Clues by Sam Jul 22, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
A1
👮♀️
cop
B1
👩⚕️
doctor
C1
👩🌾
farmer
D1
👨⚖️
judge
A2
👨✈️
pilot
B2
👨🔧
mech
C2
🕵️♀️
sleuth
D2
👩⚖️
judge
A3
👩💼
clerk
B3
👨✈️
pilot
C3
👨💻
coder
D3
👩⚕️
doctor
A4
👩✈️
pilot
B4
👨⚕️
doctor
C4
👩🔧
mech
D4
👨💻
coder
A5
👮♂️
cop
B5
🕵️♂️
sleuth
C5
👩🌾
farmer
D5
👨💼
clerk
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 — 10 criminals.
Clues by Sam answer for Jul 22, 2026 — a Tricky solved in 13 steps
Today's Clues by Sam puzzle is rated Tricky and resolves with 10 criminals on a 20-cell, 4-column × 5-row grid. The criminals are Betty (A1), Dana (B1), Gabe (D1), Henry (A2), Igor (B2), Julie (C2), Nick (B3), Ryan (B4), Will (B5) and Ziad (D5); the remaining 10 suspects are innocent.
The deduction chain, in plain English
01.A3 · Laura → INNOCENT
Katie’s clue says Laura is one of Igor’s 3 innocent neighbors. That directly identifies Laura as innocent. So Laura must be innocent.
02.B2 · Igor → CRIMINAL
Laura’s clue says Dana has exactly 4 criminal neighbors, and exactly 1 of those criminal neighbors is above Ryan. Among Dana’s neighbors, the only person who is above Ryan is Igor. So the one criminal neighbor of Dana who is above Ryan has to be Igor. That makes Igor criminal.
03.B1 · Dana → CRIMINAL, D3 · Paula → INNOCENT, A4 · Quita → INNOCENT, D4 · Tom → INNOCENT
Row 3 must contain exactly three innocents who have an innocent directly below them, and in row 3 we currently only know Laura is innocent while Nick, Oscar, and Paula are the other people involved there. If Dana were innocent, Paula were criminal, Quita were criminal, and Tom were criminal, then the remaining people tied into these clues, namely Nick, Oscar, Ryan, and Susan, would have to satisfy all of the clue requirements at the same time, but they cannot. So that opposite assignment is impossible. Dana must be criminal, and Paula, Quita, and Tom must be innocent.
04.A2 · Henry → CRIMINAL, C2 · Julie → CRIMINAL
Laura’s clue fixes Dana’s neighboring group so that it has exactly one innocent among A1 Betty, C1 Esha, A2 Henry, and C2 Julie. That one innocent has to come from Betty or Esha. So Henry and Julie cannot be the innocent person in that group. That makes Henry and Julie criminal.
05.D1 · Gabe → CRIMINAL
Tom’s clue says row 5 is the only row with exactly 2 innocents, so rows 1, 2, 3, and 4 must not end with exactly 2 innocents. Laura’s clue also fixes Dana’s neighboring group at exactly 4 criminals, with exactly 1 of those criminals above Ryan, namely Igor. If Gabe were innocent, then the remaining people involved here, including Betty, Esha, Nick, Oscar, Ryan, Susan, Vince, Will, Xena, and Ziad, would have to fit both of those requirements at the same time, and they cannot. That rules out Gabe being innocent. So Gabe must be criminal.
06.A1 · Betty → CRIMINAL
Julie has exactly 4 criminal neighbors, and 3 of them are already known: Dana, Gabe, and Igor. So among C1 Esha, B3 Nick, and C3 Oscar, exactly 1 is criminal. Igor has exactly 3 innocent neighbors, so among his 8 neighbors there must be exactly 5 criminals. In Igor's neighbor group, Dana, Henry, and Julie are already criminal, and Esha, Nick, and Oscar contribute exactly 1 more criminal, making 4 criminals accounted for there. The only person in Igor's neighbor group who is not part of that Esha-Nick-Oscar set is Betty, so she has to supply the last criminal spot. So Betty must be criminal.
07.C1 · Esha → INNOCENT
Laura’s clue says Dana has exactly 4 criminal neighbors, and exactly 1 of those criminals is above Ryan. That one criminal above Ryan is already Igor. So among Dana’s neighbors who are not above Ryan, the 3 criminal spots are already filled by Betty, Henry, and Julie. Esha is the only remaining unknown in that part of Dana’s neighborhood, so Esha at C1 must be innocent.
08.D5 · Ziad → CRIMINAL
Esha’s clue says that Ziad is one of Susan’s 4 criminal neighbors. That directly places Ziad among the neighbors who are criminal. So Ziad must be criminal.
09.B4 · Ryan → CRIMINAL, A5 · Vince → INNOCENT
Tom’s clue fixes row 5 at exactly 2 innocents, and Esha’s clue fixes Susan’s neighbors at exactly 4 criminals including Ziad. The relevant undecided people these two clues are using are Nick, Oscar, Susan, Will, and Xena, while this step tests the opposite statuses for Ryan and Vince: Ryan innocent and Vince criminal. With Ryan set to innocent and Vince set to criminal, those same remaining people would have to satisfy both clue requirements at once, but they cannot. That opposite pairing therefore clashes with the two clues. So Ryan must be criminal and Vince must be innocent.
10.B5 · Will → CRIMINAL
Ziad’s clue says Vince has exactly 2 criminal neighbors. Among Vince’s neighbors, there is already 1 known criminal, and the only neighbor there whose identity is still unknown is Will. Since Vince’s neighbors still need exactly 1 more criminal, that remaining spot has to be criminal. So Will must be criminal.
11.C5 · Xena → INNOCENT
Tom’s clue says row 5 is the only row with exactly 2 innocents. In row 5, Vince is already innocent and Will and Ziad are already criminals, so Xena is the only person who could give row 5 its second innocent. If Xena were criminal, row 5 would stay at just 1 innocent, so it would not have exactly 2 innocents at all. That clashes with Tom’s clue that row 5 is the unique row with exactly 2 innocents. So Xena must be innocent.
12.C3 · Oscar → INNOCENT, C4 · Susan → INNOCENT
Igor’s clue says exactly 3 innocents in row 3 have an innocent directly below them. In row 3, Laura and Paula are already known innocents, while Nick and Oscar are the only unknown people there. If Oscar were criminal and Susan were criminal, then row 3 would have to meet Igor’s exact requirement using only the remaining people, with Nick as the only other unknown involved, and that cannot be done. So Oscar and Susan cannot both have that opposite identity. That makes Oscar and Susan innocent.
13.B3 · Nick → CRIMINAL
Katie's clue says Laura is one of Igor's exactly 3 innocent neighbors. Among Igor's neighbors, the three already known innocents are Esha, Laura, and Oscar. If Nick were also innocent, Igor would have 4 innocent neighbors instead of 3, which contradicts the clue. So Nick must be criminal.