Clues by Sam Aug 01, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
A1
👨⚖️
judge
B1
👷♂️
builder
C1
👩🍳
cook
D1
👨🍳
cook
A2
😬
butler
B2
😬
butler
C2
😬
butler
D2
👨⚖️
judge
A3
👮♀️
cop
B3
👩🏫
teacher
C3
😬
butler
D3
👩🌾
farmer
A4
👩🎨
painter
B4
😬
butler
C4
😬
butler
D4
😬
butler
A5
👩💼
clerk
B5
👨💼
clerk
C5
💂♂️
guard
D5
😬
butler
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 Aug 01, 2026 — a Hard solved in 15 steps
Today's Clues by Sam puzzle is rated Hard and resolves with 4 criminals on a 20-cell, 4-column × 5-row grid. The criminals are Hal (A2), Olive (D3), Tina (C4) and Zoe (D5); the remaining 16 suspects are innocent.
The deduction chain, in plain English
01.A5 · Vicky → INNOCENT, C5 · Xavi → INNOCENT
Gary’s clue says that Will’s neighbors contain exactly 4 innocents, and exactly 2 of those innocents are in row 4. That means the other 2 innocents among Will’s neighbors must be neighbors of Will who are not in row 4. The only neighbors of Will who are not in row 4 are Vicky and Xavi, and there are no already known innocents in that pair. So those two have to fill the remaining 2 innocent spots. So Vicky and Xavi must be innocent.
02.B1 · Chris → INNOCENT, B3 · Megan → INNOCENT
Xavi’s clue says exactly 2 of Ivan’s neighboring innocents are above Sofia. Among Ivan’s neighbors, the only people above Sofia are Chris and Megan. Since those 2 innocent people above Sofia still have to be accounted for, Chris and Megan must be the two innocents there. So Chris and Megan must be innocent.
03.D4 · Uma → INNOCENT
Will’s neighbors must contain exactly 4 innocents, and exactly 2 of those innocents must be in row 4. The only row 4 neighbors of Will are Paula, Sofia, and Tina, while the two neighbors of Will outside row 4, Vicky and Xavi, are already known innocents. So the clue about Will’s neighbors fixes how many innocents can be in Paula, Sofia, and Tina. But every row must have at least 3 innocents, so making Uma a criminal makes the remaining people conflict with these two requirements. That means Uma cannot be a criminal. So Uma must be innocent.
04.A3 · Lucy → INNOCENT
Ivan has exactly 7 innocent neighbors, so among his 8 neighbors there is exactly 1 criminal. Chris and Megan are already innocent, so that 1 criminal has to be among A1 Adam, C1 Flora, A2 Hal, C2 John, A3 Lucy, and C3 Noah. But that criminal is further narrowed to A1 Adam, C1 Flora, A2 Hal, C2 John, or C3 Noah, which leaves Lucy out. So Lucy must be innocent.
05.C2 · John → INNOCENT
Kumar and Will must have the same number of innocent neighbors, yet Kumar currently has 1 known innocent neighbor and Will already has 2. At the same time, every row must have at least 3 innocents, and John’s neighborhood must contain exactly 7 innocents, with only Flora, Ivan, Kumar, Noah, and Olive left to supply the missing innocents there. If John were criminal, the remaining people involved in these clues would have to satisfy all of those requirements at once, but they cannot. So John cannot be criminal. So John must be innocent.
06.B2 · Ivan → INNOCENT, D2 · Kumar → INNOCENT
Lucy says John has exactly 7 innocent neighbors, so among John’s 8 neighbors there is exactly 1 criminal. John already has 3 known innocent neighbors, which means that single criminal must be among the five unknown neighbors: Flora, Ivan, Kumar, Noah, and Olive. From the other clue facts, that one criminal is restricted to Flora, Noah, or Olive. So Ivan and Kumar cannot be the criminal in John’s neighboring group. That makes Ivan and Kumar innocent.
07.C3 · Noah → INNOCENT
Xavi’s clue says Ivan’s neighbors contain exactly 7 innocents, so among Ivan’s 8 neighbors there is exactly 1 criminal. The only unknown neighbors are Adam, Flora, Hal, and Noah. The same clue also says exactly 2 of those innocent neighbors are above Sofia. Chris and Megan are already those 2 innocents above Sofia, so the 1 criminal among Ivan’s neighbors must come from the neighbors not above Sofia: Adam, Flora, or Hal. That leaves Noah unable to be that criminal. So Noah must be innocent.
08.A4 · Paula → INNOCENT
Xavi’s clue fixes Ivan’s neighborhood at exactly 7 innocents, with exactly 2 of those above Sofia, and those 2 are already Chris and Megan. Chris’s clue also has to hold, with Chris having more innocent neighbors than Xavi, while Chris’s neighbors currently show 2 known innocents and Xavi’s show 1. On top of that, Chris says every row must have at least 3 innocents. If Paula were a criminal, then the remaining unknown people named here, Adam, Flora, Hal, Olive, Sofia, Tina, Will, and Zoe, would have to satisfy all of those requirements at once, and they cannot. So Paula cannot be a criminal. So Paula must be innocent.
09.B4 · Sofia → INNOCENT, B5 · Will → INNOCENT
John’s neighbors must contain more criminals than Vicky’s neighbors, and right now both groups have 0 known criminals. If Sofia and Will were criminals, then Vicky’s neighbors would already have 2 criminals. The only other people involved in these clues are Flora and Olive, so John’s side would have to beat that with them, but that is impossible. So Sofia and Will must be innocent.
10.C4 · Tina → CRIMINAL
Gary says exactly 2 of Will's innocent neighbors are in row 4. Among Will's neighbors who are in row 4, Paula and Sofia are already known innocents. That already fills the full count of 2, so the only remaining row 4 neighbor of Will, Tina, cannot also be innocent. So Tina must be criminal.
11.D5 · Zoe → CRIMINAL
Chris’s clue says Chris has more innocent neighbors than Xavi. Right now Chris has 2 known innocent neighbors, while Xavi already has 3 known innocent neighbors. If Zoe were innocent, Xavi’s neighbor count of innocents would rise to 4. The only people left for Chris’s side to gain from are Adam, Flora, and Hal, but those same people also have to fit Xavi’s clue about Ivan’s neighbors having exactly 7 innocents, with exactly 2 of those innocents above Sofia, and that combination cannot be made to work. So Zoe cannot be innocent. That makes Zoe criminal.
12.D3 · Olive → CRIMINAL
Xavi says Ivan has exactly 7 innocent neighbors, and exactly 2 of those innocents are above Sofia. Chris and Megan are already those 2, so among Ivan's other neighboring unknowns, Adam, Flora, and Hal must supply the rest of Ivan's innocent neighbors without adding anyone else above Sofia. Will says the edge cells contain an odd number of innocents. There are already 9 known innocents on the edge, and the only edge people not yet identified are Adam, Flora, Hal, and Olive. If Olive were innocent, then Adam, Flora, Hal, and Olive would have to satisfy both of those clues at the same time, but they cannot. So Olive cannot be innocent. That makes Olive criminal.
13.C1 · Flora → INNOCENT
John’s neighbors must contain exactly 7 innocents. Among those neighbors, 6 are already known to be innocent, and the only neighbor there whose identity is still unknown is Flora. So the one remaining innocent spot in John’s neighborhood has to be Flora. That makes Flora innocent.
14.A2 · Hal → CRIMINAL
Kumar’s clue says rows 2 and 3 have the same number of innocents. Row 3 already has 3 innocents, and row 2 also already has 3 known innocents: Ivan, John, and Kumar. If Hal were innocent too, row 2 would have 4 innocents, which would no longer match row 3’s 3. So Hal must be criminal.
15.A1 · Adam → INNOCENT
Ivan’s neighbors must contain exactly 7 innocents, and exactly 2 of those innocents are above Sofia. Those 2 are already Chris and Megan, so the other 5 innocents among Ivan’s neighbors must be people who are not above Sofia. Among Ivan’s neighbors who are not above Sofia, Flora, John, Lucy, and Noah are already known innocents, while Hal is a criminal. That group therefore still needs 1 more innocent, and the only unknown person there is Adam. So Adam must be innocent.