Clues by Sam Aug 03, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
A1
👩⚕️
doctor
B1
👩🌾
farmer
C1
👩🔧
mech
D1
👨🔧
mech
A2
👨⚕️
doctor
B2
👨🌾
farmer
C2
👨⚖️
judge
D2
👨🎨
painter
A3
👩🍳
cook
B3
👨⚖️
judge
C3
👷♂️
builder
D3
👷♂️
builder
A4
👩🍳
cook
B4
👩💻
coder
C4
👨💼
clerk
D4
👨💼
clerk
A5
👩🎨
painter
B5
👩💻
coder
C5
👩💻
coder
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 — 9 criminals.
Clues by Sam answer for Aug 03, 2026 — a Easy solved in 18 steps
Today's Clues by Sam puzzle is rated Easy and resolves with 9 criminals on a 20-cell, 4-column × 5-row grid. The criminals are Frank (D1), Klay (D2), Lucy (A3), Martin (B3), Nick (C3), Sofia (B4), Terry (C4), Umar (D4) and Xola (C5); the remaining 11 suspects are innocent.
The deduction chain, in plain English
01.B2 · Hank → INNOCENT
Vicky's clue says there is exactly 1 innocent among the people who are both in column B and neighboring Diane. That shared group contains only one person: Hank. Since that group still needs its 1 innocent, Hank has to be the innocent there. So Hank must be innocent.
02.C5 · Xola → CRIMINAL
Hank says Wanda has exactly 3 criminal neighbors, and exactly 1 of those criminal neighbors is in row 5. Among Wanda's neighbors in row 5, Vicky is innocent, so she cannot be that one. The only unknown neighbor of Wanda who is in row 5 is Xola, so Xola has to be the row 5 criminal neighbor. So Xola must be criminal.
03.D5 · Zoe → INNOCENT
Xola’s clue says exactly one clerk has an innocent directly below them. That clue still needs one such clerk to exist, and the only clerk whose direct-below relationship can still supply that needed case is Zoe at D5. So Zoe has to be the innocent clerk that makes the clue true. That makes Zoe innocent.
04.B4 · Sofia → CRIMINAL
Below Diane are Hank, Martin, Sofia, and Wanda, and the clue says the two criminals there must be connected. Hank is already innocent, so the two criminals have to come from Martin, Sofia, and Wanda. If Sofia were innocent, then only Martin and Wanda could be the two criminals below Diane, but that would not satisfy the clue’s requirement for the two criminals there. So Sofia cannot be innocent. That makes Sofia criminal.
05.B1 · Diane → INNOCENT
Sofia says her column has exactly 2 criminals. In column B, Hank is innocent and Sofia is already one known criminal, so there is only 1 criminal spot left among Diane, Martin, and Wanda. Zoe’s clue is about the criminals below Diane, which are the people B2, B3, B4, and B5. Since Sofia at B4 is already that known criminal below Diane, the remaining criminal spot in this group has to be Martin or Wanda, not Diane. So Diane must be innocent.
06.D4 · Umar → CRIMINAL
Hank's clue says Wanda's neighbors contain exactly 3 criminals, and exactly 1 of those is in row 5. Since Xola is the only known criminal among Wanda's row 5 neighbors, that means Wanda's neighbors who are not in row 5, namely Quita, Sofia, and Terry, contain exactly 2 criminals. Those three people are part of row 4, and Diane's clue says row 4 has an odd number of criminals. So within row 4, the group Quita, Sofia, and Terry contributes an even number of criminals, namely 2, and Umar is the only row 4 person outside that group. To make the total for row 4 odd, Umar must also be criminal. So Umar must be criminal.
07.A1 · Alice → INNOCENT
Umar’s clue says Alice is one of Hank’s exactly 5 innocent neighbors. That directly identifies Alice as innocent. So Alice must be innocent.
08.B5 · Wanda → INNOCENT
Alice’s clue says there are exactly 2 innocents to the right of Vicky. In that group, there is already 1 known innocent, and the only person there whose identity is still unknown is Wanda. So the group still needs exactly 1 more innocent, and Wanda has to be that person. That makes Wanda innocent.
09.B3 · Martin → CRIMINAL
Zoe’s clue says that the two criminals below Diane are connected. Below Diane are Hank, Martin, Sofia, and Wanda, and among them Hank and Wanda are innocent while Sofia is already a criminal. If Martin were innocent too, then Sofia would be the only criminal below Diane, which conflicts with the clue that there are both criminals below Diane and that those two criminals are connected. So Martin cannot be innocent. That makes Martin criminal.
10.A2 · Gabe → INNOCENT
Wanda’s clue says the number of innocent doctors must equal the number of innocent farmers. The farmers already have two innocents, Diane and Hank, while the doctors currently have only one innocent, Alice, and the only doctor not yet identified is Gabe. If Gabe were criminal, the doctors would stay at one innocent instead of matching the farmers’ two. So Gabe must be innocent.
11.D3 · Oscar → INNOCENT
Gabe's clue says there are exactly 2 innocents below Klay. Among the people below Klay, there is already 1 known innocent, and the only person there whose identity is still unknown is Oscar. So the one remaining innocent below Klay has to be Oscar. That makes Oscar innocent.
12.D1 · Frank → CRIMINAL, D2 · Klay → CRIMINAL
Oscar’s clue says column B has more innocents than column D. Column B already has 3 innocents, while column D currently has 2, with only Frank and Klay still unknown there. If Frank and Klay were both innocent, then column D would rise to 4 innocents, which would not be fewer than column B’s 3. So Frank and Klay must be criminal.
13.C2 · Igor → INNOCENT
The clue says exactly one builder has a criminal directly above them. Oscar is a builder, and Klay is directly above Oscar and is criminal, so that one builder is already Oscar. Nick is the other builder, and Igor is directly above Nick. If Igor were criminal, then Nick would also be a builder with a criminal directly above them, making two instead of exactly one. So Igor must be innocent.
14.C3 · Nick → CRIMINAL
Igor’s clue says there is exactly one criminal among the people who are neighbors of both Hank and Oscar. That shared group is only Igor and Nick. Igor is innocent, so the shared group still needs one criminal, and Nick is the only person there who can fill it. So Nick must be criminal.
15.C4 · Terry → CRIMINAL
Nick’s clue says every person in row 5 can have at most 2 innocent neighbors. Xola already has 2 known innocent neighbors, and Terry is one of Xola’s unknown neighbors. If Terry were innocent, Xola would then have 3 innocent neighbors, which breaks the clue. So Terry at C4 must be criminal.
16.A4 · Quita → INNOCENT
Hank's clue says Wanda has exactly 3 criminal neighbors, and exactly 1 of those criminal neighbors is in row 5. Among Wanda's neighbors in row 5, Vicky is innocent and Xola is criminal, so that one row-5 criminal is already Xola. That leaves Wanda's neighbors not in row 5 as Quita, Sofia, and Terry, and Sofia and Terry are already the other 2 criminals needed. So Quita cannot be a criminal. That makes Quita innocent.
17.C1 · Eve → INNOCENT
Quita’s clue says every column has at least 2 innocents. That means column C can have at most 3 criminals. Column C already has 3 known criminals there, so the only person left in that column, Eve at C1, cannot be a criminal. So Eve must be innocent.
18.A3 · Lucy → CRIMINAL
Umar’s clue says Alice is one of Hank’s exactly 5 innocent neighbors. Hank’s neighbors already include five known innocents: Alice, Diane, Eve, Gabe, and Igor. The only other neighbor there whose identity is not yet fixed is Lucy, so if Lucy were innocent, Hank would have 6 innocent neighbors instead of 5. So Lucy must be criminal.