Clues by Sam Jun 09, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
A1
👩⚕️
doctor
B1
👩🍳
cook
C1
🕵️♂️
sleuth
D1
👩⚖️
judge
A2
👨🌾
farmer
B2
🕵️♂️
sleuth
C2
👨🌾
farmer
D2
👨🍳
cook
A3
👩⚕️
doctor
B3
👩🔧
mech
C3
👩⚖️
judge
D3
👨⚖️
judge
A4
👨🎨
painter
B4
🕵️♀️
sleuth
C4
👨💼
clerk
D4
👩💼
clerk
A5
👩🎨
painter
B5
👩💼
clerk
C5
👨🎨
painter
D5
👨🔧
mech
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 — 11 criminals.
Clues by Sam answer for Jun 09, 2026 — a Medium solved in 14 steps
Today's Clues by Sam puzzle is rated Medium and resolves with 11 criminals on a 20-cell, 4-column × 5-row grid. The criminals are Betty (B1), Denis (C1), Esha (D1), Floyd (A2), Henry (C2), Ike (D2), Maria (C3), Quita (B4), Tina (A5), Uma (B5) and Zane (D5); the remaining 9 suspects are innocent.
The deduction chain, in plain English
01.A2 · Floyd → CRIMINAL, C2 · Henry → CRIMINAL
Gabe’s clue says the people to the left of Ike contain exactly one innocent. That group already has one known innocent, Gabe himself. The only other people left in that group are Floyd and Henry, so neither of them can be innocent. So Floyd and Henry must be criminal.
02.C3 · Maria → CRIMINAL, C4 · Rohan → INNOCENT, C5 · Xavi → INNOCENT
Henry’s clue says that the two criminals below Denis must be connected. Below Denis are Henry, Maria, Rohan, and Xavi, and Henry is already one of those criminals. If Maria were innocent while Rohan and Xavi were criminals, then the two criminals below Denis would be Henry and Rohan and Xavi in a way that does not satisfy that clue. So that opposite assignment cannot be right. Maria must be criminal, and Rohan and Xavi must be innocent.
03.A1 · Anna → INNOCENT
Maria’s clue says Anna is one of the exactly 3 innocents in column A. That directly identifies Anna as innocent. So Anna must be innocent.
04.B4 · Quita → CRIMINAL, B5 · Uma → CRIMINAL
Anna's clue says column B has exactly 3 criminals, and exactly 1 of those criminals is one of Floyd's neighbors. That means the other 2 criminals in column B must be people in column B who are not Floyd's neighbors. Those people are Quita and Uma, and there are no known criminals among them yet, so those two spots have to be the 2 criminals. So Quita and Uma must be criminal.
05.C1 · Denis → CRIMINAL
Maria’s clue says column A has exactly 3 innocents, with Anna as one of them. Quita’s clue says only one column has exactly 3 innocents, so no other column can also reach 3 innocents. If Denis were innocent, the remaining people tied to these clues, including Betty, Esha, Ike, Jane, Kay, Noah, Phil, Sarah, Tina, and Zane, would have to satisfy both of those column conditions at the same time, but that cannot be done. So Denis cannot be innocent. So Denis must be criminal.
06.D2 · Ike → CRIMINAL
Denis's clue is about the people who are both in row 2 and neighboring Henry. That shared group is just Gabe and Ike, and Gabe is already known to be innocent. Since the clue says there is exactly 1 innocent in that group, the remaining person there cannot also be innocent. So Ike must be criminal.
07.A4 · Phil → INNOCENT
The clue says exactly one corner person has exactly 3 criminal neighbors. D1 Esha already has 3 known criminal neighbors, and no unknown neighbors, so D1 is that one corner for sure. If Phil were criminal, then A5 Tina would rise from 2 known criminal neighbors to 3 as well. That would give a second corner with exactly 3 criminal neighbors, which conflicts with the clue that there is only one such corner. So Phil must be innocent.
08.A3 · Jane → INNOCENT
Column B must contain exactly 3 criminals, and exactly 1 of those criminals is a neighbor of Floyd. But the two criminals already fixed in column B are Quita and Uma, and both of them are not neighbors of Floyd, so the one criminal neighbor in column B would have to come from Betty or Kay. Floyd's neighbors must contain an odd number of criminals, and among those neighbors the only people not yet identified are Betty, Jane, and Kay. If Jane were criminal, then Betty and Kay would still have to satisfy both clue requirements at the same time, but they cannot. So Jane must be innocent.
09.A5 · Tina → CRIMINAL
Maria’s clue says Anna is one of exactly 3 innocents in column A. In column A, the three people already known to be innocents are Anna, Jane, and Phil. If Tina were also innocent, column A would have 4 innocents, which clashes with that clue. So Tina must be criminal.
10.D5 · Zane → CRIMINAL
Tina’s clue says rows 2 and 5 have the same number of criminals. Row 2 already has 3 criminals, while row 5 currently has only 2. If Zane were innocent, row 5 would stay at 2 criminals, which clashes with the clue that it must match row 2. So Zane must be criminal.
11.D4 · Sarah → INNOCENT
Xavi’s clue says every person in row 5 has at most 3 criminal neighbors. Xavi already has 3 known criminal neighbors: Quita, Uma, and Zane, and Sarah is his only unknown neighbor. If Sarah were criminal, then Xavi would have 4 criminal neighbors, which breaks the clue. So Sarah cannot be criminal. That makes Sarah innocent.
12.B1 · Betty → CRIMINAL, D3 · Noah → INNOCENT
Maria’s neighbors must contain more innocents than Floyd’s neighbors, but right now each group already has 3 known innocents. The people still affecting that comparison are Betty, Noah, and Kay. If Betty were innocent and Noah were criminal, then the remaining people involved in these two neighbor groups could not make Maria’s total end up higher than Floyd’s. So Betty cannot be innocent, and Noah cannot be criminal. That makes Betty criminal and Noah innocent.
13.B3 · Kay → INNOCENT
Anna’s clue says that column B has exactly 3 criminals in total, and exactly 1 of those criminals is a neighbor of Floyd. Among the people who are both in column B and neighbors of Floyd, Betty is already a known criminal, while Gabe is innocent and Kay is the only unknown. Since that neighbor group already contains the one criminal allowed by the clue, Kay cannot be a criminal. So Kay must be innocent.
14.D1 · Esha → CRIMINAL
Quita’s clue says only one column has exactly 3 innocents. Column A already has exactly 3 innocents: Anna, Jane, and Phil. In column D, Noah and Sarah are already innocent, and Esha is the only person there not yet identified, so if Esha were innocent then column D would also have exactly 3 innocents. That would clash with Quita’s clue, so Esha must be criminal.