Clues by Sam Oct 11, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained
A1
👨🏫
teacher
B1
👩🏫
teacher
C1
👩🏫
teacher
D1
👨🌾
farmer
A2
👩✈️
pilot
B2
👨✈️
pilot
C2
🕵️♂️
sleuth
D2
👨🌾
farmer
A3
🕵️♂️
sleuth
B3
🕵️♀️
sleuth
C3
👩🍳
cook
D3
👮♀️
cop
A4
👨💻
coder
B4
👩💼
clerk
C4
👩🍳
cook
D4
👮♀️
cop
A5
👨💻
coder
B5
👨💼
clerk
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 — 14 criminals.
Clues by Sam answer for Oct 11, 2026 — a Brutal solved in 17 steps
Today's Clues by Sam puzzle is rated Brutal and resolves with 14 criminals on a 20-cell, 4-column × 5-row grid. The criminals are Andre (A1), Diane (C1), Gus (B2), Ivan (D2), Jason (A3), Layla (C3), Mary (D3), Oscar (A4), Pam (B4), Quita (C4), Tina (D4), Vince (A5), Will (B5) and Zoe (D5); the remaining 6 suspects are innocent.
The deduction chain, in plain English
01.C3 · Layla → CRIMINAL
Xavi’s clue says that the two criminals below Diane are connected. If Layla were innocent, then among the people below Diane we would have Hank, Layla, Quita, and Xavi, with Layla and Xavi innocent, so Hank would have to be one criminal and Quita would have to be the other. But then the two criminals below Diane would be Hank and Quita, and they would not be connected because innocent Layla is between them. So Layla must be criminal.
02.D5 · Zoe → CRIMINAL
Layla’s clue says that Zoe is one of Quita’s 6 criminal neighbors. Since the clue directly places Zoe among those criminal neighbors, Zoe’s identity is fixed by the clue itself. So Zoe must be criminal.
03.C1 · Diane → CRIMINAL
If Diane were innocent, then column C would still need at least 3 criminals. In the people below Diane, Layla is already a criminal and Xavi is innocent, so the only way for column C to reach 3 criminals is for Hank and Quita to be criminals too. That would make the criminals below Diane be Hank, Layla, and Quita. But Diane's clue says both criminals below her are connected, so there must be exactly 2 criminals below her, not 3. This contradiction means Diane cannot be innocent. So Diane must be criminal.
04.B2 · Gus → CRIMINAL
Diane’s clue says Hank has exactly 5 criminal neighbors, and exactly 1 of those criminal neighbors is to the left of Ivan. Among Hank’s neighbors, the only person who is also to the left of Ivan is Gus. Since that left-of-Ivan spot still has to supply that 1 criminal neighbor, Gus has to fill it. So Gus must be criminal.
05.B1 · Carol → INNOCENT
Gus's clue says Carol is one of the exactly 4 innocents on the edge. That directly identifies Carol as innocent. So Carol must be innocent.
06.D4 · Tina → CRIMINAL, B5 · Will → CRIMINAL
Layla’s clue says Quita has exactly 6 criminal neighbors. Since Quita has 8 neighbors total and Xavi is already innocent, that leaves exactly 1 innocent among the five unknown neighbors: Kay, Mary, Pam, Tina, and Will. From the step’s facts, that one innocent must come from Kay, Mary, or Pam. So Tina and Will cannot be the innocent in Quita’s neighborhood. That makes Tina and Will criminals.
07.A5 · Vince → CRIMINAL, A3 · Jason → CRIMINAL
Will says Oscar has exactly 4 criminal neighbors, and Oscar has 5 neighbors total, with Will already known to be one of those criminals. So among Oscar’s other four neighbors, A3 Jason, B3 Kay, B4 Pam, and A5 Vince, exactly 1 is innocent. That one innocent cannot be A3 Jason or A5 Vince, so the only places for it are B3 Kay or B4 Pam. This leaves Vince and Jason as criminals.
08.A4 · Oscar → CRIMINAL
Vince’s clue says Oscar is one of Kay’s exactly 6 criminal neighbors. That directly identifies Oscar as one of the criminals in Kay’s neighborhood. So Oscar must be criminal.
09.D3 · Mary → CRIMINAL
Oscar has exactly 4 criminal neighbors, and among Oscar's neighbors the only undecided ones are Kay and Pam. Since Oscar already has 3 known criminal neighbors, exactly 1 of Kay or Pam is criminal. Quita has exactly 6 criminal neighbors. In Quita's neighborhood, the criminal count already includes Layla, Tina, Will, and Zoe, so with exactly 1 criminal coming from Kay and Pam, the only way to reach 6 is for the remaining person there, Mary, to be criminal. So Mary must be criminal.
10.A1 · Andre → CRIMINAL
On the edge cells, there are exactly 4 innocents. Two of those edge innocents are already known: Carol and Xavi. That means the only two remaining edge innocents must be chosen from Ethan, Frida, and Ivan, so Andre cannot be one of them. So Andre must be criminal.
11.A2 · Frida → INNOCENT
Jason’s neighbors must contain an odd number of criminals. He already has 2 known criminal neighbors, so the unknown neighbors there must add an odd number of criminals. Quita’s neighbors contain exactly 6 criminals, and among her unknown neighbors, Kay and Pam, exactly 1 must be criminal. Kay and Pam are also neighbors of Jason, so those two already contribute the needed odd number to Jason’s unknown-neighbor total. If Frida were also criminal, then Jason’s unknown neighbors would contain 2 criminals, which is even, not odd. So Frida at A2 must be innocent.
12.B3 · Kay → INNOCENT
The edge clue leaves only one edge innocent among Ethan and Ivan. Hank’s neighbor clue means there must be exactly three innocents among Hank’s neighbors, and Carol is already one of them. Among Hank’s neighbors, Ethan and Ivan can account for only one more innocent in total, because only one of them can be the remaining edge innocent. That means the last needed innocent in Hank’s neighborhood has to come from the only other relevant remaining person there, Kay. So Kay must be innocent.
13.B4 · Pam → CRIMINAL
Layla’s clue says Zoe is one of the exactly 6 criminal neighbors of Quita. Among Quita’s neighbors, Kay and Xavi are innocent, and Layla, Mary, Tina, Will, and Zoe are already known criminals, leaving only Pam not yet identified. That means the sixth criminal neighbor has to be Pam. So Pam must be criminal.
14.C2 · Hank → INNOCENT
Hank is one of Diane’s neighbors, and Diane’s clue says her neighbors contain an odd number of innocents. Right now Diane’s neighbors have 1 known innocent, with Ethan, Hank, and Ivan still unknown. If Hank were criminal, then Ethan and Ivan would have to fit both Diane’s odd-innocent clue and Hank’s clue about the 5 criminals neighboring him, with Gus already being the one criminal to the left of Ivan in that group. Those remaining unknowns cannot satisfy all of that at once. So Hank cannot be criminal. That makes Hank innocent.
15.C4 · Quita → CRIMINAL
Below Diane are Hank, Layla, Quita, and Xavi. The clue says the two criminals in that group must be connected, and in this vertical group connected means they have to be next to each other in one continuous orthogonal chain. Layla is already one of those criminals, while Hank and Xavi are innocent. That leaves only Quita as the second criminal who can sit connected with Layla. So Quita must be criminal.
16.D1 · Ethan → INNOCENT
Hank’s clue says there are exactly 2 innocents to the right of Andre. In that group, Carol is already known to be innocent, so only 1 more innocent is still needed. The only person there whose identity is not yet known is Ethan. So Ethan must be innocent.
17.D2 · Ivan → CRIMINAL
Tina’s clue says Diane’s neighbors contain an odd number of innocents. Among Diane’s neighbors, there are already 3 known innocents: Carol, Ethan, and Hank, and the only neighbor there whose identity is still unknown is Ivan. Since 3 is already odd, Ivan cannot also be innocent without making that total even. So Ivan must be criminal.