly 2 innocents depends on Logan. If Logan were criminal, column B would stay at only 1 innocent, which clashes with Chloe’s clue that column B has exactly 2 innocents. So Logan must be innocent.
16.A3 · Karen → CRIMINAL
Ruby’s clue says she has exactly 3 criminal neighbors, and exactly 2 of those criminals also neighbor Xena. Those 2 are already Salil and Wanda, so there must be exactly 1 criminal among Ruby’s neighbors who does not neighbor Xena. The neighbors of Ruby who do not neighbor Xena are Karen, Logan, and Vidyesh. Logan and Vidyesh are innocent, and there are no known criminals in that group yet, so the one required criminal there has to be Karen. So Karen must be criminal.