Clues by Sam Jul 21, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
A1
👨⚕️
doctor
B1
👨🌾
farmer
C1
👨💼
clerk
D1
👷♀️
builder
A2
🕵️♀️
sleuth
B2
👨✈️
pilot
C2
👨🌾
farmer
D2
👩✈️
pilot
A3
👩🍳
cook
B3
💂♂️
guard
C3
😬
queen
D3
👩⚕️
doctor
A4
💂♀️
guard
B4
👩🌾
farmer
C4
👩⚕️
doctor
D4
👷♂️
builder
A5
👨💼
clerk
B5
👩🍳
cook
C5
🕵️♂️
sleuth
D5
👷♀️
builder
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 — 4 criminals.
Clues by Sam answer for Jul 21, 2026 — a Easy solved in 15 steps
Today's Clues by Sam puzzle is rated Easy and resolves with 4 criminals on a 20-cell, 4-column × 5-row grid. The criminals are Frida (A2), Julie (D2), Martin (B3) and Olive (D3); the remaining 16 suspects are innocent.
The deduction chain, in plain English
01.C4 · Ruth → INNOCENT
Terry’s clue says the people to the right of Quita contain exactly 2 innocents. There is already 1 known innocent there, Terry, and the only person there whose identity is still unknown is Ruth. So the group still needs 1 more innocent, and Ruth must supply it. That makes Ruth innocent.
02.A5 · Umar → INNOCENT, B5 · Wanda → INNOCENT
Ruth’s clue says there are exactly 2 innocents to the left of Xavi. In that group, there are currently 0 known innocents, and the only people there whose identities are not yet known are Umar and Wanda. Since those two spots must account for all 2 innocents required by the clue, both of them have to be innocent. So Umar and Wanda must be innocent.
03.D5 · Zoe → INNOCENT, D2 · Julie → CRIMINAL
Umar’s clue says there are exactly two criminals in column D, and those two criminals must be connected. In column D, Terry is already innocent, and the people involved are Emma, Julie, Olive, Terry, and Zoe. If Zoe were criminal and Julie were innocent, then Emma and Olive would have to make the clue work, but that combination is impossible while keeping the two criminals in column D connected. So Zoe at D5 must be innocent, and Julie at D2 must be criminal.
04.B1 · Barnie → INNOCENT, B2 · Gus → INNOCENT
Julie’s clue says exactly 2 innocents are in the overlap of the people above Wanda and Daniel’s neighbors. That shared group is only Barnie and Gus. Since the group still needs 2 innocents, and Barnie and Gus are the only people there, both of them have to be the innocents required by the clue. So Barnie and Gus must be innocent.
05.C1 · Daniel → INNOCENT
Gus's clue says there are exactly 3 criminals on the edge, and exactly 2 of those edge criminals are neighbors of Isaac. Julie is already one edge criminal who is a neighbor of Isaac, so among the remaining edge neighbors of Isaac there is room for exactly 1 more criminal. In that edge-neighbor group, the possible people are C1 Daniel, D1 Emma, and D3 Olive, and that 1 criminal must come from Emma or Olive, not Daniel. So Daniel must be innocent.
06.C5 · Xavi → INNOCENT
Wanda’s clue says column A has exactly one criminal. Gus’s clue implies that among the edge people who are not neighbors of Isaac, there is also exactly one criminal. Those two groups are the same except for one extra person in the larger group: Xavi. Column A already accounts for the single criminal allowed in that larger edge group, so there is no room for any additional criminal outside column A there. That makes Xavi innocent.
07.A1 · Aaron → INNOCENT
Gus's clue leaves exactly 1 criminal among the edge people who are not neighbors of Isaac, and in this step that group is A1 Aaron, A2 Frida, A3 Laura, and A4 Petra. Xavi's clue says the people between Aaron and Umar contain an odd number of criminals, so the 1 criminal from that four-person edge group has to be among A2 Frida, A3 Laura, and A4 Petra. That excludes Aaron from being that criminal. So Aaron must be innocent.
08.D1 · Emma → INNOCENT
Aaron’s clue says rows 1 and 5 must have the same number of innocents. Row 5 already has 4 innocents, while row 1 currently has 3 known innocents and only Emma left unknown. If Emma were criminal, row 1 would stay at 3 innocents, which would not match row 5’s 4. So Emma must be innocent.
09.D3 · Olive → CRIMINAL
Gus’s clue says there are exactly 3 criminals on the edge, and exactly 2 of those edge criminals are Isaac’s neighbors. Among the edge people who are Isaac’s neighbors, Barnie, Daniel, and Emma are innocent, Julie is already a criminal, and Olive is the only unknown left there. Since that neighbor group must contain exactly 2 edge criminals and only Julie is known so far, it still needs 1 more criminal, and the only person who can fill that spot is Olive. So Olive must be criminal.
10.B4 · Quita → INNOCENT
Emma’s clue says the people between Petra and Terry contain exactly 2 innocents. In that group, 1 innocent is already known: Ruth. The only person there whose identity is still unknown is Quita, so the group needs Quita to supply the second innocent. So Quita must be innocent.
11.C3 · Nancy → INNOCENT, C2 · Isaac → INNOCENT
Gus’s clue says the edge has exactly 3 criminals, and exactly 2 of those edge criminals are neighbors of Isaac. Those 2 are already Julie and Olive, so the third edge criminal has to come from Frida, Laura, or Petra, who are not neighbors of Isaac. Quita’s clue says column A has more criminals than column C. Right now all possible column A criminals are Frida, Laura, and Petra, while the only unknowns in column C are Isaac and Nancy. If Isaac and Nancy were both criminals, then Frida, Laura, and Petra would have to satisfy both clues at once, but they cannot. So Nancy and Isaac must both be innocent.
12.B3 · Martin → CRIMINAL
Zoe’s clue says there is only one column with no criminals at all. Column C is already that column, because Daniel, Isaac, Nancy, Ruth, and Xavi are all innocent. Column B also has no known criminals so far, and Martin is the only person in that column whose identity is not yet fixed. If Martin were innocent, column B would also have no criminals, giving a second such column, which the clue forbids. So Martin must be criminal.
13.A3 · Laura → INNOCENT
Barnie’s clue says every row has at least 2 innocents. In row 3, that means there can be at most 2 criminals. Row 3 already has 2 known criminals, Martin and Olive, and the only person there whose status was not yet fixed is Laura. So Laura at A3 must be innocent.
14.A2 · Frida → CRIMINAL
Laura’s clue says exactly one criminal in row 2 has an innocent directly to the right. In row 2, Julie is already the only known criminal, and Frida is the only person there whose identity is not yet fixed. If Frida were innocent, then row 2 would contain only that one criminal, Julie. But that would make the clue impossible to satisfy for row 2, so Frida cannot be innocent. So Frida must be criminal.
15.A4 · Petra → INNOCENT
Gus's clue says there are exactly 3 criminals on the edge, and exactly 2 of those edge criminals are Isaac's neighbors. Among the edge people who are Isaac's neighbors, the 2 criminals are already Julie and Olive. That means the edge people who are not Isaac's neighbors can contain only 1 criminal in total, and that 1 is already Frida. Petra is in that non-neighbor edge group, so Petra must be innocent.