Clues by Sam Jul 12, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
A1
👨💻
coder
B1
👩🏫
teacher
C1
👷♀️
builder
D1
👨🏫
teacher
A2
👨🎨
painter
B2
👨🎨
painter
C2
👨💼
clerk
D2
👩💻
coder
A3
👨🎨
painter
B3
👩🏫
teacher
C3
👩💼
clerk
D3
👩💼
clerk
A4
👷♀️
builder
B4
💂♂️
guard
C4
👮♂️
cop
D4
👮♀️
cop
A5
💂♂️
guard
B5
💂♀️
guard
C5
👷♀️
builder
D5
👮♂️
cop
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 Jul 12, 2026 — a Brutal solved in 15 steps
Today's Clues by Sam puzzle is rated Brutal and resolves with 11 criminals on a 20-cell, 4-column × 5-row grid. The criminals are Diane (C1), Eric (D1), Gus (A2), Ivan (B2), Logan (A3), Paula (C3), Sam (B4), Terry (C4), Vince (A5), Wanda (B5) and Zane (D5); the remaining 9 suspects are innocent.
The deduction chain, in plain English
01.D1 · Eric → CRIMINAL
Bonnie’s clue says the two innocents in row 1 are connected. Bonnie is already one of those innocents, so the other innocent in row 1 has to be next to Bonnie, which means it must be Akira or Diane. Eric is not next to Bonnie in that row, so he cannot be the other innocent. So Eric must be criminal.
02.B2 · Ivan → CRIMINAL
Eric’s clue says row 2 has exactly 2 criminals, and exactly 1 of those row 2 criminals is above Sam. Among the people in row 2 who are above Sam, the only person there is Ivan. That above-Sam spot for a row 2 criminal still has to be filled, so it has to be Ivan. So Ivan must be criminal.
03.C1 · Diane → CRIMINAL
Ivan’s clue says there are no innocents in the overlap of column C and row 1. That overlap is just C1, Diane, and there are already 0 known innocents in that shared group. So the only person there cannot be innocent. So Diane must be criminal.
04.A1 · Akira → INNOCENT
Bonnie’s clue says there are exactly two innocents in row 1, and those two innocents are connected. In row 1, Bonnie is already innocent, while Diane and Eric are already criminals, so the only possible second innocent there is Akira. If Akira were criminal, row 1 would have only one innocent instead of both innocents named by the clue. So Akira must be innocent.
05.B5 · Wanda → CRIMINAL
Paula has exactly 3 criminal neighbors, and exactly 2 of those are above Wanda. Ivan is already one of Paula's criminal neighbors above Wanda, so among B3 Mary and B4 Sam there is exactly 1 more criminal. Terry has exactly 4 criminal neighbors, and exactly 2 of those also neighbor Rose. In that shared group of Terry-neighbors who also neighbor Rose, the people are B3 Mary, B4 Sam, and B5 Wanda, and exactly 2 of them must be criminals. Since B3 Mary and B4 Sam together contribute exactly 1 criminal, the remaining person in that Terry-and-Rose shared group has to provide the difference. So B5 Wanda must be criminal.
06.A3 · Logan → CRIMINAL
Wanda’s clue says Logan is one of Mary’s 6 criminal neighbors. That directly identifies Logan as a criminal. So Logan must be criminal.
07.A5 · Vince → CRIMINAL
Logan’s clue says Vince is one of Sam’s five criminal neighbors. That directly places Vince among the criminal neighbors counted around Sam, so Vince must be criminal.
08.B4 · Sam → CRIMINAL, B3 · Mary → INNOCENT
Sam and Mary are tied together by Logan’s and Wanda’s clues. Sam’s clue says Vince is among Sam’s exactly 5 criminal neighbors, and Mary’s clue says Logan is among Mary’s exactly 6 criminal neighbors. If Sam were innocent while Mary were criminal, then the remaining people involved in those two clues, Gus, Jerry, Paula, Rose, Terry, and Xena, would have to make both neighbor counts come out correctly at the same time, but they cannot. So that opposite pairing is impossible. That makes Sam criminal and Mary innocent.
09.C5 · Xena → INNOCENT, D2 · Karen → INNOCENT
Sam’s clue fixes his neighborhood at exactly 5 criminals, Mary’s clue fixes her neighborhood at exactly 6 criminals, and Eric’s clue fixes row 2 at exactly 2 criminals with exactly 1 of them above Sam, namely Ivan. If Xena were a criminal and Karen were a criminal, then the remaining people involved here, Gus, Jerry, Paula, Rose, and Terry, would have to satisfy all three of those exact counts at the same time. That cannot be done without making those clue requirements clash. So Xena and Karen cannot be criminals. This leaves Xena innocent and Karen innocent.
10.C3 · Paula → CRIMINAL
Terry’s clue says his neighbors contain exactly 4 criminals. Among Terry’s neighbors, Mary and Xena are already known innocents, and Sam and Wanda are already known criminals, so the only places left for the remaining 2 innocents are Quita, Uma, and Zane. That uses up both innocent spots without including Paula, so Paula cannot be innocent. So Paula must be criminal.
11.D3 · Quita → INNOCENT, D4 · Uma → INNOCENT, D5 · Zane → CRIMINAL
Terry’s neighbors must contain exactly 4 criminals in total, and exactly 2 of those criminal neighbors also neighbor Rose. Among the people who are both Terry’s neighbors and Rose’s neighbors, the only criminals already there are Sam and Wanda, so those 2 criminal spots are already filled. If Quita and Uma were criminals and Zane were innocent, Terry’s neighbors would have the required total of 4 criminals, but then Quita and Uma would be additional criminal neighbors of Terry who do not neighbor Rose. That conflicts with the clue’s required split for Terry’s neighbors, so that opposite assignment cannot be right. So Quita must be innocent, Uma must be innocent, and Zane must be criminal.
12.C2 · Jerry → INNOCENT
Eric’s clue says row 2 has exactly 2 criminals. In row 2, Ivan is already a criminal and Karen is already innocent, so the one remaining criminal in that row has to be either Gus or Jerry. The same clue also says only 1 of the 2 row 2 criminals is above Sam. Ivan is the only person in row 2 who is above Sam, and Ivan is already a criminal, so that uses up the one criminal above Sam. That means the other criminal in row 2 must be someone not above Sam, which leaves Gus and not Jerry. So Jerry must be innocent.
13.A2 · Gus → CRIMINAL
Sam’s neighbors must contain exactly 5 criminals, and among the unknown people there, only Rose and Terry can add to that criminal total. Mary’s neighbors must contain exactly 6 criminals, and compared with Sam’s neighbor group, Mary’s group has one extra person: Gus. Rose and Terry are the only unknowns shared by both groups, so whatever criminal total they contribute to Sam’s group is the same contribution they make inside Mary’s group. That means the extra criminal Mary needs beyond Sam’s count has to come from the one person who is in Mary’s group but not Sam’s group, namely Gus. So Gus must be criminal.
14.C4 · Terry → CRIMINAL
Paula’s neighbors contain exactly 3 criminals in total, and exactly 2 of those criminals are above Wanda. The neighbors of Paula who are above Wanda are Ivan, Mary, and Sam, and among them the 2 criminals are already Ivan and Sam. So the 1 remaining criminal among Paula’s neighbors has to be someone not above Wanda. Those neighbors are Jerry, Karen, Quita, Terry, and Uma, and Jerry, Karen, Quita, and Uma are all innocent. That leaves Terry at C4 as criminal.
15.A4 · Rose → INNOCENT
Mary’s neighbors already include exactly six known criminals: Gus, Ivan, Logan, Paula, Sam, and Terry. Wanda’s clue says Logan is one of Mary’s 6 criminal neighbors, so those six criminals are the full set required by the clue. Rose is the only neighbor of Mary whose identity was not yet known. If Rose were criminal too, Mary would have more than 6 criminal neighbors, which conflicts with the clue. So Rose must be innocent.