Clues by Sam May 18, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
A1
🕵️♀️
sleuth
B1
👨🏫
teacher
C1
👨✈️
pilot
D1
👨🌾
farmer
A2
👨🔧
mech
B2
👨🏫
teacher
C2
👩🍳
cook
D2
👨🏫
teacher
A3
🕵️♀️
sleuth
B3
👩🔧
mech
C3
👮♀️
cop
D3
👨🌾
farmer
A4
🕵️♀️
sleuth
B4
👩✈️
pilot
C4
👮♂️
cop
D4
👮♂️
cop
A5
👨✈️
pilot
B5
👩🍳
cook
C5
👩🍳
cook
D5
👩🌾
farmer
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 — 12 criminals.
Clues by Sam answer for May 18, 2026 — a Easy solved in 14 steps
Today's Clues by Sam puzzle is rated Easy and resolves with 12 criminals on a 20-cell, 4-column × 5-row grid. The criminals are Brian (B1), Carl (C1), Denis (D1), Eric (A2), Gary (B2), Katie (B3), Laura (C3), Mark (D3), Nicole (A4), Scott (D4), Vicky (B5) and Wanda (C5); the remaining 8 suspects are innocent.
The deduction chain, in plain English
01.C4 · Raul → INNOCENT, D4 · Scott → CRIMINAL
Quita’s clue says Raul is one of the exactly 2 innocents to the right of Nicole. To Nicole’s right are Quita, Raul, and Scott, and Quita is already known to be innocent. If Raul were criminal and Scott were innocent, that would clash with the clue, because Raul would not be one of those 2 innocents. So Raul must be innocent and Scott must be criminal.
02.A4 · Nicole → CRIMINAL
Raul’s clue says every row has at least 2 criminals, so in a 4-person row there can be at most 2 innocents. In row 4, Quita and Raul are already known innocents. That means no other person in row 4 can be innocent. So Nicole must be criminal.
03.C3 · Laura → CRIMINAL
Nicole's clue says there is exactly 1 innocent among the people who are both above Wanda and neighboring Scott. That shared group is only Laura and Raul. Raul is already known to be innocent, so that group already contains the one innocent allowed by the clue. Laura therefore cannot also be innocent. So Laura must be criminal.
04.B1 · Brian → CRIMINAL, B5 · Vicky → CRIMINAL, B2 · Gary → CRIMINAL, B3 · Katie → CRIMINAL
Laura’s clue says column B is the only column with exactly 4 criminals, so column B itself has to contain exactly 4 criminals. In column B, Quita is already innocent, and the only other people there are Brian, Gary, Katie, and Vicky. If any of Brian, Gary, Katie, or Vicky were innocent, then those four people would not be able to make column B the column with exactly 4 criminals while the other columns also satisfy the clue’s restriction. So Brian, Gary, Katie, and Vicky must all be criminal.
05.D5 · Zara → INNOCENT
Gary’s clue says the people above Zara contain exactly one innocent. Right now there are no known innocents above Zara, so that one innocent would have to be one of Denis, Isaac, or Mark. If Zara were criminal, then Denis, Isaac, and Mark together with the other people still not identified in columns A, C, and D would also have to fit Laura’s statement that column B is the only column with exactly 4 criminals. That combination cannot be made to satisfy both clues at once. So Zara must be innocent.
06.D3 · Mark → CRIMINAL, C5 · Wanda → CRIMINAL
Zara’s clue says Scott has exactly 3 criminal neighbors. Among Scott’s neighbors, Laura is already the only known criminal, and the only people there not yet identified are Mark and Wanda. That means Scott’s neighborhood still needs exactly 2 more criminals, and Mark and Wanda are the only two people who can fill those two spots. So Mark and Wanda must be criminal.
07.A5 · Umar → INNOCENT
Wanda's clue says row 5 has exactly 2 criminals. Row 5 already has those 2 criminals identified: Vicky and Wanda. That means any remaining unknown person in row 5 cannot also be a criminal, and the only such person is Umar. So Umar must be innocent.
08.C1 · Carl → CRIMINAL
Gary’s clue says there is exactly one innocent above Zara, and the only unknown people there are Denis and Isaac. Umar’s clue says the number of innocents among the edge neighbors of Hope is odd, and that group is Brian, Carl, Denis, Isaac, and Mark; with Brian and Mark already criminal, only Carl, Denis, and Isaac could supply those innocents. If Carl were innocent, then Denis and Isaac would have to satisfy both clues at once. But Denis and Isaac must contain exactly one innocent for Gary’s clue, and with Carl also innocent that would make the total number of innocents in Carl, Denis, and Isaac even, not odd. So Carl cannot be innocent. So Carl must be criminal.
09.C2 · Hope → INNOCENT
Laura’s clue says column B is the only column with exactly 4 criminals. Column C already has 3 known criminals, and Hope is the only person in that column whose identity is not yet known. If Hope were a criminal, then column C would also have exactly 4 criminals, which would contradict the clue. So Hope must be innocent.
10.A3 · Joy → INNOCENT
Carl’s clue says every row has at least one innocent. In row 3, Katie, Laura, and Mark are already known criminals, so that row already has three criminals. That means row 3 cannot have any more criminals, or it would have no innocent at all. So Joy must be innocent.
11.A2 · Eric → CRIMINAL
Joy’s clue says Katie’s neighbors contain exactly 4 innocents. Among Katie’s neighbors, there are already 4 known innocents: Hope, Joy, Quita, and Raul. The only neighbor of Katie whose identity is still unknown is Eric, so he cannot also be innocent without making more than 4 innocents there. So Eric must be criminal.
12.A1 · Alice → INNOCENT
Eric’s clue says column A has more innocents than column C. Right now column C already has 2 innocents, and column A also currently has 2 known innocents, with Alice the only unknown person left in column A. If Alice were criminal, column A would stay at 2 innocents, so it would not have more innocents than column C. So Alice must be innocent.
13.D2 · Isaac → INNOCENT
Alice’s clue says rows 2 and 4 must have the same number of criminals. Row 4 already has 2 criminals, and row 2 also already has 2 known criminals. If Isaac were a criminal, row 2 would rise to 3 criminals while row 4 would stay at 2, so the counts would no longer match. So Isaac must be innocent.
14.D1 · Denis → CRIMINAL
Gary’s clue says the people above Zara contain exactly one innocent. That group already has one known innocent, Isaac. The only person there whose status is still unknown is Denis, so Denis cannot also be innocent without breaking the clue. So Denis must be criminal.