Clues by Sam Jul 27, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained

01.D1 · Emma → INNOCENT

Nick’s clue says Emma is one of the exactly two innocents to the right of Bruce. That directly includes Emma among those innocents. So Emma must be innocent.

02.A4 · Olivia → INNOCENT

Emma’s clue says directly that Olivia is innocent. So Olivia at A4 must be innocent.

03.C4 · Ruby → CRIMINAL

Olivia’s clue says that the two criminals in row 4 must be connected. In row 4, Olivia is innocent, so the only people who could be those two criminals are Pam, Ruby, and Steve. If Ruby were innocent, then the two criminals in row 4 would have to be Pam and Steve. But that would leave the two criminals separated rather than connected, which clashes with Olivia’s clue. So Ruby must be criminal.

04.A1 · Bruce → INNOCENT

05.C3 · Mary → INNOCENT, C5 · Wanda → INNOCENT

Bruce's clue says column C has exactly 3 innocents, and exactly 1 of those innocents is Carol's neighbor. Carol's neighbors in column C are only Donna and Isaac, so the other 2 innocents in column C must be people there who are not Carol's neighbors. Those non-neighbors in column C are Mary, Ruby, and Wanda, but Ruby is already a criminal. That leaves the 2 innocent places to be filled by Mary and Wanda. So Mary and Wanda must be innocent.

06.A3 · Katie → INNOCENT

Wanda’s clue says exactly one farmer has a criminal directly above them. Wanda is a farmer, and Ruby directly above Wanda is criminal, so that one qualifying farmer is already Wanda. Olivia is also a farmer, and the person directly above Olivia is Katie. If Katie were criminal, then Olivia would be a second farmer with a criminal directly above, which would contradict the clue. So Katie must be innocent.

07.A2 · Gary → INNOCENT

Katie’s clue says the innocents in column A must form one connected block. In that column, Bruce at A1, Katie at A3, and Olivia at A4 are already innocent, while Gary at A2 and Tom at A5 are the only people there not yet identified. If Gary were criminal, then the innocents in column A would be split, because Bruce at A1 would be separated from Katie at A3 and Olivia at A4 instead of all being in one connected block. That conflicts with the clue. So Gary must be innocent.

08.B3 · Logan → INNOCENT

Gary’s clue says an odd number of the people who are both in row 3 and neighbors of Ruby are innocent. That shared group is Logan, Mary, and Nick. Mary and Nick are already known to be innocent, so that group already contains 2 innocents. If Logan were criminal, the total there would stay 2, which is even, not odd. So Logan at B3 must be innocent.

09.B5 · Vicky → INNOCENT

Logan's clue says Pam and Wanda have exactly one innocent neighbor in common. The shared group is only Ruby and Vicky, and Ruby is a criminal, so there are currently no known innocents in that shared group. That means the one innocent the clue requires has to be the only unknown person left there, Vicky. So Vicky must be innocent.

10.D5 · Xavi → CRIMINAL

Wanda’s clue says her neighbors include at least 3 criminals. Among Wanda’s neighbors, only Ruby is already known to be a criminal, and if Xavi were innocent, the only people left who could raise that neighbor total are Pam and Steve. But Olivia’s clue says the 2 criminals in row 4 must be connected, and row 4 is Olivia innocent, Pam unknown, Ruby criminal, and Steve unknown. So Pam and Steve cannot both be criminals in that row, because that would make 3 criminals there instead of both criminals. That means Pam and Steve cannot supply all the extra criminals Wanda’s clue would need if Xavi were innocent. So Xavi at D5 must be criminal.

11.A5 · Tom → INNOCENT

12.D2 · Jason → INNOCENT

Bruce’s clue fixes column C at exactly three innocents, and since Mary and Wanda are already innocent, the remaining two people there, Donna and Isaac, account for the rest of column C’s exact makeup with Ruby as the one criminal in that group. Emma’s neighbors are Donna, Isaac, and Jason, and Xavi’s clue says those neighbors contain an odd number of criminals. Donna and Isaac already contribute that odd criminal count within Emma’s neighborhood, so Jason cannot also be a criminal. So Jason must be innocent.

13.B2 · Henry → INNOCENT

Jason’s clue says the number of innocent sleuths must equal the number of innocent teachers. The sleuths already have 2 innocents, while the teachers currently have only 1 innocent. Henry is the only teacher whose status is still unknown, so if Henry were criminal, the teachers would stay at 1 innocent and would not match the sleuths’ 2. So Henry must be innocent.

14.D4 · Steve → INNOCENT

Henry's clue says Xavi has exactly 2 innocent neighbors. Among Xavi's neighbors, 1 is already known to be innocent, and the only neighbor there whose identity is still unknown is Steve. So the one remaining innocent neighbor required by the clue has to be Steve. That makes Steve innocent.

15.B4 · Pam → CRIMINAL

Olivia’s clue says the two criminals in row 4 must be connected. In row 4, Olivia is innocent, Ruby is already known to be criminal, and Steve is innocent, so Pam is the only person there not yet identified. If Pam were innocent, then row 4 would not have both criminals connected as the clue requires. So Pam at B4 must be criminal.

16.B1 · Carol → CRIMINAL

Pam’s clue says column B has more criminals than column D. Right now each of those columns has 1 known criminal. The only person in column B whose identity is not fixed yet is Carol, and column D has nobody unknown left. If Carol were innocent, column B would stay at 1 criminal, which would not be more than column D’s 1. So Carol must be criminal.

17.C1 · Donna → INNOCENT

Nick’s clue says Emma is one of exactly 2 innocents to the right of Bruce. To Bruce’s right are Carol, Donna, and Emma, and among them Carol is criminal while Emma is already innocent. That leaves Donna as the only person who can be the second innocent there. If Donna were criminal, then Bruce would have only one innocent to his right, which conflicts with the clue. So Donna must be innocent.

18.C2 · Isaac → CRIMINAL

Bruce’s clue says there are exactly 3 innocents in column C, and exactly 1 of those innocents is Carol’s neighbor. Among the people in column C who are Carol’s neighbors, the only ones are Donna and Isaac. Donna is already known to be innocent, so that one allowed innocent neighbor in column C is already accounted for. Isaac at C2 must be criminal.