Clues by Sam Sep 14, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
A1
👨🏫
teacher
B1
👨🏫
teacher
C1
👩💻
coder
D1
👷♀️
builder
A2
🕵️♀️
sleuth
B2
🕵️♂️
sleuth
C2
👨💻
coder
D2
👷♂️
builder
A3
🕵️♂️
sleuth
B3
👩🍳
cook
C3
👨🍳
cook
D3
👩✈️
pilot
A4
👩🎤
singer
B4
👮♂️
cop
C4
👮♀️
cop
D4
👨✈️
pilot
A5
👩🎤
singer
B5
👩✈️
pilot
C5
👨⚕️
doctor
D5
👨⚕️
doctor
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 — 16 criminals.
Clues by Sam answer for Sep 14, 2026 — a Easy solved in 17 steps
Today's Clues by Sam puzzle is rated Easy and resolves with 16 criminals on a 20-cell, 4-column × 5-row grid. The criminals are Ben (B1), Cheryl (C1), Debra (D1), Hank (B2), Ivan (C2), Kevin (D2), Martin (A3), Petra (D3), Quita (A4), Rob (B4), Sarah (C4), Terry (D4), Uma (A5), Wanda (B5), Xavi (C5) and Zander (D5); the remaining 4 suspects are innocent.
The deduction chain, in plain English
01.A3 · Martin → CRIMINAL
Ollie’s clue says the two innocents in row 3 must be connected, and Ollie is already one of those innocents. That means the other innocent in row 3 has to be next to Ollie, so it can only be Nessa at B3 or Petra at D3. Martin at A3 is not next to Ollie in that row, so he cannot be the other innocent. So Martin must be criminal.
02.C2 · Ivan → CRIMINAL
Martin’s clue says exactly one coder has an innocent directly below them. That one counted coder is C2, Ivan. If Ivan were innocent, this clue would count too many coders with an innocent directly below them. So Ivan must be criminal.
03.B3 · Nessa → INNOCENT
Ivan’s clue says the people to the left of Petra contain exactly 2 innocents. In that group, there is currently 1 known innocent, and the only person there whose identity is still unknown is Nessa. Since that group still needs exactly 1 more innocent, Nessa has to be the one who fills it. So Nessa must be innocent.
04.D3 · Petra → CRIMINAL
Ollie’s clue says the two innocents in row 3 are connected. In row 3, Nessa and Ollie are already known to be innocent, and Martin is already known to be a criminal. That means the row already has its two innocents, so Petra cannot also be innocent. So Petra must be criminal.
05.D1 · Debra → CRIMINAL
Petra’s clue says Debra is one of the exactly 3 criminals in row 1. Since Debra is explicitly included among those criminals, Debra must be criminal. So Debra must be criminal.
06.C1 · Cheryl → CRIMINAL
If Cheryl were innocent, then Petra’s clue that row 1 has exactly 3 criminals would force the other two unknown people in that row, Andre and Ben, to be criminals alongside Debra. But then the teachers would have 2 criminals, while the coders would have only 1 criminal, Ivan, because Cheryl would be innocent. That contradicts Debra’s clue that there are more criminal coders than criminal teachers. So Cheryl at C1 must be criminal.
07.A2 · Eve → INNOCENT
Row 1 has exactly 3 criminals, and Cheryl and Debra are already criminals there, so among Andre and Ben there is exactly 1 criminal. Hank’s neighbors have exactly 4 criminals total, and three of them are already Cheryl, Ivan, and Martin. That means the only remaining criminal among Hank’s neighbors must be supplied by Andre and Ben, who are the shared people from row 1. Once Andre and Ben account for that last criminal, the only other neighbor left outside that shared pair is Eve, so Eve cannot be criminal. So Eve must be innocent.
08.C4 · Sarah → CRIMINAL
Eve's clue says the people above Xavi contain exactly one innocent. Above Xavi, there is already one known innocent, Ollie, and the only person there whose identity is still unknown is Sarah. Since that group already has its full one innocent, Sarah cannot be innocent. So Sarah must be criminal.
09.B4 · Rob → CRIMINAL
Sarah’s clue says there is exactly 1 innocent who is both above Wanda and neighboring Sarah. That shared group is just Nessa and Rob. Nessa is already innocent, so the one innocent required by the clue is already accounted for. Rob therefore cannot also be innocent, so Rob must be criminal.
10.B1 · Ben → CRIMINAL, B2 · Hank → CRIMINAL
Rob’s clue says Andre has exactly 2 criminal neighbors. Among Andre’s neighbors, there are currently 0 known criminals, and the only people there who are still unknown are Ben and Hank. Since Andre’s neighbor group still needs exactly 2 criminals, those two unknown neighbors have to fill both spots. So Ben and Hank must be criminal.
11.A1 · Andre → INNOCENT
Petra’s clue says Debra is one of exactly 3 criminals in row 1. Row 1 contains Andre, Ben, Cheryl, and Debra, and Ben, Cheryl, and Debra are already the 3 criminals there. That leaves no room for Andre to be a criminal. So Andre must be innocent.
12.D2 · Kevin → CRIMINAL
Ben’s clue says that only one row can have exactly 2 innocents. Row 3 already has exactly 2 innocents: Nessa and Ollie, with Martin and Petra not innocent. Row 2 already has 1 known innocent, Eve, and Kevin is the only person in that row not yet identified. If Kevin were innocent, then row 2 would also have exactly 2 innocents, which would clash with Ben’s clue. So Kevin must be criminal.
13.A4 · Quita → CRIMINAL
Kevin’s clue says exactly 2 sleuths have a criminal directly below them. One of those 2 is already Eve, because Eve has Martin directly below her and Martin is a criminal. Hank does not qualify, because Hank has Nessa directly below him and Nessa is innocent. That means one more sleuth must have a criminal directly below, and the only remaining place that can provide that is Martin with Quita directly below him. So Quita must be criminal.
14.A5 · Uma → CRIMINAL
Quita’s clue says every column has at least 3 criminals, so in column A there can be at most 2 innocents. Column A already has 2 known innocents, Andre and Eve. The only person in column A whose identity was not fixed yet is Uma, so she cannot also be innocent. So Uma must be criminal.
15.B5 · Wanda → CRIMINAL, C5 · Xavi → CRIMINAL
Uma’s clue says exactly 4 criminals in column B have a criminal directly to the right. In column B, Ben, Hank, and Rob are already known criminals, Nessa is innocent, and Wanda is the only person there not yet identified. If Wanda were innocent, and Xavi were also innocent, then the remaining people would not be able to satisfy Uma’s clue. That opposite assignment clashes with the requirement that exactly 4 criminals in column B have a criminal directly to the right. So Wanda and Xavi must be criminal.
16.D4 · Terry → CRIMINAL
Wanda’s clue says exactly one corner person has exactly 2 criminal neighbors. Andre already has exactly 2 criminal neighbors, while Debra and Uma each already have 3, so Andre is the one corner that satisfies the clue. Zander currently has 2 known criminal neighbors, and the only undecided neighbor affecting that count is Terry. If Terry were innocent, then Zander would also have exactly 2 criminal neighbors, giving a second corner person that fits the clue. So Terry must be criminal.
17.D5 · Zander → CRIMINAL
Terry’s clue says there are exactly 4 innocents on the whole board. Right now, the 4 innocents are already accounted for: Andre, Eve, Nessa, and Ollie. Since those four fill the total, the only remaining unknown person cannot be innocent. So Zander must be criminal.