Clues by Sam Jul 06, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained

01.B1 · Betty → INNOCENT

Vicky’s clue says there are exactly 2 innocent judges, and exactly 1 of those innocent judges is Nancy’s neighbor. That means exactly 1 innocent judge is not Nancy’s neighbor. Among the judges, the neighbors of Nancy are Hope and Ruby, so the only judge who is not Nancy’s neighbor is Betty. Since the non-neighbor judge group still needs that 1 innocent, Betty must be innocent.

02.C5 · Xia → CRIMINAL

Betty’s clue says that Xia is one of Steve’s 4 criminal neighbors. That directly identifies Xia as a criminal. So Xia must be criminal.

03.A4 · Olof → CRIMINAL, B4 · Paul → CRIMINAL

Xia’s clue says the clerk profession has exactly one innocent. Vicky is already that one known innocent clerk, and the only clerks left are Olof and Paul. Since the clerk group already has its full innocent count, neither of those remaining clerks can be innocent. So Olof and Paul must be criminal.

04.A5 · Thor → CRIMINAL

Paul’s clue says there is exactly one innocent to the left of Zara. Among the people to the left of Zara, there is already one known innocent there. The only person in that group whose status is still unknown is Thor, so Thor cannot also be innocent. So Thor must be criminal.

05.C1 · Daniel → CRIMINAL

Thor’s clue says directly that Daniel is a criminal. Since this clue identifies Daniel’s status outright, Daniel at C1 must be criminal.

06.A3 · Jose → CRIMINAL, B3 · Karen → CRIMINAL

Betty’s clue says Steve has exactly 4 criminal neighbors, and Xia is already one of them. Daniel’s clue says Olof’s neighbors and Steve’s neighbors must have the same number of innocents. Right now Olof’s neighbors already include 1 known innocent, while Steve’s neighbors include 0 known innocents. If Jose and Karen were both innocent, Olof’s neighbors would have more innocents added there, while Steve’s side would still have to meet Betty’s requirement about Steve’s neighbors at the same time, and those facts cannot all fit together with Mary, Nancy, Ruby, and Zara. So Jose and Karen cannot be innocent. So Jose and Karen must be criminal.

07.C3 · Mary → CRIMINAL

Betty is already an innocent judge, and the judges must contain exactly two innocents total. Since exactly one innocent judge is above Xia, that second innocent judge has to be either Hope or Ruby, both of whom are above Xia. Above Xia there is already 1 known criminal, Daniel, and the total number of criminals there must be odd. So among Hope, Mary, and Ruby, the clue has to fit around that requirement while Hope and Ruby also cover the judge condition. If Mary were innocent, Hope and Ruby would be the only other people from that group left to satisfy both clues at once, and that cannot be done. So Mary cannot be innocent. That makes Mary at C3 criminal.

08.B2 · Gabe → INNOCENT

Mary’s clue says there are exactly 2 criminals above Vicky. Among the people above Vicky, Karen and Paul are already known criminals, so those 2 required criminals are already accounted for. The only person there whose identity was still unknown is Gabe, so Gabe cannot also be a criminal. So Gabe must be innocent.

09.A1 · Alex → INNOCENT, A2 · Flora → INNOCENT

10.D1 · Ethan → CRIMINAL

Alex’s clue says directly that Ethan is a criminal. Since everyone tells the truth, that statement fixes Ethan’s identity immediately. So Ethan must be criminal.

11.D3 · Nancy → CRIMINAL

Ethan’s clue says there are more criminals than innocents to the right of Karen. In that group, there must therefore be at least 2 criminals and at most 0 innocents. Mary is already a known criminal there, there are already 0 known innocents there, and the only person in that group whose status is not fixed yet is Nancy. Since no one remaining in that group can be innocent, Nancy at D3 must be criminal.

12.C4 · Ruby → CRIMINAL, C2 · Hope → INNOCENT

Nancy’s clue says Vicky has more criminal neighbors than Isaac. Right now each of them has 4 known criminal neighbors, so the only way for Vicky’s total to be higher is through the one unknown neighbor on each side: Ruby for Vicky, and Hope for Isaac. If Ruby were innocent and Hope were criminal, Isaac would go up to 5 criminal neighbors while Vicky would stay at 4, which directly contradicts the clue that Vicky has more than Isaac. So Ruby must be criminal, and Hope must be innocent.

13.D5 · Zara → INNOCENT

Betty's clue says Xia is one of Steve's exactly 4 criminal neighbors. Steve's neighbors are Mary, Nancy, Ruby, Xia, and Zara, and Mary, Nancy, Ruby, and Xia are already the 4 known criminals there. If Zara were also criminal, Steve would have 5 criminal neighbors, which clashes with the clue. So Zara must be innocent.

14.D2 · Isaac → INNOCENT

Ruby’s clue says the people to the right of Gabe contain exactly 2 innocents. In that group, Hope is already known to be innocent, so only 1 more innocent is still needed. The only person there whose identity is not yet known is Isaac. So Isaac must be innocent.

15.D4 · Steve → CRIMINAL

Isaac’s clue says there are exactly 12 criminals on the whole board. Right now, 11 people are already known to be criminals, and Steve at D4 is the only person not yet identified. If Steve were innocent, the total would stay at 11, which clashes with Isaac’s clue. So Steve must be criminal.